How does the Chase for the Cup work?

Question

I thought only 10 people were in the running, but I thought that I heard there were more than 10 people racing last week...but it was during the Chase.

Answer 1

After 26 races, the top 10 drivers or those within 400 points of 1st place are in the chase. If 2 or more drivers are tied for 10th, they also are in. The driver in 1st place has their points reset to 5,050 with a 5-point drop-off for each position after 1st. The point system otherwise does not change. So why do the other 33 drivers still race the last ten races? Several reasons; 11th place receives a $1 million bonus at the end of the season; to try to improve for next season; there's still a lot of money to be won; and most importantly, the top 35 car owners automatically make the first 5 races at the start of next year.

Answer 2

Here is how it works- The last 10 races of the year are during the Chase. The drivers acculate points throughout the year. Then the points are reset for the chase. The drivers who are in the top ten in points, or within 400 points of the leader, after the final race before the chase- are the drivers who are in the chase. During the chase all of the drivers race and anyone can win a race, but only the drivers in the"chase" can win the championship. At the beginning of the chase the points are reset. The driver in 1st place starts with 45 points (I believe) then each place after that is 5 points less- ie..

1st-45
2nd-40
3rd- 35
4th- 30
etc...

The Busch series is a good exapmle of why they started this format. Here we are with like five races left and Kevin Harvick has already won that championship. So the remaining races aren't as exciting. With the chase format, every year since it started, it is anybody's game until the final race at Homestead. The first year they did it, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr- were all very close in points and any of them could have won- Kurt one that year, but only by 8 points. This format makes it more exciting.

Answer 3

10 Drivers, for the last 10 races are eligible to run the the NEXTEL CUP CHAMPIONSHIP. They 'may' increase the number of eligible drivers next year so they can accomidate such drivers as Tony Stewart who didn't make in this year's Ten, and Jeff Gordon and Dale Earhardt Jr. who didn't make it in last year's Ten. Just bring back the tried and true way doing things NASCAR, it worked for over 50 years!

Answer 4

You earn points for the various races in the (formerly Winston)Nextel Cup series depending upon your finish.

Person with the most points wins the Cup and the prize money....

Theoretically you can win the Cup without winning a single race.

Answer 5

The drivers who are not in the chase are racing for money...not just points! There were several drivers in Saturday night's race who are not in the chase that won over $100K. Racing is thier livelyhood...it is their job!

Answer 6

i love nascar (except for restrictor plate racing which is stupid) however i think NASCARS SCORING SYSTEM IS THE STUPIDEST THING EVER. wins should count for a lot more points and anyone finishing lower than 20th or so should not get any points. i do like pole position points and fastest lap points. i think nascar should revamp the points system and drop the chase. Tony Stewart's running around trying to finish 11th. that's just dumb

Answer 7

well there are only ten cars running for the nextel cup and all the other cars there are running for points and thats all. They want to rack up as much points as possible. only ten and KASEY KAHNE IS RUNNING EIGHTH IN THE STANDINGS FOR THE NEXTEL CUP!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOO! he won last weekends race. it was AWESOME!!