The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup is clearly recognized as the most prestigious championship and the highest level of competition for professional NASCAR driving. Currently sponsored by Sprint, The Cup series has had a long-standing history with the sport of NASCAR.
While the Cup series goes back to 1949, the inaugural season for the championship. The actual NASCAR Sprint Cup is based on a point system that takes into account both finishing place in Sprint Cup races and laps led in Sprint cup races.
The current system works by calculating placement during the first 26 races of the season. The top twelve after this set of rankings move on to “The Chase for the Championship”, which is also referred to as “The Chase”. These are the only twelve drivers who are eligible to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Drivers who make this final group are given a base of 5,000 points. The drivers will also receive an extra 10 points for each of the races that they have won during those initial 26 races. The drivers are scored with the exact same method as the first 26 races through the final 10 races. In the end, the winner with the highest points after the last race of the season wins the NASCAR Sprint Cup. This entirely new Sprint Cup format has created a sort of playoffs for the sport, with the final twelve racers jockeying for the win.
It is important to note that the rest of the field is not forgotten. Drivers who do not place in the top 12 will still rack up points during the final ten races. While they cannot work their way into the top twelve “Chase for the Championship”, they can jockey for 13th place (1st place amongst the non-chase racers). The individual who does so receives a $1 million bonus.
