December 29, 2002

Point Breakdown 5-Point Differential Finish Points   1            175   2            170   3            165   4            160   5            155 -------------- 4-Point Differential Finish Points   6            150   7            146   8            142   9            138 10            134 -------------- 3-Point Differential Finish Points 11            130 12            127 13            124 14            121 15            118 16            115 17            112 18            109 19            106 20            103 21            100 22             97 23             94 24             91 25             88 26             85 27             82 28             79 29             76 30             73 31             70 32             67 33             64 34             61 35             58 36             55 37             52 38             49 39             46 40             43 41             40 42             37 43             34

The NASCAR Winston Cup Series has used several point systems since it's inception in 1949, but the current system has been in place since 1975. That year is the start of the time frame that has come to be known as the modern era.

There are built in incentives that will reward teams for leading races and finishing near the front. The system also rewards consistency through out the season by awarding points to each competitor in each race and standardizes the system by awarding the same amount of point at each track, no matter the size or length of race.

Performance and Consistency

Considering the intense competition in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the number of teams capable of winning on any given weekend, a finish in the the top-five or the top-ten, will bring rewards at the conclusion of the season if there are consistent efforts .

Top-five finishers are rewarded with a five-point separation between themselves and the next highest finisher. Positions six through ten are awarded a four point separation. The remainder of the field, eleven through forty-three have a three point separation regardless of the number of starters.

By rewarding the top-five and top-ten finishers in this manner, promotes performance and consistency. The system also rewards teams that qualify at each event by awarding points to all competitors.

Earning Bonus Points

The only way a driver can earn bonus points is to lead a race. Five bonus points are awarded to a driver that leads at least one lap. An additional five bonus points can be earned by leading the most laps during a race.

Bonus points are an important part of the system because the give value leading a race or leading the most laps. This creates good, hard racing throughout the race. The extra bonus points awarded for leading the most laps improves the race in two ways. It's an incentive to stay in the lead, even in the early, middle or later stages of a race. It also rewards drivers who race hard but fail to finish due to mechanical or accidental mishap.

Relief Drivers - Drivers Points

NASCAR Winston Cup points are awarded to each driver that starts a race, regardless of who is driving the car at the conclusion of the race. The starting driver must take the green flag and make at least one lap to gather his share of the points for that race before turning over his car to a relief driver. This happens usually when a driver is too injured or sick to finish a race but is well enough to take the green flag.

Any qualified Winston Cup driver may drive in relief. This driver is usually someone without a scheduled ride or a driver that has dropped out of the race, for whatever reason. Sometimes it's known in advance that the relief driver will take over in a certain situation and he will practice the car ahead of time to familiarize himself with the car. The relief driver earns no points toward his drivers points but can earn points for the owner, depending on his finishing position in the race.

Owners Points

Owners points are earned in the same manner as the drivers points except that the owner receives points based on the performance of the car, regardless of who is driving. For example, the owner of a winning car would receive 175 points for the first place finish along with the additional bonus points, should any be earned.

Owners point are use to determine starting lineups when qualifying is canceled due to bad weather or other factors. It is also used to determine starting position when identical times are turned in qualifying. The highest in points get the higher starting position. Owners points come into play also in provisionals for non-qualifiers. The higher in owner points, the higher starting position. Finally, the owners points come into play for the distribution of NASCAR plan money such as the "Winners Circle."

Tie Breakers

In instances where two or more drivers should finish the season with the same amount of driver points, the number of wins during the year is used to break the tie. Successive tie breakers are the number of second place finishes, third place finishes and so on until the tie is broken.

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