Overview

• Executive vice president John Probst has assembled drivers, media, manufacturers and Goodyear representatives to conduct a holistic review of the Cup Series playoff structure for the 2026 season.
• Insiders report near-unanimous support within the committee for moving away from the winner-takes-all finale toward a championship decided over a larger performance sample.
• NBC Sports, which holds a multibillion-dollar contract for the championship rounds, favors retaining the elimination-style playoffs and could limit radical format changes.
• NASCAR has locked in a rotating season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway and is considering adding a 27th regular-season race that would shorten the playoff field to nine races.
• Veteran drivers including Denny Hamlin and Mark Martin have publicly criticized the one-race format for undermining season-long consistency and introducing excessive randomness.