“Somehow, making winning more important than ever has taken away from the importance of winning.” Mark Martin’s blunt critique has fueled months of heated debate over NASCAR’s playoff format as the 2025 season barrels towards its finale. The system is under more scrutiny than ever, accused of rewarding flukes and punishing consistency.

Now, Ben Kennedy has stepped into the spotlight. After months of closed-door playoff committee meetings, simulations, and fan surveys, NASCAR’s innovation chief has finally broken his silence. The future of the championship is still wide open, and the next format could be the sport’s biggest shake-up in years.

Ben Kennedy emphasizes the importance “to do it right” amid Playoff concerns

Somebody deep inside the NASCAR corporate brain trust, a small but mighty group, has been meeting behind closed doors, rethinking how the sport crowns its champion. This is the playoff committee. Over the summer of 2025, NASCAR quietly formed this committee composed of a diverse cross-section of the sport, including current drivers who know the grind of a long season, Hall of Famers who’ve lived through eras long, TV partners with ratings at stages, and fan-focused voices who know exactly what the grandstands are buzzing about.

Their mission? To dissect the playoff format that has been in place since 2014 and decide if it still works in 2025 or if it is time to blow it up. Everything is on the table: keeping the status quo, tweaking the number of rounds, or even tossing it back to the old school 36-race, season-long grind. Simulations have been run, heated debates have been had, and while NASCAR insists they won’t rush the decision, there is no doubt this group is quietly holding the key to one of the sport’s biggest changes in years.

And now, Ben Kennedy has finally spoken up. NASCAR executive vice president isn’t ready to lock anything in for 2026 just yet. He has been sitting in on committee meetings, digesting fan service, and poring over simulations like a crew chief studying race tape. Kennedy said, “Everything from ‘don’t touch it, everything’s fine’ to ‘we should go back to the old 36-points race schedule.’ So, you know, we’re looking at a number of different options. We’ve ran a handful of simulations on it. We had a couple of meetings earlier this week. We don’t have anything to announce at this point, but I can tell you that it’s a priority. It’s a priority for us to announce something sooner rather than later.”

Many voices from the garage do not agree with the current playoff system. Denny Hamlin’s frustration is shared by plenty in the garage. The mid-playoff resets wipe away months of consistent performance, forcing drivers to essentially start over and making one bad race potentially fatal to championship hopes. And lest we forget about Mark Martin. Martin’s gripe is different but just as biting. If every win simply serves as a playoff ticket, the glory of the moment gets lost in the bigger grind. Together, these opinions paint a picture of a garage split between loving the drama of the current system and craving the legitimacy of a season-long points race.

And regarding the 2026 season, Ben Kennedy confirmed that no final decision has been made on the playoff format. A commitment remains to take the time to get it right, ensuring any new structure is durable, fair, and beloved by both fans and competitors alike. He said, “Ultimately, we want to make sure that we take the time to do it right. We give something that our teams and drivers are proud of — that when they’re crowned a NASCAR Cup Series champion, they put a lot of belief behind it — and something that our fans get to look forward to every single year. Something that’s entertaining, but they can give a lot of credit to as well. So we want to make sure that it’s really thoughtful because, whatever this next step is, I think our hope is that the new format is just gonna be better.” 

Amid all these playoff talks, Ben Kennedy also hinted at an international race north of the border. But as the playoff decision is yet to be made, the international race seems to be the last thing the NASCAR community is worried about. And Kevin Harvick has just shared his view of it.

Kevin Harvick urges a middle ground amid championship debate

The NASCAR championship format is once again stirring debate. Kevin Harvick is advocating for a middle ground. Should the sport stick with a season-long point system? Keep the playoffs? Or adopt some kind of chase-style format? And how can it all be presented simply enough to keep fans engaged?

A common criticism of the current playoff system is its complexity. Understanding how points carry over, differentiating between regular points and playoff points, navigating eliminations, and figuring out why each round lasts three races except the final one can leave even dedicated fans scratching their heads. Many aspects of the NASCAR playoffs could stand to be simplified, and Harvick believes a compromise is possible.

Speaking on his Happy Hour podcast, the 44-year-old has addressed this topic before. He said, “I think that is a middle ground. I think points should matter more than they do currently. I think that the regular season, I would like to look at – let’s just say if somebody wins this weekend and we have 15 different winners and you knock a guy out that’s in the top-10 in points like Alex Bowman. Should there be two or three spots in the regular season that are automatically locked in on points so that a guy wins, he puts himself that’s 30th in points, that puts himself in the conversation. If you win twice, you’re automatically in? You know, seeds it by multiple points? But I hate that somebody like Alex Bowman is going to get knocked out by guys that are 25th-plus in points.”

So, is there a middle ground NASCAR could reach? Theoretically, yes. But with TV partners who often miss the mark on what fans want and a history of stubborn leadership, real changes feel elusive. Harvick still wants regular-season points to carry more weight. The regular-season championship is meant to be prestigious, yet it felt almost like an afterthought during last week’s broadcast when Byron clinched it with a P12 finish at Richmond. Will the NASCAR playoffs change anytime soon? There is always a possibility, but judging by the 2026 schedule, it doesn’t look like it will be soon.