As the debate over NASCAR’s championship overhaul heats up, veteran driver Kurt Busch has added his own blueprint to the mix. Having lived through nearly every iteration of the sport’s title format, from the grind of the 36-race season to the 10-race Chase and today’s one-race showdown, Busch believes the ideal solution lies somewhere in between.
Advertisement
Speaking on SiriusXM’s The Morning Drive, the 2004 Cup champion opined that no single system strikes the perfect balance between competition, drama, and fairness.
While many fans have called for a return to the traditional full-season points system, Busch isn’t on board. He argued that the long-haul approach, while pure, risks sapping excitement when one driver dominates early, pointing to Formula 1, where drivers often win championships with multiple races to spare, leaving those behind little to fight for.
“I think we need a little bit of a hybrid of what we have currently, versus a full 36-race schedule versus a 10-race playoff format, which is what I won under,” Busch explained. He proposed a “five-race style format” designed to blend season-long consistency with playoff pressure.
“I think you need a five-race style format, and you keep some points from the regular season, but it’s the five races, and you accumulate as many points as you can during those five. If you’re lucky enough to have four or five points in the bank coming into the final race, you use that to your advantage,” Busch added.
The former 23XI Racing driver further admitted that the 10-race Chase was way too long. If it were up to him, he’d cut it in half and make it about variety, different styles of racing every week. Under his vision, the final stretch would feature five distinct tracks: short, intermediate, road course, and superspeedway, ensuring that versatility, not luck, crowns the champion.
#NASCAR – Speaking with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Kurt Busch voiced support for a “hybrid” championship format, such as a shortened Chase.
According to Hauler Talk, discussions are still ongoing regarding the next format. https://t.co/uAst9bgO2l— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) November 12, 2025
It’d be a nod to the sport’s diversity and a direct critique of the single-race format introduced in 2014, which Busch suggested leans too heavily on fortune.
Busch’s comments came amid heightened anticipation over NASCAR’s next move. Managing Director of Racing Communications Mike Forde recently confirmed that the playoff committee has wrapped its meetings, and all feedback from teams and stakeholders has been gathered.
Now, it’s in NASCAR’s hands, and there are announcements to come. While he stated that he doesn’t know when it will be, it could be in two weeks, it could be in two months, but NASCAR wants to make sure they’ve been very thorough on this one.
While Forde wouldn’t commit to a timeline, he hinted that the announcement would come before February’s Clash at the Coliseum, possibly as early as January. What’s almost certain is that NASCAR plans to move away from the one-race championship finale used since 2014, beginning in 2026.
For veterans like Busch, the conversation strikes close to home. Having conquered the 10-race Chase era and witnessed the evolution of the playoff system firsthand, he represents the bridge between generations, someone who understands both the sport’s roots and its modern entertainment demands.
His hybrid model, if ever adopted, could be the middle ground that unites purists and thrill-seekers alike.
As NASCAR inches closer to unveiling its next chapter, Busch’s idea could definitely be seen as a thoughtful compromise, a format that rewards season-long excellence without sacrificing the late-season fireworks that have become the sport’s trademark. In his eyes, five races to decide it all would be the perfect test of mettle, enough to crown a true champion without letting fate steal the final word.
