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. 

During NASCAR's announcement regarding the return of the "Chase" format for 2026 and beyond, NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin — who was on the playoff committee that helped change NASCAR's points system from the elimination-style format back to the "Chase" — offered his thoughts on the new system. 

"We’re really lucky to have gotten what we’ve got here," Martin said. "This is a great compromise, in my eyes. And the jump from 10 to 36 is not nearly as unlikely as from playoffs to 36. So you never know what happens in the future."

Martin's word is not the final word on what NASCAR could choose to do in the future, but if NASCAR were willing to move back to the 10-race Chase, it's possible the sanctioning body would one day be open to going back to a 36-race, full-season format. 

Mark Martin pushed for full-season points system

According to NASCAR president Steve O'Donnell, Martin was the individual who pushed for a return to the full-season format the hardest. 

"Mark Martin was the first guy in the room to stand up and say, 'I want to go back to full season points," O'Donnell said. "There were a lot of folks who wanted to throw Mark out of the room initially."

Martin said that his inspiration to advocate for the 36-race format came from NASCAR's fan base. 

"The fans were yelling at me we want full season points, " Martin said. "So I yelled even louder and almost got thrown out, as Steve said.

"I think that this is the most perfect compromise that you could ever ask for. It’s going to require our 2026 champion to be lightning fast and incredibly consistent, and that’s what we can all get behind."

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season will officially begin with the 68th running of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 15. 

Quotes provided by NASCAR Media.