Kyle Larson has welcomed NASCAR’s decision to bring back The Chase format from 2026, speaking just hours after his win during the opening day of the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa. The 2025 Cup Series champion gave a measured take on why the elimination-style playoffs had reached a natural end and why a longer points-based postseason suits the current generation of cars and teams.
The new playoff system brings back the same structure from 2004, with a few changes. Sixteen drivers will qualify for the Chase instead of 10, and there is no “win-and-in” provision. Wins are awarded 55 points instead of 40, and the standings will not be reseeded after every round, but only once after the regular season. The driver who scores the most points across the final 10 races wins.
Speaking to Matt Weaver of Motorsports after his Chili Bowl race, Larson said the return of The Chase felt like a timely and logical shift:
“I think I’d kind of heard rumors of it for at least a month. And yeah, just happy, right? I think the old playoff system was exciting, but I think it also ran its course. I think the style of what we’re at now, with the race car that we got, I think it deserves a format change.”
Kyle Larson enters the new era as the final champion produced by the elimination-style, winner-take-all system. He sealed his second Cup title, capitalizing on a late overtime restart at Phoenix, which drew criticism. After chasing Denny Hamlin for the entire night, the Hendrick Motorsports driver gained the decisive advantage by taking two tires on the final pit stop, moving ahead on the restart, and holding his lead to the checkered flag.
While that 2025 outcome worked in his favor, the format has often punished him as well. In 2024, he won six races yet failed to even reach the Championship 4, underlining how narrow the margins had become under the reset-and-eliminate model.
“I haven’t heard everybody’s comments on it, but I would assume anybody who is a previous contender for a championship with a playoff format is probably more happy that we have this format because I feel like your chances of winning a championship are higher for all of us now. It’s really tough to… make it to the round of four and then beat your three of the guys,” he added.
Kyle Larson added that the expanded 10-race Chase, combined with increased points for wins, strikes a balance between consistency and aggression. His comments come in the middle of an unusually busy offseason.
Since securing his second Cup crown, Larson won in Placerville, competed in the Turkey Night Grand Prix, captured a second straight High Limit International victory in Australia, and returned to Tulsa over the New Year, narrowly missing out on the Golden Driller. Now, with the Chili Bowl underway, he will soon prepare for the NASCAR season set to resume with the Clash at Bowman Gray on February 1.
Kyle Larson opens Chili Bowl title defense with statement run in first preliminary feature
Kyle Larson’s week in Tulsa began with some early challenges. Practice sessions were not smooth, and in the Chili Bowl Race of Champions, he settled for seventh, well behind winner Christopher Bell. There were moments during Heat Race 6 on opening night when his title defense appeared briefly at risk, as contact with Emilio Hoover sent both cars spinning and brought Larson’s No. 1K midget close to a flip.
But in the opening preliminary feature on Monday night, Larson reminded the field that he was the defending Chili Bowl Nationals winner. He advanced from fourth on the grid to victory in the first preliminary feature, overtaking Cannon McIntosh on Lap 10 to secure his record ninth career Chili Bowl win. The result locked him directly into Saturday’s main event.
With Qualifying Night #2 scheduled for Tuesday, January 13, and the final features set for Saturday, January 18, Kyle Larson’s focus now remains on adding another Golden Driller to his collection.
