CONGRATS NASCAR!!

Chase will go to top 10, plus 2 biggest winners: Twelve NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers will make the Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2011 -- the top 10 in points and the two drivers not in the top 10 who have the most race victories in NASCAR's 26-race regular season. NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France goes is expected to confirm that arrangement, along with a points system that gives 43 points to race winners and then one-point increments down to just one point for the last-place finisher. Each driver who leads a lap will get one bonus point, and regular-season race winners are expected to get two or three Chase bonus points for each victory. There will be no knockout rounds in the Chase, as NASCAR had hinted at earlier.(SPEED)(1-26-2011

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Permalink Reply by R. ALDRIDGE on January 27, 2011 at 12:06am

They did. Noone will be able to make the top 20 without running a full schedule.

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Permalink Reply by Chet Raschka on January 26, 2011 at 8:03pm

When Robby wins Watkins Glen and Infineon I think he should be the Chase.

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Permalink Reply by Greg Jones on January 26, 2011 at 10:11pm

I am bat sh*t crazy but, that doesn't have anything to do with my argument. If you are the only driver not in the top 10 in points to win a race - hell yes you should be in the chase. If you only enter 2 races and win them both - hell yes, you make the chase. Brian France likes having the big, super-funded teams always on top, that's why the system is as it is. My real preference would be to dump the chase, dump the top 35 guaranty and turn it back into racing. I'm really tired of the sport I've followed for 40 years constantly being molded to suit non-fans because, as Brian France put it today -"making money is one of the most important things"

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Permalink Reply by Sean O'Neill on January 27, 2011 at 1:26pm

Well, Jamie won 2 'big' races so apparantly he should also have been in the chase. 2 races out of 36. Yep, he should be crowned champion rather than a guy that finishes in the top ten every week. Where do some people get their logic from? If you think NASCAR is boring, then don't watch it. Millions of people loved this sport the way it was. The COT was a bust. Numbers and ratings don't lie. Nascar introduced the "chase" and the ratings steadily fell for 5 years. Please explain this to me.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Sweeney on January 26, 2011 at 7:57pm

Qual order is also set by practice speeds.

The media gets props today because they called out NASCAR to address bigger issues that the fans want changed, instead of talking about the new points system.

Other than that, I didn't hear much else that sounded new.

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Permalink Reply by R. ALDRIDGE on January 27, 2011 at 12:10am

Get ready to see Ryan Newman win half the poles. Using this order will put fastest cars last (usually fastest track comditions) and eliminate the pole "upsets" that make it interesting.

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Permalink Reply by Hmsdude24 on January 26, 2011 at 7:59pm

So when the chase starts do the drivers who make it get 3 extra points to start with? For example say a driver wins 5 races, Do they start the chase with 2015 points instead of 2000 if they didn't win any races?

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Permalink Reply by Keith Stone on January 26, 2011 at 8:05pm

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Permalink Reply by Hmsdude24 on January 26, 2011 at 8:06pm

When the points reset I mean at Chicagoland

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Permalink Reply by Keith Stone on January 26, 2011 at 9:50pm

Winning takes backseat to consistencyEmail Print Comments2 By Terry Blount
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NASCAR Announces Changes
NASCAR is going to simplify the way it awards points, and chairman Brian France said he believes the buildup to making the Chase -- and crowning a champion -- will be more exciting. Watch More video
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Marty And Rusty Review
Marty And Rusty Review
Marty Smith and Rusty Wallace have heard the changes to NASCAR's points system. Now they're ready to tell you what they think about them.
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NASCAR Announces Changes
NASCAR Announces Changes
NASCAR is going to simplify the way it awards points, and chairman Brian France said he believes the buildup to making the Chase -- and crowning a champion -- will be more exciting.
Watch

More video

Tags:
NASCAR
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NASCAR officials want to make things easier to understand. This new 43/1 points system will do that for you, along with the competitors.

Take that however you wish. You could just say "Thanks, I appreciate it." Or you could say, "I don't need you to dumb it down for me."

But here's the summation of the new plan: It really doesn't change much at all.

That's right. It's the same old lump of coal wrapped in a shiny new package. Just call it the old points system on a diet.

The new plan has the same "simple" problem: Not enough points for winning.

NASCAR chairman Brian France made the official announcement of the 43/1 plan Tuesday night at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in downtown Charlotte.

"One thing is clear," France said in his opening statement. "The fans care about winning."

[+] EnlargeJason Smith/Getty Images
NASCAR chairman Brian France on the league's new points system: "The most important reason for this change is simplicity."

Yes, but NASCAR seemingly cares only a little more than it did a day ago.

The new format has one small move to emphasize victories. The last two spots of the Chase will go to the drivers with the most wins who aren't in the top 10 in the standings, but still ranked in the top 20.

If there's a tie, the playoff spot goes to the driver with the most points.

"This puts an emphasis on winning, even if you have some bad luck," France said.

True enough. Two wild cards get in the playoff by winning, a move I applaud. Once the Chase starts, it's back to the same old thing.

"What all our models show is this system will tighten things up in the regular season and the Chase," France said. "And we are making a steady movement to feature winning."

Steady, maybe, but painfully slow. The new points system has similar flaws to the old one. Winning isn't a big deal.

The winner receives 43 points, with each spot decreasing by one fewer point down to one for 43rd place. Simple and easy. Even your dog can tap it out on his paws.

"It makes sense, "Jeff Gordon said Tuesday. "I know at times I've been confused by [the old 195-maximum points system]. This can make [the points] relevant to the fans for positions on the track."

But the bonus points still make things a little confusing. A driver gets three bonus points for winning the race. And he also gets one bonus point for leading a lap.

So every winner is guaranteed to receive at least 47 points. Leading the most laps also is worth one point.

That means the biggest differential possible between first and second is six points (48 to 42). The smallest differential possible between first and second is three points (47 to 44) if the runner-up leads the most laps.

Let me save you the trouble. I did the math. The differential percentages between winning and finishing second are almost identical to the old system.

How is that emphasizing winning?

"We didn't make a fundamental change on winning," France admitted. "We've always had a balance, and we like that. We didn't want to change it too much. We have to be cautious. We still have 43 cars racing out there. We can't measure things just on wins alone."

“
It makes sense. I know at times I've been confused by [the old 195-maximum points system]. This can make [the points] relevant to the fans for positions on the track.

”
-- Jeff Gordon

No one is saying consistency should be ignored, but it shouldn't trump winning.

NASCAR legend Richard Petty disagrees. A few hours before the announcement Tuesday, Petty said he didn't want any bonus points for winning. The King's point was other sports don't give a bonus for winning.

Sorry to disagree, Richard, but other sports are all about winning. If NASCAR wanted a championship system like other sports, the man who won the most races each year would win the title.

Petty is right about no bonus points. Just throw that out. The winner should receive a lot more points than second (at least 25 percent more) regardless of who led the most laps.

The big differential in the new system comes at the low end. In the old system, a winner received about five times as many points as the last-place finisher.

Now the winner will receive at least 47 times as many points, assuming the driver in last place doesn't lead a lap. That's a gigantic penalty for one bad day.

But what the heck. It is easier to figure out. The bottom line here is simplification in an era when people want to know things immediately.

"Now everyone knows if a driver is 10 points down he needs to pass 11 cars," France said. "The most important reason for this change is simplicity."

That part is accomplished. Tweet it. Put it on Facebook.

"NASCAR is being smart," five-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson said Tuesday. "They are trying to catch that 18-to-24 [age] demographic."

Good idea, but this doesn't do it.

You want to know how to do it? Make the races all about winning.

That's simple enough.