What’s Happening?

When planning a new schedule, NASCAR considers all possibilities. This year, NASCAR took the opportunity to change the Playoffs dramatically, and in doing so, they may have created the craziest playoff schedule ever.

• The NASCAR Cup Series playoff is the format that NASCAR utilizes to crown its champion at the end of the season. The current system came into play in 2014. The ten-race format consists of three three-race rounds and one winner-take-all finale. In each round, four of the sixteen drivers face elimination. Winning in the 26-race regular season locks a driver into the playoffs, and in each round of the playoffs, a win locks you into the next.
• The NASCAR Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series also utilize this format. The Xfinity Playoffs start later than the other series, as they have a seven-race, three-round, 12-car playoff that follows the same idea as the Cup Series. The Truck Series also features a three-round, ten-race playoff. However, it features just ten drivers.
• In all three series, NASCAR seems to like to make the playoffs as chaotic as possible. The potential for any driver locked into the playoffs to win in each round is a must, and next year is the definition of that philosophy.

The Round of 16

This year, the Round of 16 features Atlanta, Watkins Glen, and Bristol, already pretty crazy. Next year, this round will feature three tracks that have had multiple different winners in their last few races.

The cutoff race is the last race before the playoffs. In the past, it has been on a short track. However, from 2020 to 2023, Daytona hosted the cutoff for the Cup Series.

The benefit NASCAR saw in moving Datytona to that spot was the chaos of one last Superspeedway race with everything on the line. In the first season, William Byron won his first race and shook up the playoffs.

Darlington took over this season for complex scheduling reasons involving the Olympic break. However, Daytona is back at the cutoff in 2025.

NASCAR adds Darlington back to the playoffs as the opener in 2025, and as Marty Smith says in NASCAR: Full Speed, “If you disrespect the Lady in Black, she’s gon bite your ass.” The egg-shaped track has seen lots of drama in the past, and 2025 will be no different.

WWT Raceway, just outside of St. Louis, joins the playoffs as well. Earlier this year, WWT saw a dramatic finish, with leader Christopher Bell having engine troubles as the race wound down and second-place Ryan Blaney running out of fuel, leaving the race in Austin Cindric’s hands.

The Round of 12

This year, the Round of 12 is the chaos round, featuring Kansas, Talladega, and the Charlotte Roval. Next year, very few changes will happen in Round 12.

Kansas remains in its spot after its thrilling finish this spring. Many fans were calling for it to be the championship race, but of course, that wouldn’t happen. Though it is a fun concept to think about.

The only addition to this Round is New Hampshire. New Hampshire has a history of underdog winners, like young Joey Logano, Brian Vickers at Michael Waltrip Racing, and Aric Almirola in 2021.

New Hampshire replaces Talladega next season for reasons we will address shortly.

The Round of 12 in 2025 features another dramatic finale, much like Bristol in the first Round. It gets a bit wilder this time as the Charlotte Roval returns for its seventh race despite rumors of it reverting to the oval.

The Roval is the idea of Playoff chaos built into a track’s design. However, in past years, the racing has seen a fall from its early iterations. In 2025, NASCAR added Roval to the Truck Series playoffs, making it a triple-header weekend.

The Round of 8

The Round of 8 has tame beginnings in 2025, with drivers rolling the dice in Las Vegas, just like this year. However, it turns into chaos from there.

No matter what tracks NASCAR features in the final elimination round of the playoffs, it will be chaotic. Drivers are beating and banging, hoping to get into the Championship 4 at Phoenix.

This year, the track is rather tame and full of good racing rather than chaotic tracks. Las Vegas and Homestead will put on competitive, fun races this year, while next year, Vegas will be the only of the two left.

Talladega, yes, that Talladega, joins the final elimination round of the playoffs in 2025. Crazier than Daytona and even crazier in the playoffs, NASCAR is showing that it wants as many highlights, clicks, and views as possible for the late playoff rounds.

With the casual fan tuning in for Talladega, NASCAR is trying to court more fans for the Championship race, now one race after Talladega in 2025. There would be no overlap in that one-race gap, as the race after Talladega can be chaotic as well while somehow being more out of control.

Once again, as tradition, NASCAR sends all three series to the paper clip for its final race of the final elimination round. Martinsville has something important happen almost every year. Be it Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano, Hail Melon, or the now back-to-back seasons of Xfinity Series teammates having it out.

This all, of course, for a spot in the winner-take-all finale at Phoenix. That race has come down to the final corner several times in the past few seasons, making the 2025 NASCAR Playoffs one for the record books.

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