New Guidelines Designed to Further Highlight Abundance of Young Talent
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 18, 2018) – Exactly one month from today, the green flag will wave over what is expected to be the youngest DAYTONA 500 field in NASCAR history. And today, NASCAR announced an update to the Sunoco Rookie of the Year points structure in all three national series, placing a brighter spotlight on some of those young stars.
Beginning this season, the Sunoco Rookie of the Year point system will mirror the points structure that awards the season-long championship, including stage points and playoff points, with the eventual Sunoco Rookie of the Year earning the most points throughout the season.
As is the case with the season-long points structure, a race win will earn a Sunoco Rookie 40 points and five playoff points. A second-place finish will earn a Sunoco Rookie 35 points; a third-place finish nets 34 points, and so on. A Sunoco Rookie who wins a stage will earn 10 points and one playoff point.
“The focus on our rising stars has never been stronger and simplifying the Sunoco Rookie of the Year system made perfect sense,” said Jim Cassidy, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations. “Our fans track closely the progress of our young drivers and matching the Sunoco Rookie of the Year points structure with the championship points will help them follow this prestigious program and award more closely than ever before.”
The new Sunoco Rookie of the Year guidelines will take effect in all three NASCAR national series – the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
About NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States. NASCAR consists of three national series (the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series, one local grassroots series and three international series. The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. Based in Daytona Beach, Fla., with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’). For race tickets, visit www.NASCAR.com/tickets.
