Samuel Stubbs

Contributor

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker. He is also a member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). Samuel will attend the University of Arkansas in the fall of 2025.

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NASCAR

Twitter/X: @BTYLPod

Podcast: Below the Yellow Line

January 12, 2026 | NASCAR

NASCAR driver met the Pope while on offseason vacation in Rome

Every NASCAR driver's offseason looks different, and NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series driver William Sawalich certainly had an offseason to remember.

January 12, 2026 | NASCAR

How NASCAR's 2026 Chase schedule compares to previous iterations

The final 10 races of the 2026 NASCAR season will see the top-16 drivers in the Cup Series points standings after 26 regular-season events fight it out to determine the champion under the new Chase format, which NASCAR used from 2004-13.

January 12, 2026 | NASCAR

Ben Kennedy: 2026 NASCAR champion will be 'worthy' under new points format

Fans have long had their frustrations with the NASCAR playoff system, but those can now be put in the rearview as NASCAR moves forward to an old system fitted for modern times.

January 12, 2026 | NASCAR

Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney 'excited' to compete under NASCAR's Chase format

NASCAR fans don't seem to be the only ones who are happy about NASCAR's decision to leave playoffs behind and return to the 10-race Chase system it used to determine its champions from 2004-13.

January 12, 2026 | NASCAR

How NASCAR's points format change affects O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, Truck Series

NASCAR announced its return to the 10-race Chase championship format on Monday, which in the Cup Series, will pit the 16 highest drivers in the standings after 26 races against each other in a 10-race postseason battle for the title.

January 12, 2026 | NASCAR

Mark Martin insinuates that a full-season points format could come back to NASCAR

NASCAR may not have presented a full-season points format when it announced its new championship system on Monday, but that doesn't mean a return to full-season points is off the table forever.

January 12, 2026 | NASCAR

Winners and losers from NASCAR's new championship format

Here are drivers who won and lost with the introduction of the new format.

January 12, 2026 | NASCAR

Top five moments from NASCAR's former playoff format

Here are the five best moments from NASCAR's playoff system that was in use from 2014-25.

January 12, 2026 | NASCAR

New championship format comes at perfect time for NASCAR

If the sports world is the open sea, NASCAR is currently a boat teetering back and forth amid a summer thunderstorm. But Monday's announcement of a return to the 10-race "Chase" championship format should act as calmer waters.

January 12, 2026 | NASCAR

NASCAR’s return to the Chase signals a long-awaited shift back to simplicity

NASCAR's new — or rather, dusted off — points format for 2026 will accomplish something major for a sport that has seemed filled with complexity for years: a return to simplicity. On Monday, NASCAR announced a return to the 10-race Chase format that it used to decide its champions from 2004-13.

January 12, 2026 | NASCAR

NASCAR returns to 'Chase' format to decide champions in '26 and beyond

NASCAR on Monday announced that it will return to the "Chase" style championship format that it used from 2004-13 for the 2026 season and beyond.

January 11, 2026 | NASCAR

New NASCAR championship format could be retro, but not as much as fans want

NASCAR will announce its new championship format on Monday, and while it might be relatively old-school, it may not invoke nostalgia for the sport's older, core fan base.

January 10, 2026 | College Basketball

Unbeaten no more: Wisconsin upsets No. 2 Michigan in Ann Arbor

No. 2 Michigan barely survived a road trip to Penn State on Tuesday to stay undefeated. It didn't get so lucky on Saturday against Wisconsin.

January 10, 2026 | College Basketball

Unranked West Virginia upsets No. 22 Kansas, earns resume-building win

West Virginia earned by far its best victory of the 2025-26 season on Saturday.

January 10, 2026 | College Basketball

Boogie Fland, Florida live up to hype in win over No. 21 Tennessee

Fland and defending national champion Florida appeared to sleepwalk through the first 15 games of the 2025-26 college basketball season. They woke up on Saturday.

January 9, 2026 | NBA

Depleted Thunder complete wild comeback vs. Grizzlies

With no Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Chet Holmgren in the lineup on Friday evening, the Oklahoma City Thunder trailed the Memphis Grizzlies by 19 at halftime inside FedEx Forum.

January 9, 2026 | College Football

Indiana could challenge 2019 LSU as college football's greatest team ever

Is this year's Hoosier squad worthy of being mentioned as one of college football's greatest-ever teams, or even the No. 1 spot itself?

January 9, 2026 | NASCAR

AJ Allmendinger's crew chief shares how Kaulig Racing has been affected by new Truck Series team

Kaulig Racing will see its new five-truck NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series program hit the track for the first time at Daytona International Speedway in February, but the organization is already seeing the effects of starting a new program within its walls.