DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The devil may be in the details, but the procedure for determining NASCAR's premier series champion is about to be modified.

While stopping short of making an official announcement, NASCAR VP of corporate communications Jim Hunter said that the current point system, which has been in place since 1975, will receive a dramatic facelift for 2004.

"We've pretty well decided that we are going to make a change," admitted Hunter, upon being asked about the current point system.

For the past month NASCAR has been evaluating a proposal that would break the 36-race season into two segments, loosely regarded as the regular and post season, with the top 10 drivers after 26 races battling for the title over the final 10 races.

While final details of the playoff format are still being worked out, Hunter said one change that has been agreed upon is rewarding more points to race winners.

The Associated Press reported that a holdup to finalizing the plan, according to Hunter, is how NASCAR will account for drivers outside the top 10 who remain mathematically eligible to win the championship. The sanctioning body is considering provisionals to allow those teams to compete for the title.

"We are still looking at ways for a driver to race his way into the top 10," Hunter said. "We're looking at some ways not to automatically lock out someone who could race his way back into the top 10 at the end of the season."

Hunter said NASCAR hoped to have details ironed out by the end of January, and possibly even sooner.

Originally it was reported in various publications that after the first 26 race 'regular season' only those ranking inside the top 10 in points would be considered championship contenders during the final 10-race playoff period. This aspect of the proposal has been widely criticized by media and many fans and is likely to be redefined before the new system is formally unveiled.

While the plan continues to be tweaked, it's clear now that it will be adopted in some form.

"What we've done is we think we need to provide a new model for our point championship, (one where) consistency is a big part of it but winning is also an overwhelming part of it," Hunter continued. "We think it may have gotten a little bit out of balance. So we're trying to come up with a new procedure that will add additional drama and excitement to the chase for the championship over the last third of the season."

NASCAR was subject to criticism after Matt Kenseth won the 2003 Cup championship while winning only one race. Ryan Newman led the series with eight wins but finished just sixth in points.

Some drivers, such as Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr., told the Associated Press they are not pleased with the 10-race playoff plan.

"I'm not trying to boast or anything, but odds are I'd be in the top 10 if we had an average year, and I still don't like it," Earnhardt Jr. said this week. "I think the change is a little aggressive.

"There are a lot of things I'd love to change about the sport. The point system isn't at the top of the list."

Kenseth's objection to the plan is because the final 10 races don't include a wide range of tracks. The final 10 races are scheduled for New Hampshire, Dover, Talladega, Kansas, Charlotte, Martinsville, Atlanta, Phoenix, Darlington and Homestead.

"If you start it at zero with 10 races to go, I don't like that idea at all, because in the last 10 races there are no Daytonas, there are no Bristols, there are no Poconos and there are no road courses," Kenseth said. "I don't think a champion should be rewarded off of how good they are at 1½-mile tracks. I think it should have to be rewarded on how good you are at all the tracks like it always has been."

The alteration to the procedure used to determine a champion will only be made at NASCAR's top level, the Nextel Cup Series. NASCAR's Busch, Truck and regional touring series will continue to use their existing championship systems.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.