Dale Earnhardt Jr. was one of many icons seated beside NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell when he introduced that the Cup Sequence can be returning to the beforehand used Chase format in 2026. His presence made it clear that he had a vital function to play within the determination.
Junior believes that drivers will place extra significance on each race below the brand new system as a result of the factors they begin securing proper from the Daytona 500 are what’s going to finally resolve in the event that they race for the title or not. Gone are the times when a driver would end final and nonetheless not bat an eye fixed as a result of he is aware of that he solely must win one regular-season race to enter the playoffs.
He mentioned, “Each race goes to matter. Even in case you make the playoffs, some guys in sure areas of that seating are going to have a tougher job than others. The advantages to the top-3, bonus factors, and so forth, by way of how they are going to seed the sphere. The success they’ve within the common season is admittedly going to place them in an unimaginable place to have an opportunity to win the championship.”
