A week ago, Dale Jr. said that no news of changing the NASCAR Cup Series playoff format would drop in 2025. And to him, it made the most sense. “This year’s champion would end up feeling like a dud — like a lame duck kind of thing.” Whoever ends up with the title, be it Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, or Ryan Blaney, would not receive the praise that they should. Even Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR President, vehemently defended not introducing the format this year.

However, the news of increasing the horsepower from 670 to 750 and changes in the rules have left fans on the edge of their seats. Fans and insiders alike seem to be mentally fast-forwarding through the remainder of the playoffs. Now, however, Dale Jr. claimed that this anticipation will not be rewarding.

Dale Jr. gives a bitter reality check

Indeed, fans cannot wait to chuck the current playoff format. From Denny Hamlin wrangling with Ty Gibbs in New Hampshire to William Byron’s high-impact collision with Ty Dillon in Las Vegas, instances of desperation spurned by the elimination format are plenty. And Mike Forde, in a recent episode of ‘Door, Bumper, Clear’, fanned the flames of that desire. When DBC host Tommy Baldwin suggested a 32-race championship with four races in the playoffs, Forde dropped a hint. “I think that’s probably going to happen,” he said. But there is a caveat – exactly when will that happen?

According to Dale Jr., not anytime soon. Despite NASCAR’s constant hints at changes in 2026, the 26-time Cup race winner deflated that expectation. “You’re not going to see those results out of the gate,” Dale Jr. declared in a recent Dale Jr Download episode. “You won’t see them next year. You won’t see them the year after that. If you’re trying to get this sport back to where it was in its peak or anywhere close, that’s going to take your a– a decade or two. All right, so buckle up….Whatever they change it to, next year, the numbers, the viewership, if anything, it’ll be just a bump better.”

The current elimination format leaves drivers biting their nails after every playoff round. What is more, no merit is given to them for their regular-season achievements. Hence, Dale Jr. recognized the high anticipation for giving drivers who achieve throughout the year more credit. “There’s a lot of emotion around the changes that may be coming for next year. We’ve been moving through various stages of emotion through this – excitement, debate, anticipation, apprehensive, feelings around it.”

Yet Rome was not built in a day. Similarly, Dale Jr. explained that this massive change would take time in NASCAR. “NASCAR’s peak was a process of 40 years, 50 years of development, change, of evolution, and they must have done a lot of things right. Was everything right? I don’t know. Probably not. It’s probably unlikely. But they did a lot of good things to get us to a peak.” He added, “You don’t build something that big and that great in a 12-month period.”

Dale Jr. is seeking patience from fans in expecting a tweaked playoff format. At the same time, however, the veteran is losing patience in a legal crisis.

Seeking a fast solution

Denny Hamlin was visibly emotional when he won the race last week. Even after getting out of the No. 11 Toyota, the driver fought back tears due to several reasons, ranging from his father’s ailing health to finally achieving his 60th trophy. Yet another reason was the NASCAR lawsuit, which has been raging for over a year. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports took up arms against NASCAR’s ‘monopolistic practices’, refusing to sign the new charter deal and filing a lawsuit in October 2024. Now, however, the teams have lost their charters and are seeking a settlement deal before the case goes to trial in December.

All this time, there has been a lot of back-and-forth in their legal battles. These courtroom conflicts have left most in the NASCAR Cup Series garage worried. And they have left Dale Jr. simply fed up. “I am on the boat that absolutely wishes this would get settled soon,” he said. “Everybody is tired of this. I don’t know what it would take to make both sides happy. I think everybody has got their heels dug in. There’s some pride and ego involved.”

And Dale Jr. criticized 23XI Racing‘s defense at the same time. “You see 23XI’s response. And it doesn’t sound like they can even agree on how to come to terms with a conversation to settle, right? Not only can we not agree on the lawsuit and a settlement, we can’t agree on how to have that conversation.”

Clearly, Dale Jr. differs in his capacity for patience in separate matters. We can only wait and see how NASCAR acts in both situations.