WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — NASCAR has announced it will take a hard look at the playoff format in 2025 with an eye on potentially making changes for 2026. Whether changes happen remains unknown, but the 2020 Cup Series champion has some strong feelings on the matter.
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"I'm not sure there's a more important decision that we can make in just how we crown our champion every year and making sure that we're not ever doing that the wrong way or taking away from what that means," Chase Elliott told media members on Saturday at Bowman Gray Stadium.
The reason for this discussion is that NASCAR received backlash from fans over the offseason after Joey Logano won his third Cup Series championship since 2018. Some fans expressed frustration about the Team Penske driver making it through the rounds via fuel strategy and the disqualification of another driver.
Other criticism stemmed from Logano reaching the Championship 4 over drivers who had dominated other categories. This includes the winningest driver of the season (Kyle Larson), the driver with the best average finish (Elliott), and one of two drivers to lead more than 1,000 laps (Christopher Bell).
Even though Elliott missed the Championship 4, he doesn't hold any ill will toward his fellow champion. He also doesn't think the criticism is justified.
"I hate that there's been questions that have taken away from Joey (Logano)," Elliott said. "It seems like over the winter, people were asking me about it, and I hate that because it's not his fault.
"He just did the best he could with the format that he was handed, and he did it better than everybody else."
Elliott isn't necessarily opposed to the current elimination format or the Chase that preceded it. He's achieved success in the elimination format by winning one title and reaching the Championship 4 in three seasons.
He will follow whatever rules are set in front of him, and he will try to do whatever it takes to add another championship trophy to his collection.
The biggest thing for the Hendrick Motorsports driver is that NASCAR does not take away from what makes the historic racing series special for its teams, drivers, and fans.
"I just think that, long-term, whatever decision that they want to make or whatever decision that they do make, I just want to make sure, kind of what we were alluding to earlier, that the sport is getting better and that these prestigious moments are always prestigious and we're never taking away from that because that, to me, is what makes this deal special," Elliott said.
