NASCAR brings back The Chase format for all three national series in 2026

Here is the big news: NASCAR is bringing back The Chase championship format for all three national series beginning in 2026. This isn't just a simple throwback. It is a modified structure built to give us a larger sample size and reward performance across the entire calendar.

Let's talk numbers, because how drivers get in has fundamentally shifted. For the NASCAR Cup Series, 16 drivers advance to the postseason. The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series gets 12 drivers, and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series features 10. Here is the kicker: “win and in” is completely gone. Qualification is strictly based on the points standings for each national series following the regular-season finale.

The calendar itself brings familiar lengths with entirely new stakes. The Cup Series runs a 26-race regular season followed by 10 Chase races. The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series features nine Chase races, while the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has seven. Once everyone is in, forget about mid-run eliminations, because The Chase features zero eliminations.

Points have also undergone a major shake-up. Wins are now worth a staggering 55 points, a massive jump from the previous 40 points. Every other position keeps the same points, paying 35 for second, 34 for third, 33 for fourth, and downward from there. Stage points remain untouched, handing out 10 points for first, nine for second, eight for third, and so on. The clear intent here is to force drivers to hunt for wins rather than just coasting on accumulation, keeping aggressive racing at the absolute forefront.

Points are re-seeded just once for the start of The Chase, taking shape right after the regular season concludes. The regular-season champion kicks things off with a 2,100-point total, holding a exact 25-point cushion over the second seed. From there, it steps down cleanly: third place starts with 2,065, fourth gets 2,060, and it drops by five-point increments down to 16th place at 2,000 points. The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Craftsman Truck Series follow the exact same seeding scale, just cut off at 12 and 10 drivers respectively.

When all is said and done, whoever accumulates the most points in The Chase following the season finale takes the crown. This whole overhaul emerged from an extensive review involving owners, drivers, OEMs, tracks, broadcast partners, and the fans through an exhaustive Playoff Committee process. They wanted a larger sample size, heavier weight on every single race, and a system that rewards consistency without losing the pure glory of winning.