Question for NASCAR fans.?

Question

Can anyone give me a quick lesson on NASCAR.
A.) How do drivers earn points?
B.) What is the difference between the nextel cup and the nation wide cup?
C.) Do all of the races that drivers race in a season lead up to the nextel cup or do only a few count toward the cup.
D.) Other basics I should know about the sport.
I recently saw a race and I am interested in learning about what goes on. Thanks.

Answer 1

A) Points are awarded by the position they finish in. The higher the finish, the more points they earn. Bonus points are given for leading laps. 5 points for leading 1 lap and 5 more if you lead the most.

B) Nextel, or Sprint as it will be known as next season, is the top level. The Nationwide Series is the next level under. Alot of the Sprint Cup drivers do double duty and drive some races in the Nationwide Series. Some drivers, such as Carl Edwards last year, drive all the races for both series.

C) All of the regular season races count toward the Sprint Cup. They have a race called the Bud Shootout, which is held the week before the Daytona 500. This race is an Allstar race of sorts, where only the drivers who won a pole position from the year before are eligible to race. They also have the actual All Star race, which is held in Charlotte every May. This is for the drivers who have a won a race in the past year. All other races count for points toward the Cup.

D) As for the basics, its something that you will pick up on more and more as you watch more races!

Answer 2

A. Drivers earn points by completing the race and what positions they finish in. 1st 180 points - 43rd 34 points

B. The Sprint Cup is the top division in Nascar's series division. The Nationwide is more of a developmental program for young drivers.

C. There are 10 races that lead to the championship. Those 10 race shootout is called The Chase for the Sprint Cup. The top 12 drivers in points are seperated by 55 pts and from there battle to win the championship.

D. Pick a driver and follow him. NASCAR is the best sport ever don't let people criticize you just because you like it. This sport has way more action than many sports do. Have Fun with NASCAR, I've been a fan since I was 5 and it's been 10 years now and I'm still a nascar fan.

Answer 3

I'll tackle A 1st...Drivers recieve points based on where the finish in a race...1st place earns 185 points, 2nd 170...Each position after that you subtract 5 points until 6th place which earns 150...7th is worth 146, and you subtract 4 points until 11th place, which is 130...12th place is worth 127, and then you subtract 3 points per position the rest of the way, 43rd (or last) is 34 points...Any driver who leads a lap at any time (whether under green or caution) earns 5 points, and the driver(s) who lead the most laps in a race earn 5 more points...All NASCAR races are scored this way...In the Sprint Cup, after the 26th race, the top 12 drivers points are reset to 5000, and then each driver recieves 10 more points for every win they had during the 1st 26 races...Then using the same points scale, those 12 race for the championship...The rest of the drivers also compete, but they keep using their point totals from the 1st 26 races...NASCAR does not do this for any other of it touring divisons (Nationwide, Craftsman Truck, etc.)

B) As stated b4, Sprint Cup is the majors, Nationwide series is the minors

C) Drivers earn points toward the Sprint Cup if they compete in a Sprint Cup race (w/ the exception of the 2 all-star events)...Drivers do not recieve Sprint Cup points for competing in a Nationwide series race...They do however recieve points toward the Nationwide series championship

D) Like others have said, just watch the races, and you'll learn the basics

Answer 4

A. The winner earns 185, second gets 175, it decreases in increments of 5 through 6th. 6th-11th it decreases in 4 point increments. 11th-43rd it decreases in 3 point increments down to 34. Drivers that fail to qualify earn no drivers points, but it continues to decrease in increments of 3 which are given to the team's owner points (which are essential to being able to lock up a spot in a race).

B. Nationwide Series is (or is supposed to be) for up-and-coming driver, and Nextel (now known as Sprint) Cup is supposed to be for the drivers that were good enough in Nationwide to be given a shot at Sprint Cup, and NOT supposed to be for open wheelers looking for a big paycheck.

C. There's more than one answer to both of those questions. Yes, all of the races count, but the chase is really the deciding factor. When there are 10 races left in the season, all the points of the top 12 drivers are set to 5000 and the drivers are given 10 additional points per win during the first 26 races (at this point there are 36 in a season). So if a driver had 3 wins before the chase, they get an additional 30 points, so they now have 5030. So, in a way, they all count toward the cup, but there is a much larger emphasis on the last 10.

D. Loose = oversteer. Tight = understeer. Taking out wedge makes the car looser, adding wedge makes the car tighter. Raising the track bar makes the car looser, lowering it makes the car tighter. Less tire pressure in a tire creates more grip and more friction, which means more heat, less is the opposite. Some cars are slower because they are not properly funded or have a bad setup (I.E. the 15 car). Restrictor plates are added to the cars at tracks like Daytona and Talladega so we don't have anymore of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt5XCCgwulA . Certain drivers are good at certain tracks (I.E. Robby Gordon at road courses) so the same drivers are not running up front every week like Indy and IRL. That's about it I guess.

Finally, pick a driver (preferrably a young talent with no wins but a bright future... like Reed Sorenson) and follow them. That's what I did... somewhat subconsciously... and now that driver is by far my favourite and I can't get enough of his success in the sport!

Answer 5

ok ur anwser to A driver earn points depeneding on what position they finish so if a driver wants to try to win the championship they gotta try to win races or get alot of top fives

B nextel cup which is now called sprint cup is technically the pros of nascar they are the elite devision of nascar the nationwide sereies is one below the sprint cup so they are technically 1 below the elite series of sprint cup so its pretty much a rookie series

C all races count that lead up to the chase for the cup then the top 12 drivers in drivers points which then the last 10 races in the season so the last ten races the top 12 drivers battle it out for the championship

Answer 6

A.) Drivers earn points by finishing in a race. There are also bonus points for leading at least a lap and the most laps. There are different amounts of points for every place they finish in.
B.) The NEXTEL CUP, now known as the SPRINT CUP, and the Nationwide Cup, before known as the Busch Series, are different because the SPRINT CUP has the good drivers already, and the Nationwide Cup has younger drivers such as Shane Hmeil and a lot of other drivers. It's like soccer best teams are in first division and worse are in second.
C.) All of the races count except the Budweiser Shootout and The Allstar Challenge but all of the drivers don't such as of race 26 at Richmond.
1 Dale Earnhardt Jr 5050
2 Jeff Gordon 5045
3 Jimmie Johnson 5040
4 Casey Mears 5035
5 Kurt Busch 5030
6 Kyle Busch 5025
7 Tony Stewart 5020
8 Clint Bowyer 5015
9 Paul Menard 5010
10 Martin Truex Jr. 5005
11 Mark Martin 5000
12 Juan Pablo Montoya 5000
Only these drivers race towards the championship.
D.) Green flag-go,Yellow flag-caution,Red flag-stop,Black flag-penalty,Black flag w/ white stripe-disqualified,Blue flag w/ yellowish stripe-LAPPED CAR MOVE OVER,White flag-one lap to go,CHECKERED FLAG-WINNER
GO JR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS SHOW EM' WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF

Answer 7

Well you could go to NASCAR.com. Or watch a race, The broadcast teams are very good about keeping fans updated on points standings, who needs to lead a lap to get 5 bonus points yada yada yada.
Nextel Cup= Major league
Nation Wide= Minor league
With the exception of a couple races, all are for points.
You want to learn about the sport? Just watch Speed Channel, before and after every race, and Fox Networks coverage of races is the BEST. I have been a fan for 30 years, and i learn something new everytime i hear, Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, Larry Mc Renyolds, Jeff Hammond and Co.

Answer 8

a. Drivers earn points by racing. They get points based on where they finish. I think its like 180 points for winning and then decreases from there.
b. Nextel cup is not The Sprint Cup, that's NASCAR's top series, the major leagues, Nationwide cup, which was the Busch series is the minor league of NASCAR.
c. There are points races and non-points races. Though I think there's only two or three non-points races out of the 36 they run.
d. Racing kicks ***. Once you really sit down and start to understand the talent it takes to race it gets real cool. These guys are driving at 200 miles per hour in what us Californians know as bumper to bumper traffic. Hell, there are people in this world who can't do that at five miles per hour. Go to a race and you really begin to understand. As a driver you have to understand what your car is doing, how to change it to make it better and how to get yourself out of stick situations.

I love racing because these guys have the guts to get in these cars and drive fast and they really do love it.

GO SMOKE!!!!!

Answer 9

Huff and Hihey said it best. They told you about everything, and remember pick a driver you are comfortable with. I picked two drivers that may not be the best in the business but when I mention them I get a great response because they are really respected people.

Answer 10

A. In any given race you can earn a certain amount of points for where you finished in a race and how many laps you led.

B. The Nextel Cup (now Sprint Cup) is the top level NASCAR series. Once you're there, you've reached the top. The Nationwide series is the series just below that. It was created for up-and-coming drivers, but it hasn't necessarily stayed that way. (If you keep watching, you'll find out what I mean.)

C. There are 26 "regular season" races. The last 10 races are NASCAR'S version of the "playoffs." The top 12 drivers in the driver's points after 26 races are locked into the chase, and the points are reset. The driver at the top of the standings at the end of the chase, wins the Sprint cup.

D. I'm gonna leave the rest out, and some other details. The more you learn the more you're drawn into it... esp. when you watch the TV shows!

Enjoy the races!