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Dale Earnhardt Jr.: NASCAR wasted time chasing fans that 'didn't exist' with playoffs

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Jan 12, 2026 10:41 PM ET

Part of what NASCAR was attempting to do with its elimination-style playoff format that was used from 2014-25 was create "Game 7 moments" that are often seen in the postseasons of stick and ball sports.

The problem? NASCAR isn't a stick-and-ball sport, and when Game 7 moments are guaranteed to happen every year, they're no longer special.

NASCAR introduced its new/old Chase format on Monday, which will keep a 16-driver, 10-race postseason but will eliminate automatic postseason qualification by winning a race and will not feature points resets or eliminations that were perceived as "Game 7 moments" by the sanctioning body.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. made it clear on Monday that losing those moments isn't a bad thing.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. says losing Game 7 moments is no big deal

"We grew as a sport without mimicking what we're seeing in the stick and ball world," Earnhardt Jr. told Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass on Monday. "And we never really needed to. We never needed to chase after that. People are gonna love motorsports or they're not. I don't know that we need to acquire all these unique features from stick and ball sports.

"I think you're wasting your time trying to obtain a fan that doesn't exist. I think the numbers would say that."

The NASCAR playoff system was designed to create Game 7 moments that mimicked other sports. NASCAR, going back to the Chase, no longer will view itself as having "playoffs" or "walk-off wins" ... Dale Jr. says that's fine: @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/39tXEXCCAR
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) January 12, 2026

The numbers, by and large, do back up Earnhardt Jr.'s statement. While NASCAR did peak in popularity during the advent of the Chase in the mid 2000s, the sport experienced a downturn in popularity shortly after due to a variety of factors, including economic hardships in the late 2000s that made it difficult for fans to get to the racetrack.

NASCAR introduced its playoff format in 2014 at a point in time where several of its biggest stars, including Earnhardt Jr. (2017), Jeff Gordon (2015) and Tony Stewart (2016) would retire. But as the playoffs continued to be NASCAR's method of determining a champion, ratings and attendance continued falling, even hitting a then-record low of only 3.3 million average viewers in 2018. In 2025, Cup Series races only drew an average of 2.476 million viewers, but 2025 was also the first season of a new media rights deal that saw five races each shift to Prime Video and TNT Sports. Ratings for races on both of those channels are expected to increase in 2026.

NASCAR's new, nostalgia-invoking championship format should give the sport some momentum going into 2026, and with a system that harkens back to the sport's peak in popularity, 2026 could be the start of a revitalization of the sport and its popularity.

Samuel Stubbs

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

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