points – Motor Sports Racing

Editorial credit: Grindstone Media Group / Shutterstock.com The NASCAR season is long and exciting, but it can also get pretty complicated. You might think it’s just week after week of qualifying and race days, and for much of the year it is, but as the summer winds down and the main part of the season comes to a close, the next part of the annual festivities begins --- the NASCAR Playoffs. Following the 26-race regular NASCAR season, the NASCAR playoff races comprise of 10 races split into rounds of 3 with a final single race to decide the winner. 16 contending drivers enter the first playoff round and four are eliminated after each round of 3. With the final race, deciding the championship each year. The playoffs are a source of confusion to many, even some pretty die-hard NASCAR fans. Some are happy enough just to see that races aren’t over and that they keep getting more NASCAR action, but for those who are more curious about how these playoffs work, this article should help. What Are the NASCAR Playoffs? The NASCAR playoffs are a series of 10 races that follow the grueling 26-race regular season. A place in the playoffs competition is open only to the top 16 drivers with enough wins and/or top-10 finishes. In the 2022 season, drivers who won places within the playoffs were (and the number of times they’ve been in the playoffs so far, including 2022): Kevin Harvick (16) Denny Hamlin (16) Kyle Busche (15) Joey Logano (9) Chase Elliott (7) Kyle Larson (6) Ryan Blaney (6) Alex Bowman (5) Austin Dillon (5) William Byron (4) Christopher Bell (2) Tyler Reddick (2) Chase Briscoe - First Ross Chastain - First Austin Cindric - First Daniel Suarez - First The current format of top 16 drivers entering the playoffs season was first launched back in 2014. Structure and Schedule of Playoff Races The races themselves are run just like regular NASCAR races, with 3 stages, and points awarded to winners of stage 1 and 2 (up to 10 points per stage), followed by a winner’s point bonus of up to 40 points. The playoffs work like a knockout tournament, with 4 drivers being eliminated from each round: RoundRacesDates (2022)Round of 16Darlington RacewayKansas SpeedwayBristol Motor Speedway Sep 4, Sep 11, Sep 17Round of 12Texas Motor SpeedwayTalladega SuperspeedwayCharlotte Motor Speedway Road CourseSep 25, Oct 2, Oct 9 Round of 8Las Vegas Motor SpeedwayHomestead-Miami SpeedwayMartinsville SpeedwayOct 16, Oct 23, Oct 30Championship 4Phoenix RacewayNov 6 Any driver that wins a race is guaranteed a spot in the next round, which means that up to three drivers may claim that spot during the first three rounds (rounds of 16, 12, and 8). Of course, should one driver dominate the field, they may deny that chance to others, leaving other places to be decided on points. As we know, however, it’s not so common in NASCAR for one driver or team to win every race --- unlike Mercedes-Benz in Formula 1! --- which means the field stays pretty exciting throughout. Scores are leveled out from round to round (see further below about the scoring system), allowing each round to be its own exciting competition. The final round is a winner-takes-all single race where the only objective is to cross the finish line first, and all the remaining four drivers starting on equal footing of 5,000 points. There are no foregone conclusions when it comes to the playoffs, and the winner of the regular season title has no particular advantage over their rivals. Editorial credit: Grindstone Media Group / Shutterstock.com Do They Use the Same Points System in the NASCAR Playoffs? Drivers accrue playoff points all through the regular season by winning stages and placing in the top 10 in races. When the playoffs start around early September each year, they do use the same points system for winners and those who finish behind them: 40 points for the winner, and then 35 points for second place, 34 points for third, and so on. As each round of the playoffs progresses, however, the scores are “reset,” first to 2,000 for the round of 16, and then 3,000 for the round of 12, and then up to 4,000 in the round of 8. For the Championship 4 race (final race of the playoff season), the scores are set at 5,000. This means that no one driver can simply run away with the score throughout the season, and has to win each round on equal footing with their fellow drivers. It’s all part of the “win and you’re in” style of racing that NASCAR uses for these playoffs. Who Won the NASCAR Playoffs in 2022? With a table-topping score of 5,040 points, the winner of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs in 2022 was Joey Logano. The final race day was at Phoenix Raceway in Arizona on November 6, with Joey Logano fending off competition from Ross Chastain in his Chevrolet, seemingly the only one who truly threatened Logano’s title grab that day. As the winner of the race, Logano received 40 additional points to take him over the top. Chastain finished third in the race, gaining 34 points and thus finishing just 6 points behind Logano overall on 5,034. Another interesting point in this race was the relatively young age of the drivers. Logano was the “seasoned veteran” of the group, aged just 32 years old. Close competitor Chastain is two years Logano’s junior. Why Was Kurt Busch Absent From the Playoffs? Perhaps the most notable absence from the playoffs lineup this year was Kurt Busch. Despite the fact that he most likely would have qualified for a spot after winning at the Kansas Speedway in May 2022, Busch was forced to withdraw because he sustained a concussion while racing at the Pocono Raceway in July 2022. This injury was serious enough for him to withdraw from the final six races of the regular season, and thus taking himself out of the running for the playoffs. Another notable absence is Martin Truex Jr., who fell short of a place in the round of 16 by just 3 points behind Ryan Blaney. Michael McDowell and Erik Jones were among a group of other top drivers who despite placing in the top 10 a significant number of times through the regular season were still unable to secure a place in the highly competitive playoffs. Conclusion NASCAR playoffs after a season of points collection boil down to a series of races where winning does matter, and hopefully the explanation above has helped make things a little clearer. The 2022 playoffs are most likely to be remembered for that video game move of "Haul the Wall" that Ross Chastain pulled at Martinsville on October 30th to secure a final four place in the playoffs it was incredible to watch and has even spawned its own clothing line! References https://nascar101.nascar.com/2022/09/03/nascar-playoffs-101-what-you-need-to-know/ https://www.usanetwork.com/usa-insider/how-do-the-nascar-cup-series-playoffs-work https://en.as.com/racing/2022-nascar-cup-series-playoffs-field-and-format-explained-n/