It was on January 20th, 2004, that the old Chase format first came into existence as the Cup Series championship decider. Over two decades later, NASCAR plays by a different format now. The Chase simply couldn’t keep up with the changing dynamics of the sport and had to be sacrificed in favor of a more cutthroat elimination-style system. However, a major section of fandom wants to bring the Chase back after witnessing significant issues with the current format in 2024.
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According to the original Chase format, the ten drivers who had the most points after the first 26 races of the season got to compete for the title over the last ten races. The driver with the most points at the end of these ten races was crowned as the champion. The multiple rounds that exist today to finally whittle down to the Championship 4 wasn’t in the scene back then.
Fans on X (formerly Twitter) expressed their belief that the Chase format would make things much simpler and straightforward the way things are now. One fan said, “Honestly, this original design was the best setup of the Chase/playoffs era … The best 10 drivers accumulate points over the 10 final races and the best one is the champ. Simple yet effective.”
January 20, 2004: NASCAR announced the creation of the Chase for the Cup
Under this format, 10 drivers made the playoffs, with the champion being the driver who scored the most points in the last 10 races pic.twitter.com/x3TZIhNNte
— nascarman (@nascarman_rr) January 20, 2025
Another added, “NASCAR needs to go back to something similar.” The major criticism against the current system is that it allows a lot to be decided by luck and momentum rather than pure skill. Joey Logano, for instance, won the 2024 championship despite being an underperformer throughout the season.
Kyle Larson, on the other hand, did not make the Championship 4 despite being the most dominant driver of the season with six victory lane visits. Such disappointments are what have led many to want the Chase format back. One fan lamented, “Can we at least go back to this format Such a More simpler time.”
Yet another added, “Better format then what we have now.” Despite these voices of support, it is crucial to look at why NASCAR moved away from the Chase format in the first place. Just like how it was particularly Matt Kenseth who brought this system into place, it was Jimmie Johnson who gave reason to remove it.
The Hendrick Motorsports icon showed sheer dominance when it came to the Chase and grabbed the six Cup Series title by taking advantage of it. The margin of points between him and his competitors was simply too high to be ignored. Moreover, he made NASCAR’s job of putting on an entertaining spectacle a tad bit too difficult.
Bringing the format back means the promotion would potentially be setting itself up for more failure. It is unlikely that it will go down a route that it has already been, however, some sort of change does appear to be on the horizon.
