The latest episode of the “Hauler Talk” podcast provided a glimpse into the NASCAR playoff committee that held its first meeting two weeks ago at Daytona International Speedway.
The panel of more than two dozen members included active and Hall of Fame drivers, series executives and representatives from manufacturers and the media industry.
NASCAR managing director of racing communications Mike Forde said Joe Gibbs Racing‘s Christopher Bell was among the active drivers on the committee weighing changes to the NASCAR playoffs beginning with the 2026 season.
“NASCAR has really turned to him as a leader in the garage,” Forde said. “I think how he handled the disappointment of Martinsville (missing the championship round after his last-lap move was deemed illegal), we took notice of that. He was vocal and super candid, and I think a lot of people would probably assume that we didn’t care for that, but it‘s the opposite. We met with him in January to talk about where we were with the playoffs and to invite him as part of this committee.
“He did speak up in the committee and gave some ideas that we should maybe think about. Rotation of the championship, for instance, was a big one on his mind.”
Forde said there was no agenda for the opening discussions and described the tenor of the room as civil, educational and wide-ranging.
“You’re looking at about 25 people on the panel from all walks of life, and I was kind of interested to see how it would start,” Forde said. “The first to speak was a retired NASCAR Hall of Famer who had a bunch of very well prepared research, and his idea or pitch was to go back to the 36-race season championship. Others went the opposite direction and said, ‘Well, I like the playoffs. I think that it is important to have eliminations but how will we do it a little bit differently? Is it a seven-race lead-in to a three-race championship?‘ That was one idea that was kicked off. And do we reduce the field from 16 drivers to 12 or 10, as we did in prior iterations of the Chase and playoffs?
“So there was a lot discussed. Step one of the meeting was to really just throw ideas out there good or bad. The goal is a playoff system, whether it’s keeping it or changing it, that crowns a deserving champion but also maintains or elevates fan engagement, whether from a digital or social perspective, or butts in the seats and eyeballs on the television. We want the competition for sure, but we want fans to be really engaged as well.”
Forde and senior director of racing communications Amanda Ellis also explained why NASCAR changed course Sunday in ending the Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway under caution after allowing Saturday‘s Xfinity race to finish under green despite a last-lap wreck.
The Daytona 500 ended under a green flag despite a massive crash coming to the checkered flag. Ellis noted that Daytona International Speedway has more than twice as many cutouts as Atlanta to allow safety vehicles to access the track, “and that alone makes calling those two races exactly the same, in my opinion, very challenging.”
With many calls for a consistent policy in how NASCAR handles last-lap wrecks, Forde said the varying dimensions of race tracks would make consistency difficult and noted the calls could be different this weekend at the Circuit of The Americas road course.
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“There are more run-off areas, so if there is a wreck at the front of the field between two leaders, it might not be a caution because you’ll have to see if the trailing cars are in a precarious position,” Forde said. “At road courses because it’s so spread out, we might be able to keep it green.”
The episode also features an interview with Speedway Motorsports senior vice president of operations and development Steve Swift who reviewed the positive reaction to the reconfiguration of Atlanta Motor Speedway and what might be ahead as the track‘s asphalt quickly ages.
Swift also discussed this weekend‘s overhaul to the NASCAR course layout at COTA, which will be about a mile shorter in distance and nearly 30 laps longer in race length.
Other topics covered during the third episode of “Hauler Talk,” which explores competition issues in NASCAR:
• Dissecting the disqualification of Parker Kligerman‘s Daytona victory being upheld on appeal.
• Fan questions about the length of cautions, why series use different race directors and how track limits will be enforced at COTA.
Click on the embed above to listen or search for “Hauler Talk” wherever you download podcasts to hear it on your phone, tablet or mobile device.
Nate Ryan has written about NASCAR since 1996 while working at the San Bernardino Sun, Richmond Times-Dispatch, USA TODAY and for the past 10 years at NBC Sports Digital. He is a contributor to the new “Hauler Talk” show on the NASCAR Podcast Network. He also has covered various other motorsports, including the IndyCar and IMSA series.
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