NASCAR Followers Hail Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. for Saving Cup Collection Format

[ad_1] It took a photograph from twenty years in the past to sum up the sentiments in NASCAR just lately. One picture, circulating virally on Reddit, reveals Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. - each youthful, carrying their iconic Viagra and Budweiser firesuits and sharing amusing on pit highway. The caption reads merely: "We completely wouldn't be right here with out 'em."

After the landmark January 12 announcement that the playoff format had been abolished, the mud has settled, and the decision is unanimous: NASCAR is again and The Chase is being praised by followers.

For over a decade, the championship struggled underneath the load of the playoffs - a format designed for tv drama that was usually seen to sacrifice good driving for a extra easy rule: Champions may very well be determined by a single race win whereas season-long dominance may probably not. It was secure to say that drivers hated it, and followers weren't any extra constructive, both.

When NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell lastly agreed to overview the factors system final summer season, he introduced in two beloved titans of the game to assist him: Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. These three had a severe process on their palms in pleasing the broadcasters whereas additionally pleasing followers and drivers.

<img id="11463506" alt="" caption="CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA - JANUARY 12: "The Chase" is introduced during the NASCAR Championship Format Announcement at NASCAR Productions Facility on January 12, 2026 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images)" credit="" sourcealt="" sources="[]" fetchpriority="auto" loading="lazy" width="6000" height="4000" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" src="color:transparent;aspect-ratio:inherit;object-fit:cover" sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 1536px, (min-width: 768px) 768px, 100vw" srcset="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-2255977928.jpg?w=640&quality=80&webp=1 640w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-2255977928.jpg?w=750&quality=80&webp=1 750w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-2255977928.jpg?w=1000&quality=80&webp=1 1000w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-2255977928.jpg?w=1200&quality=80&webp=1 1200w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-2255977928.jpg?w=1360&quality=80&webp=1 1360w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-2255977928.jpg?w=1600&quality=80&webp=1 1600w" bad-src="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-2255977928.jpg?w=1600&quality=80&webp=1"/> "I used to be the one one.... I used to be screaming about it," Martin mentioned. And I wasn't doing it for me. I used to be screaming about it as a result of they requested me to be on it and since all over the place I am going, and each fan I discuss to, hates playoffs."

He continued: "I am a man who has an even bigger voice than these followers, and so I made a decision I owe my total profession to the race followers that supported me so I stood up for the followers and thru the conferences - I am unable to imagine it - however finally a full season was on the desk."

On the identical time, Earnhardt Jr., publicly admitted to "falling out of affection" with the game: “I’m cautious to confess this as a result of ... man, I’m a broadcaster," he mentioned. "I obtained every kind of roles and duties. I don’t know if that hurts my place within the sport to say s***, I used to be falling out of affection with it. I actually was.”

The result's The Chase. Whereas not a whole return to the Nineteen Nineties, the brand new system eliminates the Knockout Rounds. There is no such thing as a Spherical of 16 or Last 4. As an alternative, the highest 16 drivers reset for the ultimate 10 races, however with an enormous, tiered factors benefit based mostly on regular-season efficiency - a 100-point hole that protects the very best drivers from dangerous luck.

"It ensures {that a} driver who has delivered all season lengthy has the flexibility to be named champion," O'Donnell conceded, a direct echo of the arguments Martin and Earnhardt have made for years.

"The integrity of our sport is essential to me," Martin instructed Kenny Wallace final yr. "I really feel like what I completed in my profession, is being diminished by gimmicks."