How NASCAR Points Are Awarded

The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series stars race every week towards the year-end championship. But how do they determine who the Champion is at the end of the year?

Every race on the schedule is worth the same amount of NASCAR points (except the Budweiser Shootout and the NEXTEL All-Star race in Charlotte which are not worth any points at all). Winning the Daytona 500 scores exactly the same number of points that winning in Watkins Glen does. This is why it is so important for the racers to run hard every week, there are no "unimportant" races during the season.

After every race points are assigned per the table at the bottom of this page.

The Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup

As of the 2007 season NASCAR changed The Chase format. Points are tallied after 26 races and the top twelve in points are locked into the final ten race Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. All twelve drivers will have their points manually set to 5,000 plus ten points for every race that they won during the first 26 races of the season.

For example, If you finish the first 26 races in the top twelve in points and have won three races so far that season then you would start the chase with 5,030 points.

For the last ten races, NASCAR points are still assigned the same way as the rest of the season to determine the champion.

The Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series do not use The Chase format. They simply race every race, total up the points at the end and award the Championship to the driver that has the most points.

NASCAR Bonus Points

Bonus points are awarded as follows:

Five bonus points are awarded to any driver that leads any lap. An additional five bonus points are awarded to the driver that leads the most laps.

Example #1

The most points a driver can earn in a single race is 195. If you win the race and lead the most laps you would receive 185 for winning, five bonus points for leading a lap and five bonus points for leading the most laps.

Example #2

If you win the race but do not lead the most laps you would receive 190 points, 185 for winning and five bonus points for leading a lap (since you must have lead at least the last lap). While the most the second place driver could earn is 180 points. 170 for second, five bonus points for leading and five additional bonus points for leading the most laps.

It used to be possible for the first and second place finishers to earn the same number of points. As of 2004 NASCAR has fixed that by giving the race winners an extra five points to bring it to 180 instead of the previous 175 points. In 2007 NASCAR again added five points to the winner's total making it 185 points for winning.

This point system rewards consistency more than it rewards winning. A full understanding of this NASCAR point system will help you win a NASCAR Championship.