Overview
- The Cup title will be decided by cumulative points across a 10-race Chase with the top 16 drivers by regular-season points, removing eliminations and the win-and-in berth, and crowning the points leader after the Nov. 8 Homestead finale.
- Race winners will earn 55 points as finishing and stage points stay the same, playoff points are scrapped, and the series will officially use The Chase or postseason instead of playoffs.
- The Chase reseed gives the regular-season leader 2,100 points, second 2,075, third 2,065, and fourth through 16th in five-point increments down to 2,000.
- The 2026 postseason opens Sept. 6 at Darlington and runs through tracks including Bristol, Kansas, Las Vegas, the Charlotte ROVAL, Phoenix, Talladega, and Martinsville before the Nov. 8 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
- Parallel formats will run in other national series in 2026, with the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series using a 12-driver, nine-race Chase and the Craftsman Truck Series a 10-driver, seven-race Chase.