NASCAR has confirmed a significant change to its format heading as it heads into the final few weeks of the 2026 season postseason races. The sanctioning body has confirmed the removal of both the regular season title and the word "play-off".

And while the likes of Denny Hamlin were not happy with the change, NASCAR's perspective has a different side to it.

On the Hauler Talk podcast, NASCAR's Mike Forde explained the shift: feedback from the playoff committee drove the decision

"Here's where NASCAR stands, in a way: I don't think we care what anyone calls it, really," Forde said on 'Hauler Talk'. "We're not going to call it the 'regular season champion' Forde said on 'Hauler Talk'.We’re not going to call it the ‘regular season champion,’ we’re not going to call it ‘playoffs,’ and that comes from feedback from the playoff committee."

The regular season award was first introduced during the 2017 season for the driver who got the most points before entering the postseason races. Instead of calling the driver with the most points a 'Regular season champion', he will now be addressed as the 'No. 1 seed'.

Now, the playoff committee, which was formed in 2025 and is made up of current and former NASCAR drivers, along with media members, met throughout 2025. And according to Forde, it was the committee and specifically NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin who proposed the idea to get rid of the term playoffs because, according to Martin, race car drivers "don't play in racing. We're racers; we race."

With the term regular season no longer in use, Forde confirmed getting rid of the regular season championship trophy altogether. 

"Regular season champion, there's only one champion per season, and that's the one who takes home the big trophy, so we don't need that anymore either, and that was sort of the feeling with NASCAR as well."

Despite all of these changes, the regular season standings will continue to play a major role in the postseason order. 

Hamlin Reacts: They Don't Want Me to Be a Champion

Just as after any major change, the scrapping of the regular season has also sparked a major debate across the NASCAR world. Denny Hamlin has now weighed in on the same. 

Hamlin, who leads the NASCAR Cup Series drivers' championship with 842 points, spoke about the issue on his podcast, 'Actions Detrimental.' During the podcast, he joked about the same, saying, 

"They don’t want me to be a champion. The one time you win the regular season, they get rid of it."

The No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver has been chasing the championship for several seasons, and just as he was within striking distance of getting it, NASCAR has now announced that it no longer exists. 

Read more at Daytona Racing Digest!   

Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar