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Following 26 regular-season races, the NASCAR postseason has arrived with a revamped Chase format and the elimination of, well, eliminations.

The Chase kicks off Sunday, Sept. 6 at Darlington Raceway, the first of 10 postseason races. But the playoff format, which the Cup Series had used since 2014, has been scrapped. That means no more driver eliminations after every three races, and, perhaps more important, no more championship race.

Instead, NASCAR is reverting to the Chase format it first implemented in 2004, with the season championship determined by the driver who scores the most points through all 10 postseason races, rather than an end-of-season championship race contested by four drivers.

What remains from the previous iteration of the playoffs is the number of drivers who advanced to the postseason. Sixteen drivers will battle for the 2026 Cup Series title, but unlike the past 12 years, there won't be elimination races that cut the contenders down from 16 to 12 to eight to four.

Points were reset for the 16 Chase drivers, with Denny Hamlin, who is still seeking the first championship of his brilliant career, topping the standings entering the postseason. Ryan Blaney, the 2023 champion, enters the Chase ranked…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/sports/