Even though Kyle Larson emerged from Phoenix Raceway as the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series champion, the festivities quickly gave way to the well-known rumble of controversy. Rather than analyzing Cliff Daniels’ bold judgment or Larson’s late-race heroics, the industry found itself debating the playoff system, a topic that keeps coming up year after year. It was questioned by fans, it was questioned by drivers, and even the analysts questioned it. Basically, anyone connected to NASCAR had something to say.

NASCAR has already started looking into possible changes for the 2026 season due to mounting frustration. Officials are assessing everything behind the scenes, including the length of the race format and the point structure. But as of yet, nothing is official. In the middle of this, two NASCAR insiders are publicly putting out drastic solutions meant to change the way the sport selects its champions and reinstate the competitive integrity that many believe has been eroding.

Jordan Bianchi’s fix for the NASCAR playoff format

NASCAR’s playoff format has been a subject of intense debate, and Jordan Bianchi, on the latest episode of The Teardown podcast, offered his take. “I’ve got it down to two formats. It’s either the 10 race chase or it’s the five and five. I can be sold on either one. I think it’s a conversation worth having. One of those two is where I’m at.” 

The 10-race Chase, as you might remember, was in use from 2004 to 2013 before undergoing changes to the current format. It consisted of a longer championship run with multiple elimination rounds culminating over ten races. The “five and five” format emphasizes shorter rounds and aims to maintain playoff intensity while giving drivers more opportunities to compete. This is to ensure that a repeat of the 2025 season doesn’t happen again and rob a driver like Denny Hamlin, who had a better overall season than Kyle Larson, lose the championship only due to one bad race.

In order to effectively reward continuous high performance, Bianchi also supports a system in which winning more than once during the regular season ensures a postseason berth. His plan calls for the top 10 NASCAR drivers in terms of points to automatically qualify, with two wild-card berths going to the drivers who have won the most outside of that top 10.

This action is intended to make sure worthy drivers don’t lose out because of misfortune. “So, it’s not a ‘win and you’re in.’ It’s a ‘wins in you’re in.’” he said. And he has a fair point. Just take a look at Bubba Wallace’s 2025 NASCAR season. His lone victory at the Brickyard 400 locked him into the playoffs, despite being at the lower end of the points standings overall in the regular season. Moreover, he managed to advance to the Round of 12, again without a single win in the Round of 16.

Jeff Gluck agrees with Bianchi’s point on the drivers in the top 10 in points making the playoffs. However, he expresses skepticism about the “win and in” concept working as smoothly if the Chase format is reinstated. His perspective underlines the complexities in tweaking the format to reward wins and consistency fairly.

Insiders, however, agree that the present playoff format has to be changed in order to better reward season-long brilliance while preserving the thrill and stakes at the end of the season.

NASCAR nears a decision on its next championship era

Because the final elements are still being worked out, NASCAR isn’t quite ready to unveil what its future championship structure will look like. However, what’s certain is that the “Championship 4” era, which employed a one-race, winner-take-all finale for every season from 2014 to 2025, is over.

Although it is thought to be extremely unlikely, a return to a season-long championship without a playoff is not entirely out of the question. Rather, NASCAR is considering two main options: either a redesigned elimination system that culminates in eight drivers competing during a four-race points stretch, or the return of the 10-race Chase format that was in use from 2004 to 2013. A longer championship runway would be restored by both strategies. Something that many think the sport is in dire need of.

A group of prominent representatives of the business, including drivers, team owners, executives, media, and Hall of Famers, has been arguing mechanics, presenting ideas, and analyzing fan response for months. The process of this internal workshop is now finished.

On his Hauler Talk podcast, NASCAR managing director of racing communications Mike Forde provided the latest update. “Where it stands right now… I don’t think the playoff committee is going to meet again,” Forde said. “I think we have gotten all the feedback that we needed from them. Awesome job, by the way, from the playoff committee. … Now, it’s in NASCAR’s hands. They’re announcements to come. Honestly, I don’t know where it is. It could be in two weeks, it could be in two months.”

Even though the decision to discontinue the Championship 4 format was made prior to the Phoenix final, the weekend only served to confirm the belief held by many that a change was long overdue. In addition to creating yet another chaotic Cup finish, the system also prevented 10-race Xfinity winner Connor Zilisch from winning the championship, which increased fan annoyance and bolstered calls for a new championship model.

Now, we just have to wait and watch what NASCAR finally decides upon.