Cup Series playoff format revision has Bell fired up for 2026

Christopher Bell is a happy driver going into a new NASCAR Cup Series season.

Bell is fully on board with NASCAR bringing back the 10-race Chase system to determine its champion, after 12 years of a winner-take-all elimination format. It was a format that had worn thin with the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who had publicly expressed that he didn’t feel like it was a legitimate way to crown the champion. A fuller body of work is something that the Bell wanted the sport to adopt.

Behind the scenes, Bell was just as engaging and vocal about the issue, having been involved in the playoff committee that NASCAR created at the end of 2024 and participated with vigor.

“I’m just proud of our sport for listening – not to me, but the whole group and being open to make changes,” Bell said Friday. “I think where they landed is a really, really good spot. I was pro 36 races and having a full-season championship, but where they ended up is pretty much that. I’m super happy with the format.”

The postseason will still be comprised of the season’s final 10 races, but there will not be eliminations. There is also no longer an automatic entry into the postseason with a win. Instead, the championship field will comprise the top 16 drivers in the championship standings. It is a more straightforward system that removes variables that made it convoluted, such as playoff points, resetting after rounds and a one-race finale.

Bell and his No. 20 team have been championship contenders the last four seasons. However, under the previous playoff format, he only competed for the championship in two of those seasons.

“I think this format will take any sort of doubts or ill feelings toward our champion (away), and I think it’s a great move in the right direction,” Bell said. “I think we could potentially see the same few guys running for the championship year in and year out, and that’s the way it should be. We want the best drivers to be able to be the champion.

“I think we’re in a spot now where luck will have far less involvement with who the champion is, and on-track results and performance will (have) a much greater impact than what it was in the past.”

In the last four years, Bell finished no worse than fifth in the championship. He won 12 races in those four seasons.