NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France announced the new 2011 points award structure at the NASCAR Hall of Fame this evening..
The 12-driver Chase field remains intact, but the final two spots will be determined by the number of victories during the first 26 races.
Positions 11 and 12 are “wild-card” qualifiers and will go to non-top-10-ranked drivers with the most victories, as long as they’re ranked in the top 20 in points.
The new points system will award points in one-point increments. Race winners will earn 43 points, plus three bonus points for the victory.
Winners also can earn an extra point for leading a lap and leading the most laps, bringing their total to a possible maximum of 48 points.
All other drivers in a finishing order will be separated by one-point increments. A second-place finisher will earn 42 points, a third-place driver 41 points, and so on.
A last-place finisher — 43rd place — earns one point.
Other changes announced included:
The qualifying order will be set based upon slowest-to-fastest practice speeds.
For Inclement Weather Qualifying,if weather cancels qualifying, the starting lineup will be determined by practice speeds.
The same rule book procedures will be used to determine eligibility to start a race. If weather cancels practice sessions, then the starting lineup will be set by points, per the rule book.
