Hard as it may seem to believe, the first month of the NASCAR off-season is already in the books, and we’re just two months away from the start of the 2026 season. One of the biggest things teams, drivers, media, and fans are waiting for is when NASCAR will introduce the likely changes coming to the playoff format.

That decision and announcement is coming, NASCAR Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer John Probst promised during Monday’s opening session of the four-day Epartrade Race Industry Week.

Probst stepped in for NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell, who was originally scheduled to appear, but had a scheduling conflict, and Probst stepped in as a pinch-hitter.

As for the changes coming for the playoffs, Probst indicated that such a major change has required an extended period of time, evaluating input from a variety of resources, such as internally in the NASCAR office, teams and their executives, sponsors, television partners, current and past drivers, media and fans.

“It generally starts with collective feedback from all of our stakeholders, the most important of which are our fans,” Probst told session host Brad Gillie.

“Anytime we sit down for a decision in this magnitude, we have folks that join us from all directions. We have broadcast in there, we have our OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers), we have our team partners, and our fans. We hear and pay attention to a lot of the feedback that we get through social media in various directions that come our way.”

Changing the format is a crucial decision because NASCAR wants to make sure it finally gets it right this time and that it will be a format that hopefully appeases maybe not everyone but for the majority of those who will be impacted by the changes.

“I think (the new format is) as important as anything as that whoever is our champion,” Probst said. “It’s going to be important that our drivers that are competing for the championships recognize it as a feat and then our fans also acknowledge it. So anytime we do that, we collect the feedback, which we’ve done that process now.

“We’re not here to break any news (today), but I would say that we are making good progress on that front. And at this point, I’ve probably gotten just about all the feedback that we’re going to get on that front. Now we are circled up internally to go through all the options that we got from the purest of the 36 race championship to some combination of modifying the playoffs that we have now.

“And I think that you already see some of the changes already announced with respect to the championship move into Homestead next year, and look forward to like some form of rotating championship race into the future.”

Probst acknowledged that the process of selecting a new format has taken on a variety of scenarios, seemingly changing from week to week.

“Throughout the course of the working group meeting and collecting all the feedback, it’s fair to say that all of our positions have changed through the course of collecting information,” Probst said. “And I think that anytime that somebody makes a good argument, that we have to be willing to hear it and change our mind when new information or different perspectives are brought forth. And that has happened.

“I kind of laugh because I can sit there and think of several meetings where like the meeting before you look at the person and you’re like, ‘Well, that’s not where you were two weeks ago.’ A lot of information has come in; a lot of good debate has happened.

“We have changed our position multiple times throughout this whole thing. And I feel like we’ll end in the spot that we feel is best for the sport and try and thread that needle of entertainment and sports.”

So there remains the $1 million question: When will the news finally break?

If past history is an indicator, don’t be surprised if the new playoff format isn’t revealed until after the first of the year. When NASCAR introduced its first playoff format in 2004, it was announced on January 21 of that year.

Then, when additional changes to the format took place, including expanding the playoff field from 10 to 16 drivers, that occurred on January 30, 2014.

Plus, with so many drivers and team executives typically taking much of December off for well-deserved vacations, look for the new format to be introduced around mid-to-late January.