NASCAR restores 10-race 'Chase' championship format - ESPN

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR's nearly two-year study into an overhaul of its championship-deciding format concluded Monday with the reveal that in 2026 the stock car series will return to a 10-race version closely resembling the very first iteration introduced 22 years ago.

The system will return to a 10-race format consisting of the top 16 drivers in the regular-season standings. There will be no driver eliminations every three races, winning will be incentivized and its name will return to «The Chase.» The driver with the most points at the Nov. 8 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway will be the champion.

The changes come amidst fan complaints to periodic tweaks over changes to the system that was largely unchanged from its 2004 introduction to 2013, when Jimmie Johnson won six of his record-tying seven championships.

Changes slowly followed, with eliminations, an expanded field, a win-and-in guarantee and finally a winner-take-all season finale.

Fans had grown weary of the changes. Regular-season victories guaranteed a slot in the 10-race playoffs, a win in any of the first three three-race rounds advanced a driver into the next round, while the bottom three drivers at the end of each round were eliminated.

Finally, the winner was simply the highest-finishing driver among four remaining title contenders in the season finale. That system reached its breaking point in November when Denny Hamlin dominated the race until a late caution changed the final sequence and Kyle Larson won his second title by simply finishing ahead of Hamlin despite Larson not leading a single lap at Phoenix Raceway while mired in a 25-race losing streak.

Hamlin had won two playoff races — a Cup Series high six victories on the season — and led 208 of