Since Joey Logano’s championship in 2024, the playoff system has been under a brighter spotlight. Last season, the Team Penske driver was a passing afterthought in the first half of the year, finishing poorly in most races. But then, he won in Nashville and suddenly went from a playoff contender to a legit championship prospect. After clinching the title, Logano’s 17th rank in points made him the worst NASCAR driver in history to win a championship. That is why fans and drivers are targeting the playoff format – and NASCAR is listening.

After Logano’s controversial championship, NASCAR executives let loose hints about tweaking the format. The main issue surrounding it is its lack of meritorious integrity. But before the sanctioning body decides to make changes, it may start from the lower levels first.

NASCAR wants to be more prepared this time

The ongoing lawsuit between Michael Jordan and Co. and the sanctioning body calls NASCAR a ‘monopoly.’ Well, past instances do sanction this label, as fans have criticized NASCAR for being quick to implement changes. For instance, the playoff format was suddenly introduced in 2014, compelling Cup Series drivers to compete in a cutthroat elimination system. There is a complete disregard given to drivers’ regular-season achievements in the postseason. Then, the executives also introduced the Next-Gen car after only a few tests on racetracks, with no indication of the wreck-riddled season in 2022. So, this time, the higher-ups are approaching their strategy a little differently.

In a recent interview with Eric Estepp, NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell revealed the fresh update. While dousing hopes for a playoff tweak in 2026, O’Donnell emphasized that NASCAR is taking time to introduce the right format this time. The strategy is as follows: “The decisions are going to be, do you immediately put something in the Cup Series? Do you try something around next year’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Truck Series? Do you try three different things? Most sports are like, ‘Let’s try this in Triple-A baseball, and if it works, great. If we want to tweak it, OK, let’s make those tweaks and put it to the next level.’ We’ve historically not done that. So, we’re just going to try to beat up a lot of those things.”

Besides the experimental ideas in NASCAR’s lower levels, Steve O’Donnell emphasized that the talks are active. He hinted at appeasing fans and drivers with a new playoff format soon: “I will say that if we stay status quo and don’t do anything in all three series, there’s got to be a pretty good explanation as to why and to who we spoke to. But there is some momentum to try some things, for sure. I think you’ll see that. I don’t have the final answer yet, but I can assure the fans there’s been a lot of really good debate, a lot of things to think through.” Already, changes are on the way – NASCAR’s tweaked 2026 schedule has been announced.

As NASCAR proceeds towards ameliorating the system, drivers are rushing them to do so. That is because the flaws of the system are visible every weekend.

A call for swift moves

Last weekend in Richmond, Austin Dillon defended his 2024 race victory. He finally broke the shroud of controversy in this race, winning the Cook Out 400 without any late bump-and-runs. Nevertheless, the point situation raised fans’ eyebrows. From holding a dismal 28th-place rank in the playoffs, Dillon bounced back to clinch a playoff spot with one victory. That placed drivers who were more consistent throughout 2025 in jeopardy, like Tyler Reddick or Alex Bowman. Commenting on the unpredictability of this format, William Byron said, “No one’s running away with this thing, which is going to create a crazy playoffs.” However, Denny Hamlin had a jarring response: “Can’t run away when you reset every three weeks 😂.”

The final four contenders who will enter Phoenix Raceway in November will vie for a championship solely in one race. The total worthlessness of their yearlong consistency at that point is the focus of fans’ intense debate. Denny Hamlin warned NASCAR to change things soon for the sake of popularity: “Do the right thing sooner than later, it would be my suggestion… don’t just say, ‘Well, I’ll take the next exit.’ Well, no, you can turn around right here. No, I just don’t feel like turning around right now. And now you’re six minutes (to your destination). It just… the road back is a little longer, a little tougher.”

Evidently, NASCAR may delay one more year to introduce the necessary tweaks. Nevertheless, what matters is that changes are on the way.