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NASCAR considering changing points system
By Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press
August 2, 2003
4:58 PM EDT (2058 GMT)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- NASCAR is considering changing its championship points system to give bigger rewards for winning poles and races. The current system favors consistency over winning.
The system, which began in 1975 and is often criticized, has been under attack this season while Matt Kenseth has built a whopping 232-point lead in the championship race with just one victory but a string of top-10 finishes.
"We are reviewing the points system, as we often do when there is talk about one driver having so big of a lead that it looks like the championship will be decided before the season is over," NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter said Saturday.
"So we will look at every viable option and at the end of the year apply it to the point standings and see how things might have been different."
One of the scenarios NASCAR is looking at is awarding a sizable points bonus to the race winner -- anywhere from an additional 10 points to 50 -- and giving a bonus for winning the pole.
Other options include awarding the same amount of points to drivers who finish 30th through 43rd, or not awarding any points after 36th position. Both of those scenarios would make it pointless for damaged cars to return to the racetrack.
NASCAR has already applied all those scenarios to past seasons and found that it never changed the series champion, Hunter said.
The current NASCAR points system was created by Bob Latford, who died on July 23. Latford invented the system on a request from NASCAR head Bill France Sr., first drawing it up on a ****tail napkin at the Boot Hill Saloon in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Under the current points system:
The winner of a race gets 175 points.
Second through sixth each get five points less than the place before them.
Seventh through 11th get four points less than the place before them.
ALSO
• How the current points system works
Twelfth and lower get three points less than the place before them.
All 43 places are awarded points, unlike many other major racing series that stop giving points after certain positions.
Drivers who lead a lap earn five bonus points.
The driver who leads the most laps in a single race earns five additional bonus points.
That format has created scenarios in which drivers play it safe, choosing not to risk much in going after victories when a top-10 finish will suffice.
"The way the championship points are structured, winning is not the most important thing," said four-time Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon. "It pays the most points, but a top-five these days is almost as good as a win."
Brickyard 400
Lineup
Harvick sets track record
Leffler, Lepage race in
Foyt crashes in quals
Weather affects qualifying
The current system also encourages cars that have been damaged in an accident to make patchwork repairs to get back on the track and pick up a few more positions and points.
That practice caught NASCAR's attention last month at Daytona when the hood from Robby Gordon's repaired car flew off and into the grandstands.
"I do have a problem with the way it pays points all the way back to 43rd and that we have to go back out there with these wrecked race cars and ride around at a minimum speed," he said. "It's no fun for anybody and I know the competitors don't like it because you're in the way."
If NASCAR were using the same points system currently used by any of the major auto racing series, its current championship race would look a lot different.
Under the Formula One system, Bobby Labonte would have a one-point lead over Dale Earnhardt Jr. and 10 points would separate first and fifth place.
If CART's scoring system were used, Earnhardt would lead Kenseth by two points, with 24 points separating first and fifth place.
Under the IRL scoring system, Kenseth would have a 49-point advantage over Earnhardt and the top five would be separated by just 124 points.
By Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press
August 2, 2003
4:58 PM EDT (2058 GMT)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- NASCAR is considering changing its championship points system to give bigger rewards for winning poles and races. The current system favors consistency over winning.
The system, which began in 1975 and is often criticized, has been under attack this season while Matt Kenseth has built a whopping 232-point lead in the championship race with just one victory but a string of top-10 finishes.
"We are reviewing the points system, as we often do when there is talk about one driver having so big of a lead that it looks like the championship will be decided before the season is over," NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter said Saturday.
"So we will look at every viable option and at the end of the year apply it to the point standings and see how things might have been different."
One of the scenarios NASCAR is looking at is awarding a sizable points bonus to the race winner -- anywhere from an additional 10 points to 50 -- and giving a bonus for winning the pole.
Other options include awarding the same amount of points to drivers who finish 30th through 43rd, or not awarding any points after 36th position. Both of those scenarios would make it pointless for damaged cars to return to the racetrack.
NASCAR has already applied all those scenarios to past seasons and found that it never changed the series champion, Hunter said.
The current NASCAR points system was created by Bob Latford, who died on July 23. Latford invented the system on a request from NASCAR head Bill France Sr., first drawing it up on a ****tail napkin at the Boot Hill Saloon in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Under the current points system:
The winner of a race gets 175 points.
Second through sixth each get five points less than the place before them.
Seventh through 11th get four points less than the place before them.
ALSO
• How the current points system works
Twelfth and lower get three points less than the place before them.
All 43 places are awarded points, unlike many other major racing series that stop giving points after certain positions.
Drivers who lead a lap earn five bonus points.
The driver who leads the most laps in a single race earns five additional bonus points.
That format has created scenarios in which drivers play it safe, choosing not to risk much in going after victories when a top-10 finish will suffice.
"The way the championship points are structured, winning is not the most important thing," said four-time Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon. "It pays the most points, but a top-five these days is almost as good as a win."
Brickyard 400
Lineup
Harvick sets track record
Leffler, Lepage race in
Foyt crashes in quals
Weather affects qualifying
The current system also encourages cars that have been damaged in an accident to make patchwork repairs to get back on the track and pick up a few more positions and points.
That practice caught NASCAR's attention last month at Daytona when the hood from Robby Gordon's repaired car flew off and into the grandstands.
"I do have a problem with the way it pays points all the way back to 43rd and that we have to go back out there with these wrecked race cars and ride around at a minimum speed," he said. "It's no fun for anybody and I know the competitors don't like it because you're in the way."
If NASCAR were using the same points system currently used by any of the major auto racing series, its current championship race would look a lot different.
Under the Formula One system, Bobby Labonte would have a one-point lead over Dale Earnhardt Jr. and 10 points would separate first and fifth place.
If CART's scoring system were used, Earnhardt would lead Kenseth by two points, with 24 points separating first and fifth place.
Under the IRL scoring system, Kenseth would have a 49-point advantage over Earnhardt and the top five would be separated by just 124 points.
