NASCAR announced on Wednesday that they have added a wild card element to setting the Chase and a simplified points system for 2011.
[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignleft” width=”225″]
[/media-credit]The Chase field remains at 12 drivers, but the final two spots will be determined by the number of wins during the first 26 races. The positions of 11th and 12th will be referred to as the “wild card” positions and will go to non-top-10-ranked drivers with the most wins, as long as they’re ranked in the top 20 in points after race 26. If no driver wins outside of the top-10 in points, NASCAR will go by the series standings to determine the final two positions.
The new points system will apply to all NASCAR national series and will award points in one-point increments with three bonus points for a race win. Additional points can be made for leading a lap and leading the most laps with the possible maximum points to 48 per race.
Other notes:
- Drivers in all three national series now must select the series where they’ll compete for a driver championship. Drivers still may compete in multiple series and can complete for the owners title.
- The qualifying order will be set based upon slowest to fastest final practice speeds. During inclement weather and qualifying is cancelled, the final starting lineup will be determined by practice speeds. If weather cancels practice sessions, then the starting lineup will be set by points, per the rule book.
- More manufacturer identity.
