Whether it is the NFL, NBA, MLB, or any other major sports league, every one of them has a playoffs. At the end of the playoffs, one team is hoisting a championship trophy, whether it be for the Super Bowl, the NBA finals, or the World Series.
Since 2004, NASCAR has had its own version as playoffs. While it has undergone changes throughout the years, the sport’s postseason is widely known as The Chase. It is a 10-race, playoff-style run that ends with one driver holding up the championship trophy.
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For newcomers to NASCAR, they might be unfamiliar with what The Chase is or how it works. Here is everything you need to know about NASCAR’s version of the playoffs.
NASCAR Chase explained
The Chase, formerly known as The Chase for the NASCAR Nextel/Sprint Cup and simply the NASCAR Playoffs, is a 10-race stretch at the end of the season that determines the sport’s champions. NASCAR has a Chase for all three of its top series — the Cup Series, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and the Craftsman Truck Series.
In the Cup Series, the sport’s top 16 drivers in any given season make the Chase. The Chase field is determined by whoever is in the top 16 in the Cup Series points standings at the end of NASCAR’s regular season, which is the first 26 races of the campaign.
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Then, the points are reset for the 10-race postseason. Seeding is determined by finishing position in the points standings at the end of the regular season. For instance, Denny Hamlin secured the top seed for the Chase after building a massive points lead throughout the regular season.
Because of this, Hamlin will start next week’s Chase first in the points standings with a 25-point advantage over second place. The third place driver in the standings starts 35 points behind first place. Then, every driver from 4th-16th will be separated by five points apiece.
At the end of the 10-race Chase, whoever had scored the most points will be crowned the champion.
Evolution of NASCAR’s Chase
While that is the current Chase format, NASCAR’s version of the playoffs has evolved over the years.
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In 2004, NASCAR decided to implement the Chase to try and spice things up at the end of the season. The Chase field originally started with 10 drivers, with the highest points scorer winning the championship at the end of the 10-race period. In 2006, NASCAR expanded the Chase field from 10 drivers to 12 drivers.
The sport added an extra wrinkle to The Chase in 2011, called the “wild card rule.” Instead of the top-12 making The Chase on points, only the top 10 would make it via points, while two drivers with the most wins between 11th and 20th in the standings would make the cut as one of the two “wild cards.”
In 2014, NASCAR did a complete overall of The Chase. Commonly known as the “win-and-your-in” format, the Chase field was expanded to 16 drivers. If a driver won a race, they were Chase eligible. In the Chase, four drivers would be eliminated every three races until they were left with four drivers for the championship race.
The highest finisher among the championship contenders in the race would be declared the champion. In 2017, NASCAR dropped The Chase name and simply coined it the NASCAR Playoffs. Prior to this season, NASCAR reintroduced the old Chase points format and brought back The Chase name.
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