NASCAR may scrap points system? UPDATE: NASCAR is considering scrapping the points system it has used since 1975 in favor of a simpler method that awards points per finishing position. The overhauling of the system is one of a handful of changes NASCAR is considering implementing before the season begins next month. Series officials have been detailing their ideas in individual meetings with teams. The sanctioning body wants to go to a scoring system that would award 43 points to the race winner, and one point less for each ensuing position down to one point for the 43rd-place finisher. NASCAR is also shying away from wholesale changes to its Chase for the Sprint Cup championship format. Teams have been told NASCAR is leaning toward keeping it a 12-driver field, with one caveat: The top 10 drivers following the 26th race of the season would qualify for the Chase, while the remaining two spots would go to the drivers with the most wins who are not already eligible for the Chase. Preseason testing begins Thursday at Daytona International Speedway, and NASCAR president Mike Helton and vice president of competition Robin Pemberton are scheduled to discuss some of the changes planned for 2011. But the major announcements aren’t scheduled until next week when France makes a presentation during Charlotte Motor Speedway’s annual media tour. NASCAR is still debating how to award bonuses under a straight points system, and ideas being considered are for anywhere from one to three points being given to lap leaders and race winners.(in part from the Associated Press)(1-17-2011)
UPDATE: Ramsey Poston, NASCAR managing director of corporate communications, said the sanctioning body has bounced several new competition ideas around to drivers and car owners in a recent series of town hall meetings. “NASCAR executives, including chairman and CEO Brian France, are in the process of meeting with drivers and team owners,” Poston said in a phone interview Monday night. “In those meetings we have discussed a number of ideas for potential changes for the coming season, none of which have been finalized at this point.” NASCAR president Mike Helton and vice president of competition Robin Pemberton will address 2011 rule changes in a news conference scheduled Friday at Daytona International Speedway. “We need to balance stories from past and look to the future to make things better,” Speedway president Joie Chitwood III said from his home Monday night.
Darrell Waltrip won three Cup championships during his driving career, all with the current points system [but no Chase]. Contacted at his home near Nashville, Tenn., Monday night, he said changing the points would have little effect on who wins the championship. “If you run the numbers, I guarantee you it comes out the same,” said Waltrip, now a racing analyst for Fox Sports. “It’s all perception. I’ve said all along, when we can’t explain it, so the people at home can understand it, it needs to be addressed. If you look at the history, 90% of the time, the championship comes down to two guys, sometimes three.” Chitwood said he hopes to see the change because it would make the points system easier for fans to understand. “We can never stop improving our sport, whether it is what we do at the track or what NASCAR does to manage competition,” Chitwood said.(Daytona Beach News Journal)(1-18-2011)
