NASCAR will implement the ‘Chase’ championship format for the 2026 season, but Cup Series driver Kyle Busch isn’t sure if that’s the right way to go. His comments surfaced recently during a virtual interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
The ‘Chase’ is a 10-race playoff format based on a season-long cumulative points structure. Which means that the elimination-style playoffs are gone. After a 26-race regular season, the top 16 drivers with the highest points will make the playoffs, and NASCAR will then crown the Cup Series champion based on total points earned in these final 10 races.
Well, Busch has raced under both formats. Pondering if returning to the old system was really for the best, the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion said,
“I thought we got away from it for a reason in the past, so I’m not real sure why we went back to it.”
“The reason why we sort of went away from it was obviously Jimmy Johnson’s dominance, number one, but I feel like number two is, there were times where guys like myself who would have one bad race or two that would then knock them out of the championship basically,” he added.
Kyle Busch will return in his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevy in 2026. He has been winless since June 4, 2023, when he won the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway. The Las Vegas native will have Jim Pohlman as his new crew chief for the 2026 season, while his old crew chief, Randall Burnett, will head to Trackhouse Racing to assist Connor Zilisch through his rookie Cup season.
The 2026 season officially kicks off with the annual Daytona 500 on February 15. This year marks the 68th running of the crown jewel event. Fans can watch the race live on FOX or listen to radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, starting at 2:30 pm ET.
Kyle Busch Partners With Iconic Kentucky-based Bourbon Company For The 2026 Season
Kyle Busch will have an old sponsor backing him for the 2026 season: Rebel Bourbon, a wheated straight bourbon whiskey company based in Bardstown, Kentucky. Their partnership began in 2024 and, according to the latest news, has been extended through the 2026 season.
RCR and Rebel Bourbon have collaborated on two whiskeys so far: the limited-edition “Kyle Busch 108 Single Barrel Bourbon” and the “Rebel 100 Childress Vineyards Cabernet Franc Barrel Finish”. Reflecting on the renewed partnership, RCR President Mike Verlander said,
“Rebel Bourbon’s approach to racing closely matches their bold but defiantly smooth premium wheated bourbon. Our partnership reflects a shared willingness to challenge convention, and we’re proud to help introduce Rebel’s unmistakably smooth, yet confidently outspoken, spirits to NASCAR fans.”
Kyle Busch’s first race with Rebel Bourbon is at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, in March.
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