The NASCAR Press Conference took place at the NASCAR Hall of Fame with Brian France Jr. making the announcements. I’m putting out this piece to clarify what would seem to be what everyone had heard whispers about over the last few weeks, and that is in regards to the changes to the points structure (across all three National series) in NASCAR, the changes to qualifying for The Chase for the Cup, qualifying for a race itself and one grumbly observation from this sports reporting writer.
Points system
The NASCAR Points system is now simpler and that’s where they were coming from, to simplify the process.
- Points will be awarded in 1 point increments from 43 (for a win) to 1 point (for last place).
- Winning a race gets a 3 pt bonus.
- Lead a lap is a single bonus point.
- Lead the most laps, a single point.
Those bonus points are actually worth less in this new system than they were in the old system. In the 185 point system, a 5 point bonus equaled 2.7% of the points pot. A single bonus point in this new 43 point system is now worth 2.3% of the pot.
On the positive side*, getting 3 points for winning to be added to the 43 point system is equal to 6.98% of the pot. There does seem to be a larger boost for winning. Having this few a points won’t really change much. What I see that it will do, is make it look pretty exciting in the first third of the season. If someone 43rd in the points standings after Daytona wins the next race, they’ll make a huge jump in the system. But if they perform on par with how they might have at Daytona, you’ll see them settle back into their own spot. By the then of the season, we’ll see that no matter how tight the points look, it will still all pan out like it always does, and the points will reward the most consistently superior performing driver. This is how Jimmie Johnson has done it… by NEVER being outside the top-5 in points, ever, in his entire career.
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Qualifying for the Chase:
As competitors rev up to join the 12-car field in the Chase, the first 10 get in the Chase by their position in the points standings. The 11th and 12th will be seeded in the teams with the most wins, but they must come from the top-20 in points. If no one qualifies as such, then it will be 11th and 12th in the points. (I’m not too worried about that!)
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Weekend Qualifying Qualifying
- Practice speeds will determine qualifying order.
- Weather (inclement) will force lineup to be set by practice speeds.
- Weather (inclement) interferes with practice, field set by points.
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Drivers to Pick a Series
All drivers will choose which series to compete in for the championship and can only choose one.
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Tire Rules
All teams will only have 5 sets of tires instead of 6 for practice.
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The cars have new front ends to help the cars look better. And if you were wondering, the top 35 in points is still in play and was never on the table for change.
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An Observation on Fans
As the live video feed was going, they had a live feed of Twitter & Facebook streams for those who logged in and I was embarrassed to be counted among this group. I’m sorry but if all you have in you is that you want to do is bash any and all changes ever announced, why ITH are you logging in? Some folks are amazing if that’s all they live to do, to leave a legacy of complaining. Of course, I can’t leave out the jealous… Jimmie Haters. There were also some moronic posts from a fellow who kept posting that he wanted to tickle Danica. The feed needed a moderator to block this ***** because he was cranking it out and showing up every 5 or 6 posts. Parents… get your children off your Facebook and Twitter feeds!
As fans, we need to understand that we aren’t the only demographic that watches the show. NASCAR also noted earlier this week to the press members that we need to try and take a more positive approach to our reporting. Sure, attendance might be down at a track, but they want us to point out that there are still over 100 thousand peole there. Sure, TV ratings are down, but to remind everyone that NASCAR is still the 2nd most watched sport on TV.
I think I led by example on Twitter. When the feed went down… I noted that feed cratered, but I also noted I now have time to write up my notes on the exciting changes! See… I can do that. When I was working for another site… no, not that one. The one before it, we strove to add positive spin to our NASCAR pieces. And I get it. To be honest, I can’t blame the folks that spin their time bashing. Bashing is an incredibly easy action. It takes more focus to try to reach out and pluck the positive out of the air with any event. With that said, I must say that when ABC pulled the Phoenix race a few years back, in favor or AFV, then I’m sure the fans of AFV were pretty pleased to get their show in. (There, how was that? It hurt, but there it is. I’m going to give this a try this year. See how long I last!)
With that said, so be it. There are the rule changes in effect for the 2011 NASCAR season. To be honest, it should still be fun!
