Dale Earnhardt Jr. Gives His Take on Future Playoff Format

What’s Happening?

During the latest episode of The Dale Jr. Download, Dale Earnhardt Jr. revealed what he thinks is the change that NASCAR will likely make to its playoff format in the near future.

Though the topic has carried over from last November’s season finale in Phoenix and throughout the 2025 season, fans and industry members continue to discuss potential changes to the NASCAR playoff format.

Of course, NASCAR did not shy away from the topic either this year, even going as far as to create a committee to help discuss potential changes to the playoffs. 

Though this committee has no official say over NASCAR’s final decision on its playoff format, this hasn’t kept members of the committee from openly speaking about it’s meetings and what direction they think NASCAR could head with the playoffs in the future.

During a discussion about the playoffs on his podcast, The Dale Jr. Download, Dale Earnhardt Jr, whom many suspect to be a member of the playoff committee, said that he believes NASCAR is comfortable going forward with some form of “adjustment“ to the current system.

“I just feel like the change is coming. And I think that NASCAR has warmed up to the idea that they’re hearing enough to convince them that they probably do need to make an adjustment. What that is, I would say if I had to guess, we’re looking at probably a three or four-race round to decide the title.” — Dale Earnhardt Jr

Though it may not be the overhaul that some fans and industry members have wanted, Earnhardt, like other industry members before him, thinks that this change could be an expansion of the final round of the playoffs. 

Expanding the Round of Four?

While there are many suggestions to modify the current format, the most persistent is a simple expansion of the number of races that decide the champion. 

For the majority of NASCAR’s history, the champion was decided by all 36 races, but that shifted to 10 races with the introduction of the Chase in 2004, and with the introduction of the playoff format in 2014, down to just one race.

When discussions about changing the format picked back up after Joey Logano‘s improbable championship win last season, many suggested this to be the easiest change as it would satisfy NASCAR’s want for a close finish in the points and, in the eyes of some, re-legitimize the champion.

Despite Earnhardt’s guess, discussions are still ongoing between NASCAR and its stakeholders, and with just 10 races left on the 2026 season, the sport has yet to announce any changes to the format.

Nonetheless, NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell has recently teased that the sport could even try different formats across. It’s three NASCAR national series in 2026. Though once again, this is not confirmed to be a set plan.

For rumors, news, and background information on NASCAR 2025 review of its playoff format, make sure to check out the article linked in the section above.

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