Question for NASCAR history buffs...

K

KingGlamis

Guest
If you look at the list of NASCAR Cup Champions several years show the Champ had a final points of XXXX.XX for example Petty in 1974 had 5037.75 points. I'm guessing you could get a fraction of a point in those years? How did that work?

People complain about the current points system, I can't even imagine how much people would complain if we had fractions of points. :eek:
 
From what I read it was a cluster **** of math
 
KingGlamis said:
If you look at the list of NASCAR Cup Champions several years show the Champ had a final points of XXXX.XX for example Petty in 1974 had 5037.75 points. I'm guessing you could get a fraction of a point in those years? How did that work?

People complain about the current points system, I can't even imagine how much people would complain if we had fractions of points. :eek:
Click to expand...

I read something about this awhile ago. If I remember right, the original point system was a lot like what we have now, with points awarded going down by 1 for each position back from the winner. Then they multiplied that number by a percentage of the purse. hat's how they ended up with fractions.
 
In 74 NASCAR tried a new point system that was based on money won hoping to give more credit for winning the Bigger races. It was so complicated it was impossible to calculate and the fact that it was based on money Won which changes from event to event made it a joke. If you Won a couple Big races you basicly did'nt have to show up for the smaller races, NASCAR realized that and changed it after one year.

Cale Yarborough was ROBBED of a Championship because of it :mad:
 
I was following NASCAR back in the 1960's and 70's and remember those different point systems. It seemed like NASCAR changed the point system almost every year.

As I remember, yeah, they were confusing and I don't remember any fan I knew who could logically explain the system to anyone who was new to NASCAR (or a confused long-time fan, either). Latford's plan in 1975 was easy to understand, straightforward and just about everyone I knew immediately was on board and like it.

I remember some complaining about the point system but not nearly as much as we see and hear today. I think the reason was that the average NASCAR fan, back then,
  • (a) didn't place as much emphasis on the championship as they do today, and
  • (b) we didn't have 24/7 coverage of NASCAR. If we were lucky we'd get as many as four paragraphs and the top ten finishers in the local paper. We'd have to wait until it came out on the National Speed Sport News before we knew much of anything about the last race. Some of the races ran in the middle of the week seemed to never be reported on anywhere.

So, the way NASCAR kept score wasn't as close to the top of our list of priorities when it came to NASCAR. We didn't complain about something that only touched us tangentially. Most of the fans I knew were more interested in whether a GM, Ford or MOPAR won any given race.

It's difficult to try and compare the fan of forty years ago with the fan today. Totally different circumstances and a totally different NASCAR.

Or, that's the way it seems to me as I look back today. But then I was trying to follow NASCAR from rural Indiana, too. I would imagine that fans in the South East got a lot better coverage, and kept more up with the championship than did I and my friends.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom