NASCAR might have reintroduced The Chase this week, but President Steve O'Donnell is under no illusion that they must continue to work hard to deliver for fans after the change of format.
At the end of 2025, it felt like there was plenty of friction between NASCAR and its fanbase, with followers of the sport unhappy about several issues within the sport.
Whether it was the playoffs, the next-gen car, or the ongoing antitrust lawsuit, there was plenty for NASCAR to address moving forward, and this week, they took action.
Announcing the new championship format for 2026, NASCAR has scrapped the playoffs altogether and returned to The Chase in a bid to appease those hoping for a full 36-race points format.
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O'Donnell vows to deliver for fans
And, despite it not being the full 36-race season, O'Donnell is hoping that fans will realise that the series is trying to reach a compromise and that they buy in. Either way, he promises NASCAR will work their butts off to deliver for them.
“It's hard to win these races,” O’Donnell told Racer. “It's hard to be in the top 10. [It's] really important for us to get back to these storylines.
"We think the fans will come with us. We've got work to do on this. It's not lost on any one of us at NASCAR. We have talented people who are hungry to get back to where we were.
"We're going to work our asses off for the industry to deliver to our race fans.”
That echoed an earlier comment given by O'Donnell, which reflected his awareness that trust between NASCAR and its fans needed to be rebuilt, and that The Chase wasn't a fix-all solution.
“I don’t want anyone to think we’re naive and just going to change this format and everything is great," he said.
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