Supercars shake-up on the cards with new finals series in 2025

Supercars is set for a major championship revamp in 2025 with new formats to ensure the title battle goes down to the wire. Find out more inside.

Supercars is set to unveil the biggest championship shake-up in the category’s history with the introduction of a NASCAR-style finals format in 2025 to guarantee the title battle goes down to the wire.

Series chiefs are in the final phase of discussions for a major revamp of the championship with the series set to be divided into three across a sprint season, endurance season and end-of-year finals system.

Supercars briefed team owners on Thursday about the shake-up and they were supportive of the plan, which is set to be unveiled to drivers in the coming days for their feedback before an official announcement next week.

There is also set to be more racing than ever with the category also planning to introduce up to a dozen extra races across its 13-round calendar and a significant cut in practice time.

Under the format revamp, the championship will enter into a three-event finals series after the Bathurst 1000 for the top-10 drivers in the title hunt.

While all drivers will still complete every round, only the top-10 drivers in the championship standings are eligible to win the Supercars crown in the finals series.

Supercars is set for a major championship revamp in 2025. Picture: Getty Images

The top-10 drivers will likely have their points reset for the first finals round on the Gold Coast, potentially a staggered points system so the series leader still has an advantage.

At the end of the Surfers Paradise round, the bottom three drivers on point score will be eliminated.

The last three would again be eliminated at the conclusion of the next round at Sandown, leaving only the top four contending for the championship in the final round in Adelaide.

The introduction of the finals system, which is similar to the playoffs phase in NASCAR, guarantees the final round will determine the series champion.

It is still being debated whether the sprint and endurance season champions during the season will be granted a “free-pass” to the finals

It comes after dominant campaigns in recent years when the likes of now US-based former Supercars drivers Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen wrapped up their title wins before the final round.

The format shake-up will add an extra layer of intrigue at the Bathurst 1000 when a driver could be fighting to work his way into the top 10, meaning even more will be on the line in the biggest race of the year at Mount Panorama.

Supercars championship leader Will Brown and co-driver Scott Pye. Picture: Getty Images

More kilometres of racing across the season and less practice time is also a key component of the shake-up.

It’s understood practice sessions will be cut to 30 minutes and will be held only on Fridays – except for the enduros and Thursday at the F1 Australian Grand Prix and Adelaide.

Supercars announced an expanded 13-round calendar for 2025 on Friday with the return of Queensland Raceway at Ipswich and Tailem Bend, which will host the first endurance race before Bathurst.

The format shake-up comes just weeks after Supercars announced its major coup with the introduction of Japanese car giant Toyota to the grid in 2026.

Meanwhile, Supercars drivers will be vying for the greatest ever pole position prize in history at the Bathurst 1000 next week after backers Boost Mobile Australia announced a record $15,000 prize cheque for the winner of the top-10 shootout.

Originally published as Supercars shake-up on the cards with new finals series in 2025