There are now less than six weeks before the 68 running of the Daytona 500 on February 15.

And yet NASCAR has still not announced its expected change to the points format in the Cup Series – as well as other expected similar format changes to the newly christened O’Reilly Series (formerly the Xfinity Series) and the Craftsman Truck Series?

Since the 2025 season ended on November 2, drivers, teams, media, and fans have all spent the last two months anticipating what is going to happen.

Right now, smart money seems to be on the sport going back to its original season-long points system format that was in effect from 1975 through 2003, where the driver who earned the most points in the 36-race points-paying schedule will be crowned the 2026 champion.

If that happens, it likely will also spell the end of the current four-round, 16-driver Cup playoff format (and smaller and shorter playoffs for the O’Reilly and Trucks series) that has been in effect since 2014.

Or will NASCAR keep part of the 10-race Cup playoff format, but also reduce it from its current 16-driver lineup to a 12- or even 10-driver playoff field?

And in so doing, might the current four-round, 3-3-3-1 ten-race system change from a one-race, winner-take-all Championship Four to remain at 10 races but be perhaps a more equitable three- or four-race title-deciding system?

Or will there be another unexpected system that emerges, much like the original Nextel Cup format change in 2004? I still vividly recall how then NASCAR president Brian France shocked the racing world on January 24, 2004 when he announced a new-fangled playoff format that had been under discussion and went through a number of revisions for nearly two years prior.

One thing is almost a certainty: the same points and playoff format we’ve seen since the first playoff format was tweaked in 2014 will not return.

For most of its nearly 80 years of existence, NASCAR as a sanctioning body has long been a creature of habit, with changes typically being conservative and not very radical – at least until the Nextel Cup playoff format was introduced, that is.

When will the new format finally be announced?

So when will NASCAR finally and ultimately announce the points and standings format that the Cup and lower-tier series will invoke for the upcoming 2026 season?

If history is any indicator, I’m betting outgoing NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps — who announced Tuesday that he’ll be leaving the sanctioning body by the end of this month — will finally make the highly anticipated format change on either January 23 or 24, perhaps his last official act as NASCAR’s No. 1 guy.

Hear me out on why I believe that will be the case.

January 23 would be a natural date to take the wraps off the anticipated new scoring format, as it’s also the day of the induction for the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2026.

But does NASCAR really want to take away or detract from the high honors that will be received that night by this year’s inductees, namely Kurt Busch, Harry Gant, Ray Hendrick, and the late Humpy Wheeler?

After all, it’s that foursome’s night. Don’t spoil it for them by talking about 2026.

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Mark January 24th on your calendar

Which leads me to believe that Saturday, January 24 will actually be the day the new format is formally announced.

Think about it: almost all of the folks who traveled to Charlotte for the Hall of Fame induction ceremony — particularly the media – will likely still be in town the next day. It’s a no-brainer to do it that day.

But there’s another reason for the format announcement to be revealed on Jan. 24: history.

When the Chase for the Nextel Cup playoff format was first announced, it took place on January 24, 2004, held during the now-defunct annual NASCAR Media Tour.

But there’s another historic date connection that also makes sense for the format to be revealed on January 24: When Brian France shocked the racing world with his new scoring and championship playoff format, it was three weeks before the 2004 season began on February 15.

Twenty-two years later, guess what date the 2026 NASCAR Cup season begins? Yep, the same as 2004: February 15.

Who says history can’t repeat itself?