Now that the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Committee has met for the last time, the final decision on a new championship format will head to the executive level.
“The next step is NASCAR is going to get its leadership in position and really have a discussion and lock ourselves in a room and figure it out from there,” NASCAR managing director of communications Mike Forde said on the latest episode of the “Hauler Talk” podcast. “Take all the feedback from the committee and come up with the best decision for the entire sport and our fans moving forward.”
Forde said there will be no further news on the future of the playoffs until after the 2025 champion is crowned in the Nov. 2 season finale at Phoenix Raceway.
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“We don’t want to announce a format prior to Phoenix and then have everyone either devalue this year’s championship or sort of make another set of points of who would be the champion if a new format was in place,” Forde said. “So I think that would be after this year.”
Forde said NASCAR‘s board of directors, which consists of Jim France, Lesa France Kennedy, Gary Crotty, Steve Phelps and Mike Helton, likely would have the final approval of a change to the playoffs.
During the Sept. 17 meeting of the Playoff Committee, Forde said there was support from several members for reverting to a full-season champion (which was how NASCAR determined the title until 2004), but others lobbied for keeping some form of the playoffs. Forde noted a track president said fan interest spiked in playoff races, making it easier to sell tickets.
There also was debate about the clarity of playoff points and possibly replacing them with more points for a win.
Forde said a four-race championship round also was considered.
“I would be very surprised if the one-race championship is still around,” Forde said. “That was a big talking point of we need a bigger sample size if we‘re going to keep the playoffs, and the championship needs to be more than one race.”
During the podcast, Forde and NASCAR senior director of racing communications Amanda Ellis also were joined by NASCAR managing director of aerodynamics Chris Popiela, who discussed the approval process for Ram‘s entry into the Craftsman Truck Series for the 2026 season.
Other topics covered by Forde and Ellis during the 34th episode of “Hauler Talk,” which explores competition issues in NASCAR:
— The performance of a new tire at New Hampshire Motor Speedway that also will be used in the season‘s final two races at Martinsville Speedway and Phoenix Raceway.
— A tire test being scheduled for Bristol Motor Speedway in mid-November.
— A new right-side tire that will be used at Kansas Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
— What happened with Ty Gibbs‘ car after the incident with Denny Hamlin at New Hamsphire.
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 “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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