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Sprint Cup
CUP: NASCAR Changes Points, Chase, Qualifying
NASCAR has put a 43-1 points system in place, and announced the Chase will include race winners...
NASCAR Chairman Brian France speaks on Wednesday night at the NASCAR Hall of Fame where NASCAR announced changes to its points system. (Photo: Getty Images)
NASCAR confirmed historic changes in its point system and Chase for the Sprint Cup formats at a preseason press conference Wednesday night.
Points will be distributed on a 43-1 basis in all three NASCAR national series, with 43 points going to first place, 42 to second, etc. Three bonus points will be awarded for a victory, one point for leading a race lap and one point for leading the most laps.
There are dramatic changes in Chase qualifying. The top 10 drivers in points after the 26 races of the “regular season” will make the Chase. There will be two additional spots – NASCAR calls them wild cards – for drivers who win races but don’t make the top 10 in points. Drivers who aren’t in the top 10 would qualify by having the most wins among the non-qualifiers.
Drivers qualifying with wins must be in the top 20 in points. Ties would be broken by point totals.
That change is addressed to benefit drivers with seasons like the one Jamie McMurray enjoyed last year. He won the sport’s two biggest races – the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 – and added a win at Charlotte but didn’t qualify for the Chase.
NASCAR chairman Brian France said the change also is designed to put a bigger emphasis on race wins.
The Chase drivers who qualify on points will be seeded based on wins during the regular season. The 11th- and 12th-place drivers will not be seeded but will start the Chase in those positions.
If all of the seasonal race winners are in the top 10 in points, the 11th- and 12th-place point drivers will make the Chase.
NASCAR also announced qualifying changes. Qualifying orders will be based on practice speeds, with slower cars qualifying first and faster cars going last on the list, in theory creating more drama in the final minutes of time trials.
If bad weather cancels qualifying, a race’s starting lineup will be set by practice speeds. If there is no practice because of weather, the starting lineup will be set by owner points.
All of the changes will be implemented in the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series.
France said NASCAR officials studied a wide range of possible changes focused on simplicity and race wins.
“The most important reason for this change is simplicity,” France said. “This allows us a way to communicate the standings easier for our fans and broadcast commentators.
“And fans have been clear about one thing: They care about winning.”
NASCAR president Mike Helton said the third significant change since 2004 in determining NASCAR champions is a result of adapting to new environments.
“Everybody, including NASCAR, in every form of sports has to keep working on elements to stay relevant and grow and maintain its opportunity against a changing marketplace or changing environment or changing generation,” Helton said. “Everything we have is a moving target. We’re going to make adaptions so that we make the sport better. We don’t make a change just for the sake of doing it.
“It’s a big deal to go to 43 to 1 based on the fact that for so long we’ve had the points system we’ve had. Every form of motorsports championship is complicated. You have to be a hard-core student or look them up. This is to give a fan an opportunity to sit in the grandstand without technology or anything and be able to look at the race track and in their mind understand the fact that one position on that track is worth one point. We think they have a better opportunity to get engaged in the race if they understand that point.”
Although the point-system change is mostly about simplifying the math involved in the point standings jumble, the change will have a significant impact on drivers finishing near the back of each race field.
For example, a fourth-place finish will be worth 40 points, while a driver finishing last will receive only one point. The fourth-place driver’s point haul thus will be 40 times that of last place, a percentage boost over the current system.
The possibility of having elimination rounds in the Chase was considered in NASCAR meetings but ultimately was rejected because officials say the Chase format is working well.
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
Points will be distributed on a 43-1 basis in all three NASCAR national series, with 43 points going to first place, 42 to second, etc. Three bonus points will be awarded for a victory, one point for leading a race lap and one point for leading the most laps.
There are dramatic changes in Chase qualifying. The top 10 drivers in points after the 26 races of the “regular season” will make the Chase. There will be two additional spots – NASCAR calls them wild cards – for drivers who win races but don’t make the top 10 in points. Drivers who aren’t in the top 10 would qualify by having the most wins among the non-qualifiers.
Drivers qualifying with wins must be in the top 20 in points. Ties would be broken by point totals.
That change is addressed to benefit drivers with seasons like the one Jamie McMurray enjoyed last year. He won the sport’s two biggest races – the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 – and added a win at Charlotte but didn’t qualify for the Chase.
NASCAR chairman Brian France said the change also is designed to put a bigger emphasis on race wins.
The Chase drivers who qualify on points will be seeded based on wins during the regular season. The 11th- and 12th-place drivers will not be seeded but will start the Chase in those positions.
If all of the seasonal race winners are in the top 10 in points, the 11th- and 12th-place point drivers will make the Chase.
NASCAR also announced qualifying changes. Qualifying orders will be based on practice speeds, with slower cars qualifying first and faster cars going last on the list, in theory creating more drama in the final minutes of time trials.
If bad weather cancels qualifying, a race’s starting lineup will be set by practice speeds. If there is no practice because of weather, the starting lineup will be set by owner points.
All of the changes will be implemented in the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series.
France said NASCAR officials studied a wide range of possible changes focused on simplicity and race wins.
“The most important reason for this change is simplicity,” France said. “This allows us a way to communicate the standings easier for our fans and broadcast commentators.
“And fans have been clear about one thing: They care about winning.”
NASCAR president Mike Helton said the third significant change since 2004 in determining NASCAR champions is a result of adapting to new environments.
“Everybody, including NASCAR, in every form of sports has to keep working on elements to stay relevant and grow and maintain its opportunity against a changing marketplace or changing environment or changing generation,” Helton said. “Everything we have is a moving target. We’re going to make adaptions so that we make the sport better. We don’t make a change just for the sake of doing it.
“It’s a big deal to go to 43 to 1 based on the fact that for so long we’ve had the points system we’ve had. Every form of motorsports championship is complicated. You have to be a hard-core student or look them up. This is to give a fan an opportunity to sit in the grandstand without technology or anything and be able to look at the race track and in their mind understand the fact that one position on that track is worth one point. We think they have a better opportunity to get engaged in the race if they understand that point.”
Although the point-system change is mostly about simplifying the math involved in the point standings jumble, the change will have a significant impact on drivers finishing near the back of each race field.
For example, a fourth-place finish will be worth 40 points, while a driver finishing last will receive only one point. The fourth-place driver’s point haul thus will be 40 times that of last place, a percentage boost over the current system.
The possibility of having elimination rounds in the Chase was considered in NASCAR meetings but ultimately was rejected because officials say the Chase format is working well.
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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