NASCAR Playoff 2026 Rules, Format, Schedule, Prize Money and Predictions

Sixteen drivers will compete across 10 races between Sunday and November 8 to determine the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series champion.

The Chase begins on Sunday night at Darlington Raceway with Denny Hamlin atop the points standings.

Hamlin topped the points standings at the end of the regular season. He will at least begin the postseason in that position.

The points standings were reorganized after the regular-season finale at Daytona last weekend. There is a 100-point difference between Hamlin and Ryan Preece in 16th place

The driver with the most points among the 16 playoff participants at the end of the November 8 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway will be crowned champion.

NASCAR Playoffs Format

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The NASCAR Cup Series reverted back to the Chase playoff format that it used a decade ago.

Sixteen drivers are eligible to win the championship. They all qualified through the top 16 spots in the regular-season points standings.

Unlike the previous format, there are no eliminations during the playoffs.

Denny Hamlin, the regular-season points winner, starts the Chase with 2,100 points. Ryan Blaney in second now has 2,075 points. Tyler Reddick in third has 2,065 points. There's a five-point drop to every competitor starting with Reddick in third place.

The winner of each postseason race takes home 55 points. The points structure remains the same for every other position. For example, second place gets 35 points, third place received 34 points and so on.

Stage points are still available in every race as well. Drivers receive 10 points for winning a stage. Only the top 10 drivers after a stage earn points.

The Chase winner will earn an additional $1 million on top his winnings for the 2026 season.

NASCAR Playoffs Schedule

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Sunday, September 6: Southern 500 (Darlington) 5 p.m. ET, USA

Sunday, September 13: Enjoy Illinois 300 (WWT Raceway) 3 p.m. ET, USA

Saturday, September 19: Bass Pro Shops Night Race (Bristol) 7:30 p.m. ET, USA

Sunday, September 27: Hollywood Casino 400 (Kansas) 3 p.m. ET, USA

Sunday, October 4: South Point 400 (Las Vegas) 5:30 p.m. ET, USA

Sunday, October 11: Bank of America 400 (Charlotte) 3 p.m. ET, USA

Sunday, October 18: Freeway Insurance 500 (Phoenix) 3 p.m. ET, USA

Sunday, October 25: YellaWood 500 (Talladega) 2 p.m. ET, NBC

Sunday, November 1: Xfinity 500 (Martinsville) 2 p.m. ET, NBC

Sunday, November 8: Cup Series Championship Race (Homestead-Miami) 3 p.m. ET, NBC

Predictions

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Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney and Tyler Reddick must be viewed as the favorites to win the Chase because of their regular-season consistency.

Hamlin and Blaney both finished inside the top 10 on 17 occasions. Reddick leads the Cup Series in wins with five.

Hamlin and Blaney are also the only two drivers on the Cup Series circuit to lead over 800 laps this season.

Wins mean more because of the higher point total attached to first place, but consistency is also important to score a decent number of points each week. Hamlin and Blaney proved they could do that in the regular season.

Joey Logano could be considered the dark-horse to watch among the 16 drivers. Logano and Blaney are the only drivers to win multiple races over the last two months.

The three-time Cup Series champion finished inside the top 15 in seven of his last eight starts.

Logano begins the Chase in ninth place, but with no eliminations in the playoffs now, he could make a steady push toward the top.

But it's going to hard for anyone to catch Hamlin, or keep up with his consistency.

Hamlin will also be racing with the added motivation to win his first-ever Cup Series title. He's won everything else in the sport except for the season-long crown.

Prediction: Denny Hamlin Wins Chase