If there was a wild wreck or two, it was even better. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The reason these points were so valuable is that they are tallied up at the end of a race and decide how many points each driver walks away with. At the stage break, those who had yet to pit would do so, allowing those who stopped before the break to leapfrog back to the front. The adjustments primarily involve reducing the number of laps in the third stage to ensure enough . Your email address will not be published. C'mon, admit it. Stages 1 and 2 offer extra points for each driver, and the Coca-Cola 600, stage 3 also gives the same points. For more information, please read our Legal Disclaimer. No one should expect to make money from the picks and predictions discussed on this website. Stage 1 is 65 laps long, starting at lap 1. Sometimes stages work out as a 40/60 split, with 30% each for the first and second stages and the remaining 40% representing the final and longest stage. Playoff points are extremely valuable during each 3-race round of the playoffs. The two events, the Busch Light Clash and the Duels at Daytona, are the only races in NASCAR that do not have stages. What NASCAR Track Has the Steepest Banking? Essentially, the stage racing format in NASCAR is designed to help keep the pack together and not let one driver dominate. NASCAR isn't quite ready for that, aside from the Busch Light Clash, so in 2017 the sanctioning body came up with the ideas of breaking up races into three stages. Let's say Chase Elliott won a race at Pocono Raceway, earning him a total of 40 points. Each Cup race with the exception of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (with four) has three stages. Stage racing was implemented to ensure those things were still part of the sport. Well, the reality is that there is a strong likelihood that a spectacular pass or a major accident will occur every time NASCAR green-flags a restart. It depends on what you watch NASCAR for and what you wish to get out of a race. Often winners of stages and winners of the overall race are not the same, which also creates more action for sports betting, a very lucrative attraction NASCAR offers. Be the first one to comment on this story. It was my first time in a new Cup car, and 80 laps out for what? The playoffs start better for drivers with a string of triumphs than those who have to work their way through the regular season with no wins. Bristol Dirt Format: NASCAR stages, pit stops, lineups NASCAR has come to accept a lot of artificial excitement into their product, and stage racing is a result of that. Then-NASCAR CEO Brian France addressed the media upon announcing stage racings implementation and was confident the leadership group made the correct decision. The stages add playoff benefits and a new point system that encourages racers to push hard like they would during qualifying races and other big events. Everyone who finishes a stage 11th and after earns no stage points. These points all go towards the playoff points, which either get them into the racing after the primary season or not, depending on actual race wins as well. Analysis: NASCAR can't seem to win when racing in the rain - Motorsport Even some drivers were skeptical about the pending changes, wondering aloud if stages would negatively impact races. The soul of NASCAR was a bunch of drivers go toe-to-toe and laying it all on the line for one specific reason to win the race. How often do fans moan about qualifying? The Evolution of Safety in NASCAR | State Racing Sometimes this gamble pays off and other times it backfires greatly. Through 18 races, the races have been a total combined 80 minutes longer -- 4.4 minutes a race -- than the five-year averages for those events. Formula 1 on the verge of an amazing all-time record in Abu Dhabi, NASCAR: All the facts and figures from year 1 of the new package, NASCAR: Monday Dover race not being broadcast on Fox, NASCAR changes Dover schedule again due to weather. ET Monday. This is important because it reduces the number of full-screen commercial breaks during green flag racing, something that often irks fans watching from home. It seems to be something (Chatain) does a lot recently. Fans argue that the planned stage-ending cautions are better than phantom debris cautions, and that much is true. How do they work in Cup Series races, and why did NASCAR opt to bring them in in the first place? Furthermore, the introduction of stages gave NASCAR drivers an extra incentive by competing for highly coveted stage points. And current drivers seem to have quickly grown accustomed to stage racing and accepted it. The 2017 NASCAR season saw the implementation of stage racing. I think the fans would ultimately lose.". The Daytona Duels are 2 qualifying races that set the field for the Daytona 500. At Auto Club Speedway, the stage breaks went for 12 . These criticisms are all fair. NASCAR eliminates stage breaks for Cup road course events After an early-race crash sparked by Ross Chastain parked Brennan Poole in Mondays Cup race at Dover Motor Speedway, Poole said Chastain probably needs to get his butt whooped.. Stages help the most in preventing breakaway leaders in the first few laps of the race. Missing an amazing pass or crash in NASCAR due to a dragging ad is just as upsetting as not seeing a touchdown pass in football for the same reasons. In nascar what is a competition caution? - sur.afphila.com The crew chief and pit strategies teams need to incorporate stage endings into their race plans, and with stage structures, stage wins can matter as much as race wins for the championship competition. However, a Duel win does not count toward advancing to the playoffs. Let's also say that he finished fourth in the second stage, earning him seven points, and second in the first stage, giving him nine points. All NASCAR races across the 3 major series have stages because the sport wanted to create a better television product by adding more urgency during the middle portions of a race. How NASCAR Stages Work. As NASCAR viewership moves to a larger digital spectatorship when compared to trackside fans, the race format has needed to adapt as well. Every NASCAR season begins with an exhibition race called The Clash. Having points available at predetermined increments during a NASCAR race has changed the way races are run in other ways as well. Shouldn't running up front during a race matter for something? Second place gets 35 points, third gets 34 points, fourth gets 33 points, until 36th-40th . So, its kind of pathetic. But why did NASCAR start stage racing? The top 10 finishers in each stage also earn regular-season points, which is important because at the end of the regular season, drivers ranked 1 to 10 in overall regular-season points earn additional playoff points on a 15-10-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale. To that, NASCAR likely views its new format as "modernizing tradition" and says something like, "Guilty as charged. Please logout and login again. link to Is NASCAR Racing Profitable for Teams? (Chastain). Some longtime fans and NASCAR purists met the change with skepticism and outrage. The reasoning behind the change in how the NASCAR races were set up all boils down to one thing. He got the finish he deserved, and I didnt do a good enough job to get the finish that we needed out of that one (Dillon was third, Busch 32nd). Drivers now earn bonus points by finishing in the top 10 at the end of the first and second stages of a race. Of course, they could do that anyway without the "stages," but this at least gives fans a starting point. The field for the Daytona 500 is determined by the two qualifying events known as the Daytona Duels. Common critiques of stage racing from these fans usually revolve around the idea that stage racing is gimmicky. Stages also replace pit stops and give drivers a break they would never have been able to take during the old races. A driver who wins the first 3 stages would earn 30 points and 3 playoff points at this race, whereas sweeping stages at any other race only earns the winner 20 points and 2 playoff points. Some still wonder, wanting to see how it plays out with stage winners earning one playoff point and race winners earning five. NASCAR equips each car with an Incident Data Recorder (ICD) that is essentially the sport's "black box," mounted on the driver's side of the chassis in a "shoe" designed by safety engineers. Even if they occasionally occur naturally during the race, there are other moments when the chance isnt there. Safety has always been important to NASCAR. This is the exploratory stage where fundamental questions are answered, such as what will actually be implemented. In a stunning development, NASCAR announced Sunday evening that Chase Elliott has been declared the winner of the M&M's Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono Raceway after both Denny Hamlin and Kyle . The pending end of a stage. DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- It is time for the 65th running of the Daytona 500, NASCAR's biggest event on its biggest stage, kicking off what many believe could be one of the sport's biggest seasons .