2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott has admitted that while he believes the new championship system is a huge step in the right direction, there are some changes he'd have made.

Elliott was part of the announcement press conference on Monday afternoon, and revealed afterward that he had told NASCAR that he wouldn't be part of the announcement unless he believed in the new rules.

All three of NASCAR's national series will return to a 'Chase' style championship format from this year, with championships being decided over ten, nine and seven races for the Cup Series, O'Reilly Series and Truck Series respectively.

Elliott insisted that he's 'proud' to be part of the move into the future (or, arguably, into a better past) but confessed that he believes 16 drivers making the postseason run is too many.

READ MORE: NASCAR's 2026 championship changes in full: The Chase, no more 'win and in', and more!

Chase Elliott: New format is great, but...

Speaking on Monday, he said: "They asked me if I wanted to come do this (news conference). I said, 'Well, what is (the format)? I’m not coming unless I like it, unless I actually want to endorse it', because I don’t want to sit here and lie to y’all about what we’re doing and tell you how great it is if I don’t really feel that way.

"I’m genuinely proud to be a part of it, proud of the change. It’s a great compromise. I’m looking forward to not talking about it and talking more about the racing, and celebrate whoever wins it at the end of the day.

"Because we should talk more about the champion and the job he or she and their team have done, rather than complain about the format.

"I think 16 (drivers) is too many. The 10 (in the original Chase) was a really good number back when they did it; it was really hard to get into that top 10. … But like Mark [Martin] said, you’re not going to get everything you want. And I do think this was a great piece of middle ground for us to land in and have everybody as happy as we can, and hopefully just be able to focus on what matters."

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