NASCAR Cup Series fields can be a maximum of 40 teams, with the 36 Chartered teams guaranteed a position in every race.

Points are earned based on a driver’s finishing position at the end of the race.  Points can also be earned by finishing in the top 10 at the end of a race stage.

In addition, the winner of each stage earns one playoff point the race receives five playoff points. Playoff points are added to a drivers point total after the points reset at the beginning of the playoffs, and each stage thereafter if the driver is still eligible for the championship. See the Cup Playoffs page for a complete explanation.

Points are awarded as follows at the end of the race:

Finish Points
 1  40
 2  35
 3  34
 4  33
 5  32
 6  31
 7  30
 8  29
 9  28
 10  27
 11  26
 12  25
 13  24
 14  23
 15  22
 16  21
 17  20
 18  19
 19  18
 20  17
 21  16
 22  15
 23  14
 24  13
 25  12
 26  11
 27  10
 28  9
 29  8
 30  7
 31  6
 32  5
 33  4
 34  3
 35  2
 36  1
 37  1
 38  1
 39  1
 40  1
Stage points are earned as follows:
 Stage Finish Points
1 10
2 9
3 8
4 7
5 6
6 5
7 4
8 3
9 2
10 1