“This is the truth”: Kaulig Racing CEO offers clarification following his NASCAR playoff system revelation

Kaulig Racing CEO Chris Rice has attempted to clear the air after his comments about NASCAR's planned playoff changes drew a storm of pushback from fans.

During a recent episode of the Kenny Wallace Show, Rice had told the former NASCAR driver that most fans would welcome the change when NASCAR unveils its updated championship format. He also said that he did not expect a full-season points system to return, which offended some social media fans, who left rather harsh comments online.

Rice has now offered a clarification, pointing out that when he said "you will like it," he meant to address Wallace.

"This is the truth!!! I was talking to [Kenny Wallace] not everyone else," Rice commented on a fan comment.

NASCAR and its playoff committee have discussed possible changes for 2026, but according to Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass, a final announcement was not expected until January. That timeline has added to fans' frustration, and many are pressing for a full-season points return.

"If it has an OUNCE of playoffs in it, it WILL BE HATED," a fan wrote. "Don't tell me I will like it and then say 'well traditional way of doing it won't work'. Even the race teams don’t give a sh*t about the people that support them, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised from any 'CEO'. Guess the teams think we are as dumb as NASCAR claims privately," another commented.

Kenny Wallace Show's Charlie Marlow also released a video, addressing the negative comments surrounding the Kaulig Racing CEO, and shared a short lesson by Mark Martin, who has also been in support of a full-season points return. The NASCAR Hall of Famer addressed the online attacks in an old video and said:

"You need to be able to learn how to disagree without being visous and hateful."

What did Kaulig Racing CEO say about the new points playoff format?

During his talk with Kenny Wallace, Kaulig Racing CEO Chris Rice suggested that he had a fair idea of what the new playoff format might be in 2026. He also gave a rough breakdown of what he thought would be the fans' reaction to a playoff system change. He said:

"We listened as a sport, and it’s going to be great. What I do know is, I feel like 75% of the people are going to love it, 10% are going to be, okay. And that's going to leave 15% of the people that's going to hate it."So, with that being said, the traditional way of doing points would be tough to do in this era."

Kaulig Racing CEO also mentioned the younger generation's shorter attention span, in the time of popular 30-second social media video platforms, and argued that a full-season points championship format would not be exciting enough.

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Edited by Hitesh Nigam