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Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin Heap Praise On New NASCAR Championship Format

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
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Dale Earnhardt Jr.

No one seems any happier about NASCAR’s revamped championship format for 2026 than former Cup Series drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin.

NASCAR tabbed both to be part of a formal Playoff Committee that offered key recommendations to the sport’s top executives over the last few months about the best way to crown a champion of the sport’s three major stock car divisions.

So, it was fitting that Earnhardt and Martin attended Monday’s formal championship format announcement at the NASCAR Productions Facility in Concord, North Carolina. And it was also appropriate that Earnhardt and Martin — two fan-favorites whose driving careers overlapped by nearly 15 years in the 2000s and early 2010s — had a lot to say.

In short: The two couldn’t be much more pleased with the changes. In totality, the revised format represents a rather radical shift from how championships have been decided over the last dozen years. And not just in the NASCAR Cup Series. It also goes for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts (formerly Xfinity) Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Glad New Format Demands Excellence Throughout Season

Under the championship format used in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2014-2025, a driver could perform just OK in the regular season and still make the season-ending 10-race playoff as long as they won a race in the first 26 events.

But under the new format, which NASCAR has dubbed “The Chase” just as it did from 2004-2013, a regular season win doesn’t guarantee entry into the playoffs. Instead, the 10-race playoff will consist of the 16 drivers with the highest point totals at the end of the regular season.

“It makes it simpler for our fans to follow,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “I’m a fan of the sport. And now I’m compelled to plug in every single week, because I know there’s a long-form objective for my driver to accomplish to be able to give himself the opportunity to win the championship.

“So, even though my driver may have success early on in the season, it does not assure him success in the postseason. … Every single race, every single lap will have more importance.”

Although victories will still be meaningful, consistency will be at a higher premium. And not just in the regular season. That’s because the new playoff won’t feature elimination rounds or a Championship 4 like the old one.

Put succinctly, the driver with the most points when the playoffs end will be the champion.

“I love the idea that, once we do get to the Chase, we just get to sit back and watch these guys go at it for 10 races,” Earnhardt said. “And they have to put together the full body of work. I feel like whoever can accomplish that can feel pretty darn good about what they’ve done at the end of the day.”

Mark Martin: New NASCAR Championship Format Good For All

Like two-time Daytona 500 winner and 15-time Most Popular Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin pushed NASCAR to abandon the playoff concept completely and return to the full-season championship format used for decades leading up to the introduction of a Cup Series playoff in 2004.

Although Martin — along with Earnhardt and many traditional NASCAR fans — ultimately didn’t get their wish, Martin believes NASCAR struck a fair compromise. Sure, the 16 playoff drivers will still have their point totals reset after the 26-race regular season. Conceptually-speaking, that’s not changing.

But how drivers perform throughout the regular season will now have far more impact on their championship bid. The same is true for how they fare over the entire 10-week playoff stretch.

“I think that it is the best possible scenario that you could have asked for,” said Martin, a NASCAR Hall of Famer and 40-time Cup Series winner. “After the second meeting that we had (with NASCAR), I was still convinced that we couldn’t even get to this. I am so happy.

“Everyone wins with this format. Everyone. The fans win. They were heard. They win. The drivers, the teams win. NASCAR wins. Everybody wins. You know, you can’t always have everything you want. I wanted it all. But I’m sure happy.”

With the significant changes to the format, Martin is hopeful that NASCAR will eventually revert to the full 36-race season championship model that doesn’t include a playoff of any kind. But for now, he’s thrilled with where NASCAR landed under the direction of president Steve O’Donnell.

“We’re really lucky to have gotten what we’ve got here,” Martin said. “This is a great compromise, in my eyes. … So, you never know what happens in the future. (Steve) didn’t say that. I did, though.”

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
Jared Turner is a motorsports writer who has covered NASCAR for 20 years. He has interviewed over 20 NASCAR Hall of Famers and around 100 drivers, crew chiefs, and team owners, both past and present. He has also covered the sport for FOX Sports (where he was a two-time recipient of the FOX “X” Award for “Xtraordinary” job performance), NASCAR.com, Sporting News, NASCAR Pole Position Magazine, the SPEED network, and plenty of other online and print-only publications throughout his career. Notably, Jared has penned dozens of articles for NASCAR souvenir programs, including several featured prominently in Daytona 500 keepsakes. A Virginia Press Association award winner and former member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Jared has racked up accolades both for his writing and his academic work. He studied both Communication and Psychology at Virginia Tech, where he was permanently enshrined in Phi Beta Kappa — the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Jared excels at feature writing and opinion writing, much of which stems from his dedication to all levels of racing.
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