After the release of 2026 schedule for all three national divisionsNASCAR’s Executive Vice President and main site and racing innovation officer, Ben Kennedy participated in the availability of media to discuss some changes. He joined Jusan Hamilton, Managing Director, Competition Operations.
Along with schedule-specific questions, Kennedy was also asked about the playoff format for 2026, which has been a matter of intense debate in the summer months. NASCAR’s official social media graphic lists the normal eradication-style round, but Kennedy revealed that the format is not yet set in the stone.
“It’s not yet,” Kennedy said when Bob Pokress of Fox Sports asked about being closed in the format. “I know that the Playoff Committee has held several meetings in various forms in the last several months, which we can see, and they can only run a handful of simulation on different forms, collected some fan reactions.
“I know what the future of the playoff format looks like, is talking a few days ago. There is nothing to announce today. What will I say, however, do we want to make sure that we take time to correct it, to collect as much information as we can, and hopefully it is a new format, if it is a new format, it is a long time.
“We want to be thoughtful and hardworking about it, make sure we take the right decisions and walk and give something to our fans and our competitors that they can really be proud to move forward. Proceed to come on it in future.”
What can change?
While no details have been revealed by the approved body, there are many options of current format that are constantly in public discussions: 1. Keeping the current format in mind, but remove the closing of one-grape and expand it to many races like the previous round; 2. The crown champion of return to the original playoff format with the driver with the most points during the final ten races; 3. Like the series, a full-season issue was going back to the championship, the series was from 1949 to 2003.
The main issue with the current format, Which has given some incredible moments like Ross Chastain’s 2022 Wall-RideIt is that it often produces a champion that was not actually one of the best drivers from that special season.
Another point of controversy is ‘victory’ and you are in the aspect of the current system. Austin Dillon Richmond entered 28th in numerals, but his impressive victory Knocking Chris Baschar (In the 11th issue) Away from the playoff bubble.
If there is a new winner from under the cut-line at the end of this week, it will also end Tyler radic Or Alex bomanThose who enter the seventh and ninth in regular season standing respectively. There are 20 drivers with a chance to do this, going back all the way Codi ware, Who is 36th in the championship standing.
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