The NASCAR Cup Series version of the playoff system is often called the Chase for the Cup. It includes sixteen drivers who compete for the championship in the final ten races of the Cup Series. The publicly stated purpose for the NASCAR playoff system was to make the NASCAR mid-season more competitive, and increase fan interest and television ratings. The timing of the start of the playoff coincides with the commencement of the college and National Football League seasons and the final month of Major League Baseball's regular season and playoffs.
Prior to this format, the Cup champion was sometimes determined mathematically prior to the season finale. This situation continued to exist in the lower national series, the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and Craftsman Truck Series, until they received their own playoff formats in 2016. By resetting and compressing the scoring of the top 10 (later 12, then 16) drivers, the chances of each of those drivers winning the championship was increased. The original choice of top 10 drivers was based on historical analysis that no driver outside the top 10, with 10 races remaining in the season, had ever gone on to win the Championship. The expansion to top 16 in 2014 made the elimination rounds possible.
Short track racing, the grassroots of NASCAR, began experimenting with ideas to help the entry-level racer. In 2001, the United Speed Alliance Racing organization, sanctioning body of the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, devised a five-race system. This system involved the top teams in their Hooters ProCup North and Hooters ProCup South divisions participating in a five-race playoff, the Four Champions. The 2001 version was four races, as one was canceled because of the September 11 terrorist attacks. NASCAR watched as the ProCup's Four Champions became a success.
The playoff system has been referred to as "the Matt Kenseth Rule" as a result of Kenseth's championship in 2003, the year prior to NASCAR adopting the playoff system. In 2003, Kenseth won the championship with just one race win along with 25 top-ten finishes, leading the championship for 33 races. Ryan Newman won eight races that year but failed to finish several races due to crashes and ended the season sixth in the drivers' championship. NASCAR indicated that the 2003 championship outcome was not the driving factor in establishing the playoffs, as they had been considering adjustments to the points system since 2000. "The Matt Kenseth Rule" more properly refers to the NASCAR numerical scoring system implemented for the 2004 season, which increased the points awarded to race winners.
The playoffs system was announced on January 21, 2004, as the "Chase for the Championship," and first used during the 2004 Nextel Cup season. The format used from 2004 to 2006 was modified slightly starting with the 2007 season. A major change to the qualifying criteria was instituted in 2011, along with a major change to the points system. Even more radical changes to the qualifying criteria, and to the format of the playoffs itself, were announced for the 2014 Sprint Cup Series.
As of 2014, the 10-race playoff format involved 16 drivers chosen primarily on wins during the "regular season." If fewer than 16 drivers won races during the regular season, the remaining field was filled on the basis of regular season points. These drivers competed against each other while racing in the standard field of 40 cars. The driver with the most points after the final 10 races was declared the champion. Beginning with the 2008 Sprint Cup Series, the playoffs became known by its new name as a result of the merger of Nextel Communications with Sprint Corporation.
Starting in the 2004 season, after the first 26 races, all drivers in the Top 10 and any others within 400 points of the leader earned a berth in the chase. All drivers in the chase had their point total adjusted. The first-place driver in the standings began the chase with 5,050 points, the second-place driver started with 5,045, and so on.
In 2007, NASCAR expanded the field of contenders to the top 12 drivers in the points standings after the first 26 races. Each driver's point total reset to 5,000 points, with a ten-point bonus for each race won. The provision admitting all drivers within 400 points of the leader into the chase was dropped. Brian France explained that NASCAR made the changes to put a greater emphasis on winning races.
The chase format was again modified for the 2011 season, as was the point system for winnings. After 26 "regular season" races, the top 10 drivers automatically advanced. These drivers were joined by two "wild card" qualifiers, specifically the two drivers ranked from 11th through 20th in drivers' points who had the most regular-season race wins. The 12 drivers' championship points were reset to a base of 2,000 per driver. Each of the 10 automatic qualifiers received a bonus of 3 points for each win during the regular season, while the two wild card qualifiers received no bonus.
An exception to this rule was in 2013, where the chase field was expanded to 13 drivers for that season only as the result of a match fixing scandal. This involved Clint Bowyer's spin at the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway, which was believed to be an attempt to manipulate the finish to help his Michael Waltrip Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. clinch a wild card spot over Ryan Newman. NASCAR issued severe penalties to MWR, docking all three MWR teams 50 owner/driver points. The field was expanded to 13 with the addition of Jeff Gordon on September 13, as NASCAR chairman Brian France invoked his power to expand the chase field in exceptional circumstances.
On January 30, 2014, a new chase system resembling playoff systems in other major league sports was announced. The chase field was expanded to 16 drivers for the 10-race chase, chosen primarily on wins during the "regular season." This new playoff system instituted three "cuts" where drivers are eliminated from title contention as the chase progresses. In each cut, the bottom four drivers are eliminated after the third race. The round names were removed starting in 2016, being changed to "Round of 16," "Round of 12," "Round of 8," and "Championship 4."
The previous championship format, renamed NASCAR Playoffs, was maintained for the 2017 season, but with changes. A revised regular-season points system was adopted, splitting races into three stages. Playoff points are awarded during the regular season for winning stages, winning races, and finishing the regular season in the top 16 on the championship points standings. If a driver qualifies for the championship, these playoff points are added into their point totals after the resets for the first 3 rounds. For the Championship 4 (final race), there are no bonus points involved, and the highest finishing driver of the 4 is declared the champion.
The previous championship format is maintained, but a few changes were added to the design touches on the cars involved in the playoffs. For the 2018 season, NASCAR collaborated with the Race Team Alliance and Twitter to unveil customized hashtags and emojis for the top 16 drivers entering the playoffs. For 2020, the banners of drivers in the playoffs read "Playoffs" instead of "Cup Series," while in 2021 playoff drivers have yellow windshield banners and rear spoilers. In 2022, NASCAR added a clause that reserved their right to ban drivers/teams from competing in the playoffs if an L3 violation was found on their car. For 2023, NASCAR removed the requirement that drivers had to be at least 30th in the standings to be eligible for the playoffs by way of a race victory. In 2025, a rule change was made where drivers granted a playoff waiver for reasons other than medical or family-related would lose all their playoff points.
The championship format was reformatted and went back to being called The Chase. In the Cup Series, 16 drivers still qualify for the Chase, but no cutoffs are applied and a race win does not qualify a driver for the Chase. All drivers have their points reset to a minimum of 2,000 points, with the regular season champion given an additional 100 points; 2nd to 15th also get additional points depending on their position.
The following are the ten race tracks at which the final ten NASCAR Cup Series races for the Championship are held. Texas Motor Speedway was added in 2005 as a result of the outcome of the Ferko lawsuit which eliminated Darlington Raceway by NASCAR. Also, by way of a 3-way track change, Talladega Superspeedway moved to a later date, Atlanta Motor Speedway moved to the Labor Day weekend date, and Auto Club Speedway moved to a later date inside the chase (starting 2009).
In 2011, as part of a substantial schedule realignment, Auto Club Speedway lost its playoff date, and Chicagoland Speedway became host of the playoff opener. In 2018, New Hampshire lost its playoff date, and Las Vegas replaced it as the playoff opener. In 2020, Homestead-Miami no longer hosted the final race of the season, and the final race is now held in Phoenix. Darlington became the host of the playoff opener. In 2024, Atlanta's second race moved to early September, opening the playoffs. In 2025, Atlanta, Watkins Glen, and Homestead–Miami races were removed from the playoffs, and Gateway and Loudon joined the playoffs. In 2026, Homestead-Miami Speedway will return as the season finale in a new rotational system.
On January 19, 2016, NASCAR announced the introduction of a playoff format for the Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series. Both series used the same elimination formula as the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, but with modifications. In the Truck playoffs, there were only eight drivers eligible for the title. On January 21, 2020, NASCAR announced that the playoff field for the truck series would expand from eight drivers to ten drivers. The Xfinity playoffs had twelve drivers, and the bottom four in points were eliminated at the end of each round.
As the playoff format for the Cup Series was reformatted back into The Chase in 2026, it was announced that the now-O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and Craftsman Truck Series would also receive Chases of their own, albeit with modifications. Cup Series drivers are prohibited from racing in lower series' Chase races as an anti-Buschwhacking measure.
The NASCAR playoffs has been criticized as a "gimmick" to the sport and has been questioned over whether it is fair. In 2020, Kevin Harvick dominated for most of the season, winning nine races, but was eliminated during the final "Round of 8" race at Martinsville Speedway. After the race, Kevin Harvick remarked that winning the NASCAR championship "aren’t like winning like Petty and Earnhardt used to win them."
Criticism by fans and media members grew late in the 2025 season as drivers Corey Heim and Connor Zilisch dominated the Craftsman Truck Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series, respectively. Zilisch lost the final race and the championship to Jesse Love. Denny Hamlin dominated the final NASCAR Cup Series race of the 2025 season at Phoenix but a late caution cost him the lead. William Byron, who was also competing for the championship, brought out the late caution after crashing. Kyle Larson said that winning the championship was a "weird feeling." NASCAR president Steve O'Donnell said the format would be changing for the 2026 season.
Matt Crafton's Truck Series title in 2019 has also been used to argue that the format can produce a winless champion. Kyle Busch's 2015 Cup Series title, and NASCAR's decision to grant him a waiver preventing him from missing the playoffs, was criticized due to him missing 11 races due to an injury. Another source of criticism is that media/broadcast attention would shift towards playoff contenders. Critics have noted that the format encouraged more aggressive driving and manipulation of penultimate races.
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