NASCAR will use playoff-style points system

[MrRant 0]

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The speculation is over.

 

NASCAR indeed is changing the way it crowns a champion in the Nextel Cup Series in 2004, switching to a season-long points race to a 10-race "playoff," vice president of corporate communications Jim Hunter confirmed to NASCAR.com Thursday afternoon.

 

While Hunter didn't disclose the exact nature of the playoffs -- because NASCAR hasn't nailed down the details -- a system will be used in the final 10 races to determine the champion.

 

Matt Kenseth led the standings by over 400 points at one point in 2003.

 

"Yes, we are committed to changing the format we use to determine the champion," Hunter said in an exclusive interview with NASCAR.com. "We're looking at 26, 10. We're looking at a number to make sure we don't exclude anybody in the 10 who would have a chance to win the championship."

 

The numbers of drivers eligible for the championship could be more than 10, and any driver in the playoffs will be seeded. NASCAR will not reset the points back to zero, but instead start each driver with a certain number, with the driver leading the standings getting the most points with 10 races to go.

 

"A small lead, but it's a brand-new chase to the championship," Hunter said. "Nobody will go back to zero."

 

Any driver within a certain number of points of the leader will be eligible for the playoffs. Hunter said NASCAR is trying to determine that number based on models from the previous 28 years of using the current system, but that number is between 300 and 600.

 

For example, if a driver is in 14th place but 300 points behind the leader, he would still be eligible for the playoffs -- and the championship.

 

"We'll start them off with x number of points, and the leader will have more than second, third, fourth, fifth, on down the line," Hunter said. "Then we still use our same points system the rest of the year for them."

 

That's to make sure drivers out of the playoffs won't end up with more points with drivers in the playoffs. That starting-point number for playoff drivers has been established, but Hunter wasn't ready to announce them

 

Hunter said NASCAR will award more points to the winner of each race, but it won't be a large number.

 

"Somebody said, '25,' and I said, 'Not that big,'" Hunter said. "We don't know what the number is yet. But the winner will receive more points than second place, no matter what."

 

 

NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter said sagging interest in late-season races led to the change. Credit: Autostock

NASCAR will not alter the points for lower finishers of a race as previously speculated, but the minimum speed at each track will be raised, reducing the number of slower cars allowed on the track (like cars returning from a crash).

 

Qualifying will continue to pay no points.

 

As an added incentive for the drivers not in the playoffs over the final 10 races -- if winning a race weren't enough -- NASCAR will create an award for the highest finishing driver out of the playoffs and will recognize him at the Awards Banquet in New York.

 

"You're racing to win races," Hunter said. "That's what you're supposed to be here for -- not running for points. We're toying with the idea of putting special point fund money to that position."

 

As for why NASCAR has decided to change the points system, Hunter said it was simple: After Labor Day, when college and pro football are beginning and competing for fans and television viewers, things go flat for NASCAR.

 

NASCAR wants to add drama to the fall schedule, for TV and the fans. Some races late in the year are not selling out, Hunter said.

 

"There's just so much more for NASCAR to compete with in that last third of the season that we don't have the rest of the year," Hunter said. "We're doing this to draw additional attention to our sport. That's the bottom line."

 

Hunter also pointed out that the championship should not be based solely on consistency. Matt Kenseth, for example, won only one race in 2003 but ran away with the championship. Meanwhile, Ryan Newman won eight races but finished sixth in the points.

 

"The balance of winning and consistency has sort of gotten out of whack," Hunter said. "It seems that the consistency factor plays more of a role than winning races. We need to change the format.

 

"It's a new day, so we want to try this. We think it'll work. In the end, if it doesn't work, we'll change it back."

 

Drivers have generally reacted negatively to the proposal, and fans have been against it from the start. In a NASCAR.com poll in December, fans were overwhelmingly against the playoff system. But Hunter said it was up to NASCAR to educate the fans as to the positives of the plan.

 

"Fans that I talked to, when I explained to them why we're doing this and what we hope to accomplish, they may not swing all the way over, but they say, 'Oh, OK, I get that,'" Hunter said.

 

One argument against the playoff system was the inability to break into the top 10 for drivers out of the playoffs. Figuring out the cutoff -- x number of points behind the leader -- was the "last piece of the puzzle," Hunter said.

 

"On the average, that happens about one out of three years," Hunter said about drivers moving into the top 10 in the final 10 races.

[Red Baron 0]

...

 

 

Gay

[MrRant 0]

::Shakes fist.... IN ANGER~!::

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

So is this a good thing or a bad thing? I don't follow NASCAR...

[treble 0]

This seems needlessly confusing.

 

Or maybe it's just late, I don't know.

[Bored 0]

Shit if regular people are confused think of half of NASCAR's fanbase. Those good ol' boys aren't gonna appreciate some fancy new system.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

So is this a good thing or a bad thing? I don't follow NASCAR...

Well not that I'm a NASCAR fan, but this pretty much throws a wrench in the traditional point system and not too many people takes kindly to that.

[MrRant 0]

They do know that most of their fanbase have GUNS right?

[Big McLargeHuge 0]

So is Nascar big now?

 

I also don't follow, obviously.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

It will never be big because they can't get the mainstream audience they want. They should go back to marketing it for their core fanbase which they aren't doing.

[Vern Gagne 0]

Never be big? It's the most watched sporting event on TV, and the races attract hundreds of thousands of people every week.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Meh.... I was thinking more in terms of RESPECTABILITY. Nascar may be big with the hicks sitting in their chairs with a shotgun in one hand and a beer in other, but the college frat dudes, the businessmen, the homemakers, etc aren't exactly tripping over their ottomans to watch Nascar.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Meh.... I was thinking more in terms of RESPECTABILITY. Nascar may be big with the hicks sitting in their chairs with a shotgun in one hand and a beer in other, but the college frat dudes, the businessmen, the homemakers, etc aren't exactly tripping over their ottomans to watch Nascar.

Not everyone in the U.S. falls under the groups you mentioned in that post.

 

NASCAR is quite mainstream -- sure it's not as popular in some areas of the country, but it's definitely no longer a "just for hicks" pastime...

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

I know, because they're trying to market it as being mainstream, which is a bad idea, sure it gets extra ratings, but it isn't going to be stable.

[2GOLD 0]

Humans like cars that move fast and crash, which is why NASCAR ratings will remain stable.

 

As for the points system, I'm not sure how to feel about it. I'll wait for them to send me my BCS type manual and I'll go from there.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

NASCAR is the legit #2 sport behind the NFL in terms of Revenue and Viewership. The TV contract with Fox/FX/NBC/TNT rivals only the NFL Contract.

 

Im a NASCAR fan, and while I dont know how the fanbase will react to the rules change, it might add a bit more drama to the last 10 races of the season that compete with football.

 

Last 10 Races -

New Hampshire

Dover (I went to the fall race last year)

Talladega

Kansas

Charlotte

Martinsville VA

Atlanta

Phoenix

Darlington, SC

Miami

 

There are a couple of tracks that should have races in the final 10 that don't (Daytona? California?) but I doubt they even considered moving the 2nd Daytona race from the 4th of July weekend and they just did add the 2nd California race.

 

The one loser in this is FOX, who carries the Races up through July. Basically this 10 race playoff does nothing for their race ratings (which have been going up, unlike other sports except NFL) and might possibly eat a bit into their football ratings (especially if the NFC Sucks next year like it did this year..)

 

This is going to be a big year anyway with the change over to NEXTEL as the main sponsorship (Formerly NASCAR Winston Cup Series, now its the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series..doesn't exactly flow off the tongue..)

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Meh.... I was thinking more in terms of RESPECTABILITY. Nascar may be big with the hicks sitting in their chairs with a shotgun in one hand and a beer in other, but the college frat dudes, the businessmen, the homemakers, etc aren't exactly tripping over their ottomans to watch Nascar.

Not everyone in the U.S. falls under the groups you mentioned in that post.

 

NASCAR is quite mainstream -- sure it's not as popular in some areas of the country, but it's definitely no longer a "just for hicks" pastime...

NASCAR runs races in every region of the country now

 

South - Florida (3 races) ,Georgia (2),North Carolina (3), South Carolina (2), Virgina (4),Tennessee (2), Alabama (2)

 

Those are where you would expect..

 

North - New York (Watkins Glen, but theres talk of a track in NYC or NJ), Delaware (2), Pennsylvania (2), New Hampshire (2),

 

Midwest - Michigan (2), Illionois (Chicago), Indiana (Indy), Kansas, Texas

 

West - California (3) (L.A., San Fran area), Nevada (Las Vegas), Arizona

 

NASCAR has a coupl tracks in areas that don't even have any sports, and one that doesn't even have Football (L.A.).

[Cran Da Maniac 0]

As a long time Nascar fan, I don't really like the new idea for the points system. The old system could produce very dramatic races (See last years Busch Series, or the '92 Winston Season). You could conceivably have a guy who's 11th in points going in the final 10 races, have a ton of good luck and finish well enough to have the championship. But instead he can only get 11th and be cheated out of the money and prestige of winning. Also could have the leader have a lot of bad luck, and he'd still come out with 10th, and any money that entitles. The old system rewarded strong consistent finishes.

 

The only reason why they changed it was because they didn't like the idea of Matt Kenseth as there champion. Kenseth is just to dry, and doesn't garner the attention of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart.

[Guest Choken One]

This is just a HORRIBLE idea. For those who don’t follow NASCAR, This is like the BCS 10 times over in terms of STUPIDITY.

 

They REALLY should have spent more time with this, Keep the traditional Format for the 2004 season and spend the season working out the plans here.

 

Don’t blame Matt Kenseth for this; blame the Racing Empires like Roucsh, Hendricks, RCR, DEI, Yates and Gibbs for making the league so loaded with Parity…The ones who REALLY get fucked here are the Ken Schrader’s of the circuit….No sponsor will be willing to sign with a team that not going to be focused upon at the end of the season…before you had the argument “If we’re in the race, we’re relevant” but people like Schrader won’t be relevant at the season’s end because they won’t be in the chase for the top ten which will be only thing that matters.

 

Correct me if I am wrong but wasn’t Kurt Busch 350 points behind two years ago and came back to finish 3rd with just 8 races to go? Under this plan, Busch never makes that comeback and doesn’t become as big as a name as he is now.

[Guest Choken One]

As a long time Nascar fan, I don't really like the new idea for the points system. The old system could produce very dramatic races (See last years Busch Series, or the '92 Winston Season). You could conceivably have a guy who's 11th in points going in the final 10 races, have a ton of good luck and finish well enough to have the championship. But instead he can only get 11th and be cheated out of the money and prestige of winning. Also could have the leader have a lot of bad luck, and he'd still come out with 10th, and any money that entitles. The old system rewarded strong consistent finishes.

 

The only reason why they changed it was because they didn't like the idea of Matt Kenseth as there champion. Kenseth is just to dry, and doesn't garner the attention of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart.

Nascar has had dry champions before (Labonte) but the problem was that Kenseth was always finishing 6th-10th and was never even racing for the wins (save for a few) and thus doesn't look like a champion...

 

If you didn't look at the points, You'd think Ryan Newman was hands down the Champion...

 

That's the real problem, Kenseth isn't charismatic but that isn't why they decided to change the ENTIRE system around.

[the pinjockey 0]

I don't mind this if it is just going to be a one year trial to start. I would like to see them somehow implement a playoff, but I don't really like this idea. For it to work, to me, they would have to change the schedule around so the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400, etc. were in the final 10 races.

 

I have to laugh though, that this is being implemented this year. Sure Winston Cup was a blowout this past year, but the same point system was used in the truck series and the Busch series and they produced two of the greatest title races ever.

[Slayer 0]

1. If I knew anything about NASCAR in the first place, I would understand this

 

2. Marvin likes NASCAR? I'm SHOCKED~!

 

3. Strangely enough, while I don't watch it, I have had the fortune to visit two of the biggest tracks in NASCAR (Daytona and Talladega). While there weren't any races going on, they were still something to behold.

[JasonX 0]

It will never be big because they can't get the mainstream audience they want. They should go back to marketing it for their core fanbase which they aren't doing.

TECHNICALLY Nascar has gotten the mainstream audience. People like Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewert have been used to bring in new viewers (Gordon bringing in the teenybopper crowd while Stewert bringing in street-cred with the mainstream media). Not to mention the way that Nascar's been scrambling to turn the entire Earnhardt family into the modern day version of the Andretti Family, complete with Dale Junior as a teenybopper version of Michael Andretti...

[Guest Demon Llama]

I dont like the idea myself, last year was won by Kenseth cuz he just collected points and stayed outta trouble, its not his fault everyone else was DNF'ing.

 

 

I wonder what will happen if they do choose just 10 cars for the play off and Dale Jr. is 11th and Locked out, That will change the points system the next year i would believe.

 

For the final 10 races they need to start it off with Indianapolis, Have Talladega, Richmond, Bristol, Martinsville, Watkins Glen, California, Atlanta, Phoenix, Texas and the finale at Daytona.

 

 

doesnt even matter anyway, the Blue Deuce will own them all!

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

2. Marvin likes NASCAR? I'm SHOCKED~!

I've been watching NASCAR races since 1993. The Dover race last year was the first Winston Cup race I had been to (I had been to a Busch Series Race, and several NHRA events.

 

And the Daytona 500, NASCAR's Super Bowl, will always be the first race of the year. The Brickyard 400 has gained a lot of attention and importance since its at Indy, but its still the #2 race.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Ok you guys proved me wrong.

[Guest Just J]

It will never be big because they can't get the mainstream audience they want. They should go back to marketing it for their core fanbase which they aren't doing.

I'm not sure what rock you've been hiding under, but NASCAR is already huge.

 

As far as the points go I think it's a good change. It will add some added excitment at the end of the season.

[Big McLargeHuge 0]

I'm not sure what rock you've been hiding under, but NASCAR is already huge.

 

As far as the points go I think it's a good change. It will add some added excitment at the end of the season.

I guess it's not too big here in the Bay Area. For whatever reason.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Sorry Just J. It's not like people in California, not my parts anyways, goes "Whoohoo! NASCAR!"

[Guest Just J]

I would be willing to bet that there are more people then you think around you guys who watch it. I have been watching NASCAR for 20+ years and it has grown to unbelievable heights since then.