NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Competition Update Scheduled Jan. 21
Key changes to Chase and series point races are expected…
Mike Hembree  |  Posted January 10, 2011   Charlotte, NC
NASCAR is considering scrapping the points system it has used since 1975. (Photo: Getty Images)
NASCAR has scheduled the announcement of its competition-rule changes – some of which are expected to be dramatic – for Jan. 21 during Sprint Cup test runs at Daytona International Speedway.

NASCAR president Mike Helton and vice president Robin Pemberton are scheduled to address news media representatives and answer questions about changes at a noon press conference at DIS, which is scheduled to host Cup tests Jan. 20-22.

Brian France, NASCAR chairman, is scheduled to expand on the changes during an appearance at the NASCAR Hall of Fame Jan. 26 as part of Charlotte Motor Speedway’s annual preseason media tour.

NASCAR is expected to make significant changes in the format of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, France having said on several occasions that he wants to inject more “game seven moments” into the season-ending run for the title.

France’s comments – and garage-area talk – seem to indicate that the new Chase format will include some sort of elimination process that will trim the field of potential champions as the 10-race run moves along. Point standings could be reset during the Chase to keep the competition closer.

Although the 2010 Chase was one of the best in the format’s history, France indicated that changes remain probable.
NASCAR president Mike Helton cited federal privacy laws as one reason the series has not publicly said what caused A.J. Allmendinger's positive drug test. (Photo: NASCAR)

NASCAR also has been discussing weighty changes that center on the Nationwide Series and the fact that Sprint Cup drivers continue to dominate its championship and its victory lanes. Among changes apparently being considered – requiring drivers to declare which of the three national series they’ll pursue a championship in, leaving them ineligible to race for a title in the other two.

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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