Rumor Mill: NASCAR Could Add More Drivers to Final Round of 2026 Playoffs

What’s Happening?

More and more rumors continue to emerge about what a new potential NASCAR Playoff Format could look like, and this time, it looks like NASCAR could be changing the number of drivers in the final round if they do move to a new system.

Last week, NASCAR insider Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic caught the eyes and ears of the NASCAR community by proposing a hypothetical NASCAR Playoff Format on Door Bumper Clear.

The format proposed by Bianchi in a tongue-in-cheek manner would see NASCAR move to a four race finale, or a 3-3-4 format for the playoffs, as opposed to the current 3-3-3-1, or single race finale. While Bianchi did not directly say this was the format NASCAR is looking at, most fans and his DBC co-hosts seemed suspicious of his proposal.

Though Bianchi wasn’t the first to mention a four-race final round, but with the idea has come more questions, with fans wondering how this format will affect the number of drivers in the final round, such as wondering if it will be five, four, or three drivers racing for the championship.

A potential answer to those questions may have come in this week’s episode of DBC, when veteran NASCAR Spotter Freddie Kraft claimed that he has heard the total number of drivers in the final round could even jump to six. “If we go to a four race round, I think it’s going to be, the rumors I’ve heard, six drivers, probably,” Kraft said.

While this is just a rumor and should be approached with caution, the potential for a dramatic expansion of the final round has the NASCAR fan base talking.

What Could This Format Look Like?

Throughout the 2025 season, NASCAR and a playoff committee of industry stakeholders have discussed potential changes to the playoff format. While this committee doesn’t have final say, the workshop mentality has centered NASCAR’s attention on changes such as expanding the number of races that crown a champion.

Expanding to a 3-3-4 format not only does this, but if it were to feature six drivers, it would address another issue often mentioned during playoff discussions, advancing through the playoffs by winning.

Under the current format, three drivers can lock themselves into the championship race by winning in the Round of Eight, with one getting in on points. Sometimes, this has seen a group of four deserving drivers advance, while other times, drivers miss the championship race, like Kevin Harvick did during his 2020 career-best season due to three new winners in the Round of Eight.  

If NASCAR were to go to the 3-3-4 format and expand the final round to six drivers by presumably eliminating five drivers in the first two rounds, this system could maintain the win and advance concept and guarantee the three best drivers on points to advance.

What Do We Know About This Rumor?

While the rumor mill may suggest that NASCAR is settling in on this as their new format, it is important to note that NASCAR officials claim the sport is still not set on one format, as NASCAR’s Managing Director of Communications, Mike Forde, claimed last week that the committee has one more meeting this week.

During this meeting, Forde said NASCAR and the playoff committee will “discuss the short list [of] potential formats,” after-which, NASCAR will have the final say in the matter. So, even though a 3-3-4 format with a championship round of six drivers may be in the rumor mill, discussions around other formats are still, as of press time, ongoing.

While there was talk that NASCAR could hold off on a playoff decision until 2026, Forde even suggested that these changes could happen prior to the start of the 2026 season. Nonetheless, fans still eagerly await the fate of the playoff format as it seems more and more likely that change is on the horizon.

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