NASCAR's points changes explained
NASCAR races will be divided into three segments in 2017. (Getty)
NASCAR is making sweeping changes to the formats of
races in 2017 and adding more bonus points to the Chase (which is no
longer called the Chase, but more on that later) for drivers who succeed
in the regular season.
The changes are a bit complicated, so stick with us:
Every Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Camping World
Truck Series race will consist of three segments called “stages.” The
drivers who finish in the top 10 of each of the first two segments will
receive points while the finishing order at the end of the third and
final stage will be the race’s finishing order. The winner of the third
segment is the race winner and will get 40 points.
Oh, the word “Chase” to describe the final 10 races
of the Cup Series season is gone, too. We’ve got to learn to stop using
it. In its place is simply “Playoffs,” a term that will also be used to
describe the elimination-style Chase format in the Xfinity and Truck
Series.
Each regular-season race win will be worth five bonus
points to start the playoffs. In 2016, drivers got three points at the
beginning of the Chase for each win in the regular season. A segment win
will be worth one Playoff bonus point.
The first segment will be the first 25 percent of the
race while the second segment will be the second 25 percent. Each
segment will end with a caution flag. The cautions will give the races
predetermined breaks in the action to help Fox and NBC air as many
commercials as possible under yellow flag conditions.
Bonus points are also handed out for the drivers in
the top 10 in the points standings at the end of the regular season. The
driver who is leading the points standings at the end of the first 26
races in the Cup Series will receive 15 points while the other drivers
in the top 10 will also receive bonus points for the Chase.
And, most importantly, those bonus points
will carry over into the first three rounds of the playoffs. In the old
format, the bonus points disappeared after the first round and the 12
drivers remaining in the second round all started with the same points
total.
Yeah, this is pretty complicated. There’s
definitely going to be a learning curve for hardcore and casual race
fans as the new format is implemented throughout the season.
• The winner of a segment
receives 10 points while the driver in 10th receives a point. The driver
who wins a race receives 40 points, while second receives 35 points and
third receives 34. The driver finishing 35th gets two points while
those finishing 36th-40th each get a single point.
This means that if a driver wins both
segments and the race, he receives 60 points. There are no longer bonus
points for leading a lap and leading the most laps.
• While the
driver who finishes at the top of the regular season standings gets 15
points, second gets 10 points, third gets eight, fourth gets seventh and
so on through 10th place. If a driver, say, Jimmie Johnson, wins four
races in the regular season (5 points each), wins 15 segments (1 point
each) and finishes the regular season third in the points standings,
he’ll start the Chase with 43 bonus points.
Those 43 points will be added to Johnson’s
point total at the beginning of the second and third rounds if he
advances. If he wins a race in the first round of the playoffs to
guarantee his advancement into the second round, he’ll have another five
points tacked on to his total. So he’d start the second round with 48
bonus points while a driver who might have finished the regular season
outside the top 10 in points and didn’t win a race or a segment could
start the second round with no bonus points.
• The
format of the Chase – again, now known as the playoffs – is otherwise
unchanged. Sixteen drivers will make the playoffs. All drivers with a
win in the first 26 races will be included and the other spots will be
filled by the drivers with the most points. Twelve drivers will advance
to the second round of the Chase and eight will advance to the third
round. Four drivers will move on from the third round of the Chase to
the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where the highest
finisher of the four wins the championship.
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