Reverting to Chase format "the biggest win I've ever had with NASCAR" - Martin

Monday was the biggest win of Mark Martin’s career.

Martin, who last ran a NASCAR race in 2013, could not stop smiling while at the NASCAR production facility as he participated in the press conference announcing the newest NASCAR championship format. The final 10-race chase system, which NASCAR had adopted initially in 2004 but moved away from in 2014, is not the full-season system that Martin hammered the industry about during the playoff committee meetings, but it is enough of a compromise.

He never thought it would get to this point. And he’s happy to be happy with what NASCAR chose instead of what it could have been.

“Try a four-race round instead,” Martin said. “That’s what I was sure we were going to get. That’s what the industry really wanted. Because we fought, we got something that really will work and that will really crown a super fast, really consistent champion, and for me and those fans I represent, a four-race elimination thing wasn’t going to fix much. It would help, but it wouldn’t fix much. This really fixes a lot.”

The process around how a NASCAR champion is crowned was a major point of contention for Martin and others throughout the process. Martin never won a NASCAR title during his career, but felt the sport should play out as naturally as possible, with a mix of awarding wins and consistency.

A chase format focusing on the final 10 races does away with eliminations, resets, and drivers winning their way into the postseason or the next round. The overall body of work is more of a highlight, as is winning a NASCAR race and not being overshadowed by playoff conversation.

“It takes somebody running 18th but advancing into the playoffs and taking away all the glory for whoever won the race,” Martin said. “This is a win. Yeah, 36 (races) would have been great, but this is great. That’s the way I look at it. I look at it kind of like the art of the deal: you go for it all and you go hard and then maybe you get more than four races, and we did.

“The fans that don’t understand weren’t in those meetings, and didn’t know how strongly everyone in those meetings believed that the playoffs were crucial, that eliminations were critical. That’s what those fans were fighting against, and that’s what I was fighting against. I think it’s a miracle that we came this far because, honestly, NASCAR never listened to me when I raced. They listened to a few people, but it wasn’t me. So, for me, it’s the biggest win I’ve ever had with NASCAR.”

Martin wasn’t surprised by what NASCAR ultimately settled on, but was admittedly happy. NASCAR decided on the format after weighing the feedback from the playoff format committee, which was formed at the end of 2024. The first meeting was held in the days leading up to the Daytona 500 last year and continued throughout the 2025 season.

“I’m probably (more) happy than surprised, but I’m real surprised,” Martin said. “I did not think that we were going to get this. I truly thought it would be a 4-4-3 or 3-3-4. I actually was afraid it was a 4-4-3; that was floating by prominent people in the industry on the committee … I shouldn’t name names, but maybe even a race car driver. No one thought that we could get to this, I don’t think, no one inside NASCAR really thought we could get to this, and everyone on that committee really wanted to do what television wants and what NASCAR wants.

“I don’t mean that in an ugly way, because that’s how everyone makes their living. When I raced cars, I didn’t speak; I didn’t say the things that Tony Stewart said because I would get fired. My livelihood depended on it. I was the guy on the outside that could yell loud enough that all I could lose was my hardcard. That’s the only thing I could lose."

On Thursday of last week, Tim Clark, NASCAR's chief brand officer and one of the leaders of the committee, called Martin to inform him of the format. It was during that time that Martin was invited to North Carolina (he was in California) for the announcement. Ultimately, because of how hard Martin had pushed for his view and his having already conceded to supporting a 10-race chase, he made the trip.

“Once I started breaking ice after the second committee meeting, I think it started to gain traction and people started to see that there was a stronger sentiment for all of this,” Martin said. “Then it was so crazy, we went into the championship weekend out there at Phoenix and everybody was like, ‘Oh, no. This one might get us.’ And what’s so crazy, even with the playoffs, almost every single year the champion won the race. The first year they announced the playoffs, I was like, ‘Oh, no.’ I saw the worst-case scenario and it never happened, and I was dumb, and I was wrong.

“But it was always there that something could be extremely disappointing, like the Truck race or the Xfinity race, great examples, and a slight example with the Cup race, too. But those other two races, you’re talking about record-setting in every possible form of performance, and those guys should have been the champions. (Corey) Heim almost wasn’t. That was miraculous that he actually saved the day and won it. In our sport, we just want the more traditional type of champion crowned, where they are pretty much the dominant or strongest force through the entire year.”