NASCAR delivered the news everyone around the sport had been waiting years to here, the old single-race championship is gone and “The Chase” is back for the 2026 season. Fans, drivers, racing legends and reports are all celebrating the new changes coming for the 2026 season and beyond, but not everyone will come out a winner from this move.
Let’s dive into the winners and losers from the new NASCAR championship format.
Winner: Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin, the greatest driver in NASCAR history without a championship, has shared his desire to leave the sport in a better place when he retires and steps away from the wheel. After years of publicly advocating for and privately pushing for a change to the NASCAR championship format, he got his wish ahead of his penultimate season. Granted, he still would not be a champion if this version of “The Chase” had been used since 2017, but at the very least, he got what he wanted, and the sport is now in a better place.
Related: New NASCAR Championship Format Revealed, Details on The Chase
Loser: Joey Logano
Team Penske and Joey Logano took full advantage of the system that was in place; no one can fault them for that, and the championships are legitimate. With that said, the three-time Cup Series champion would only have one title under the new Chase format that will be implemented moving forward. We will certainly still see him competing for a championship down the stretch of the final 10 races, but he will be much more of a long shot to win than he has been in past even years.
Read More: Predicting 4 NASCAR Drivers Who Could Be First-Time Winners in 2026
Winner: Chase Elliott
Consistency matters again. While Chase Elliott has only won 3 races in the last three seasons, he’s also been one of the most consistent finishers in NASCAR over that stretch. He’s recorded 38 top-10 finishes and 22 top-fives since 2024, positioning him to be in the top five of the standings come playoff time. From there, given Elliott’s ability to avoid wrecks and the opportunity he’ll have to focus on points in the 10-race chase, there’s a very real possibility that he is a NASCAR Cup Series champion within the next three years.
Read More: NASCAR Power Rankings 2026, 10 Best NASCAR Drivers Entering the Season
Loser: Homestead-Miami Speedway
NASCAR finally awards its championship race to a new venue, and it is the same year that The Chase is brought back. Homestead-Miami Speedway will host the final race of the season, and there is certainly a chance that a handful of drivers are within striking distance of the title. However, it is far from a guarantee. Many championships in recent seasons have been decided by 15 or more points. It could set up a final race in November where someone like Kyle Larson has a sizable lead, and as long as he is inside the top 20, he will be the Cup Series champion regardless of who wins the race or even finishes ahead of him. Homestead-Miami could still sell drama, but the door is now open for a race with low stakes.
Winner: Christopher Bell
Christopher Bell is going to win one under this new NASCAR championship format. As the standings under the new points system from recent years show—as captured by Reddit user mc12313—Bell has been a perennial top-four finisher since 2022. This format is absolutely perfect for him, especially with the added points he could receive for finishing third or better in the regular season. Bell’s first Cup Series title could very well come this season.
Loser: Austin Dillon, Drivers with Smaller Teams
Austin Dillon will not have to worry about a reckless driving incident in the final turn knocking him out of the NASCAR postseason. Realistically, he is unlikely to qualify. The “win-and-in” method is gone, meaning the No. 3 team will have to rely on consistency coming off three consecutive seasons with an average finishing position of 20th or worse. It is a similar story for smaller teams. While a 16-driver field might include someone like Shane van Gisbergen due to the bonus points awarded for winning races, drivers who cling to the hope of a single victory punching their ticket will be out of luck. Moving forward, those 16 spots in The Chase will be dominated by Joe Gibbs Racing (Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe), Hendrick Motorsports (William Byron, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson), 23XI Racing (Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace), and Team Penske (Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano), with Trackhouse Racing (Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen) and RFK Racing (Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski) likely taking up 15 of the 16 spots.
