NASCAR made significant changes to its point-scoring system ahead of the 2017 season. The season marked a significant change in the way drivers participated in playoffs and won championships. Though most of the scoring systems have been followed through for numerous years before being updated and changed, 2016 has been an exception to this rule.
As the number of cars participating in the series increased to 40 cars, 2016 made big changes to accommodate this. The winner of the race was awarded three points as a bonus as well as the last lap leader was given a point too. During this system, stage winners were not given any points and such discrepancies were corrected in the present system adopted in the 2017 season.
NASCAR Current Points System
The current points system in the NASCAR Cup Series awards points to all participating drivers. The driver who finishes in first place is awarded 40 points. The following drivers in second, third, and fourth are awarded 35, 34, and 33 points respectively. The drivers below continue to score a point less than the driver before. Drivers finishing between the 36th and 40th positions are awarded one point. Leading laps during any of the stages does not award points to the drivers, something that was given during the 2016 points system.
The drivers who finish in the top 10 in the first two stages are awarded points from 10 to 1. Playoff points are also awarded to each of the stage winners. The race winner is awarded 5 playoff points. The regular season champion at the end of the regular season is awarded 15 playoff points just ahead of playoffs. The top ten drivers of the regular season standings are also awarded playoff points. The points awarded are 15,10,8,7,6,5,4,3,2, and 1 on a descending scale. Based on the playoff points and race wins, the top 16 drivers move to the playoffs.
How many laps do you have to do in NASCAR?
The number of laps differs for each race and circuit. The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix has the least amount of laps in the race with just 68 laps. This race has 15 laps in the first two stages and 38 in the final stage. There are three races on the calendar which are scheduled to have 500 laps. These races are namely, Food City 500, the Bass Pro Shops Night Race, and theXfinity 500.
Read more About NASCAR races work
FAQ's On NASCAR scoring work
A. At the end of each race, 40 points are awarded to the winner. The subsequent drivers are awarded a point less than the driver before. Drivers that finish between 36th and 40th are awarded a singular point.
A. The driver who finishes the race's final stage in first place is the winner.
A. Based on playoff points and race wins, 16 drivers move forward for the playoffs, The bottom four drivers are eliminated after each race until only four drivers are left.
A. Daniel Suarez is the only foreign-born driver to win in all three national NASCAR series.
