The Debate: Old Point System versus New Point System

September 12, 2022

Fans, drivers, teams have debated for years about the points system in NASCAR. The old system would accumulate points and at the end of a thirty-six race season the driver and team with the most points would win the championship. The new system however is a “win and you are in” system, where a win theoretically punches your ticket to a playoff spot in NASCAR’s multiple round playoff. NASCAR has used numerous formats throughout the years, the very first format was relatively simple. NASCAR would base your points on the amount of prize money, for example a race that paid $1000 to win would award 50 points to the winner, 45 to second place, 40 to third, and so on. Eventually NASCAR would start to award different points or fractions of points relative to the different types of tracks. These systems made the most sense to the majority of NASCAR’s fans as their favorite drivers would battle it out all year long, and in theory the driver who won the most would result in being crowned the champion. A decrease in the sport’s popularity, forced NASCAR to make a decision. That decision was to alter the point structure, and in 2004 the “Chase For The Cup” was born. The teams and drivers would continue to run the 36 race season, however after race number 26 in the season, the top ten drivers would have their points reset. First place would be reset to 5,050 points, and would decrease by five each for the remaining nine drivers. In 2007 the field would expand to 12 drivers, and in 2014 the system changed to sixteen drivers, and there would be guidelines to make the chase. A victory in the first 26 races would all but guarantee a spot in the chase, and after every three races the drivers in contention for the championship would decrease. In 2017, stage racing was born, the races would be split into three stages and points would be rewarded based off the stages, and playoff points would be awarded to stage winners. What is the better system? Well that is where it gets to a matter of opinion, if your driver won multiple races, but messed up in the playoffs like Kevin Harvick did in 2020, you might argue for the old points system. However if your driver was not able to win multiple times, but was the most consistent and did not have the points to win the championship you might feel disgruntled. You can also look at this 2022 regular season, where Martin Truex finished top-five in regular season points, but was unable to win and missed the cut line by three points, to another winless driver in Ryan Blaney. The new system was put in place to entice drama, and to try to balance the field, one could wonder how many championships Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon could have won if the playoff or chase system was not created. Could Dale Earnhardt Jr. have won a championship without the new system? Nobody truly will know. In conclusion it is a matter of opinion on what point system is better. If you like the drama and unpredictability than the new system is better for you. If you prefer the dominant or most consistent driver to win the championship than the older points system would be better.