Why Bristol Could Be the First Real Test of NASCAR’s New Chase Format
· Yahoo Sports
Two races into NASCAR’s new Chase, the championship standings are already showing how quickly things can change.
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Kyle Larson left Darlington 49 points behind Denny Hamlin. One win at Gateway later, he sits second, just nine points back.
Ryan Blaney experienced the opposite. He entered Gateway 16 points behind Hamlin before a brake failure ended his race in 35th. Now he trails by 33.
Next comes Bristol Motor Speedway, and there is no reset waiting on the other side.
Under NASCAR’s previous playoff format, drivers raced through elimination rounds with points resets along the way. The 2026 Chase is different. After the initial reseeding, all 10 races count toward the same championship total.
That makes Bristol especially interesting.
Hamlin, Larson and Christopher Bell, who sits 18 points back, have some room for an average night. Drivers further down the standings increasingly do not.
William Byron might be the clearest example. An engine failure at Darlington left him 114 points behind Hamlin. He rebounded with a fourth-place finish at Gateway, five spots ahead of Hamlin, yet remains 114 points back.
A good finish alone wasn’t enough to make a dent.
Now the field heads to a track where Larson and Blaney combined to lead 474 of 505 laps this spring before Ty Gibbs won in overtime. Larson led 284 laps and swept both stages, while Blaney led 190.
Bristol used to create pressure because drivers were trying to survive a cutoff. There is no cutoff this time.
Every stage point gained, mechanical failure suffered and position lost Saturday night stays with these drivers for the remaining seven races.
Bristol doesn’t have to end anyone’s championship, but it could make the road to winning one considerably harder.