NASCAR changes race formats to create natural TV commercial breaks

NASCAR is significantly altering the competition format for the races in all three of its national divisions. The changes include events being divided into segments, along with a redistribution of how drivers are awarded championship points both for a particular event and throughout the season.

The changes were unveiled by high-ranking NASCAR executives; drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin, and Brad Keselowski; television analysts Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon; and assorted team and track presidents on Monday at the Charlotte Convention Center adjacent to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The revisions go into effect beginning with the 2017 season-opening Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Camping World Truck Series races at Daytona International Speedway.

Each national tour race will now be divided into three segments, with the first two segments ending on a specific lap determined in advance by a track’s length and the scheduled distance of the event. When one of the first two segments concludes, drivers holding positions inside the top 10 will receive points on a sliding scale from 10-to-1, and the winner of the segment will earn an additional bonus point that is applied to their total when the 10-race playoff begins.

At the conclusion of a race, points will be issued to the participants based on the finishing order just as they were under the previous system, with the winner continuing to virtually automatically qualify for the playoffs — which in nomenclature are no longer referred to as the “Chase.”

Any race a driver wins earns them five bonus points, which are accumulated and carry through to the end of the semifinal playoff round. Leading a lap and leading the most laps in a race no longer earns a driver bonus points.

“The stages will bring a lot of excitement for drivers and fans,” Earnhardt said. “This definitely creates a lot of interest. This is going to be fun. Fans should be excited.”

Additionally, NASCAR will now incentivize the driver who collects the most points during the regular season. That driver will earn 15 bonus points for the duration of the playoff, with the second-highest ranked driver receiving 10 points, the third eight points, the fourth seven points and so forth. Another change is the twin Daytona 500 qualifying races (the Duels) will now be proxy segments and award points for the top-10 finishers.

All races will be considered official following the completion of the second segment.

“Every single race matters and every single lap matters,” Hamlin said. “There are no off weeks.”

The playoff structure and how one qualifies for the playoffs remains as is. In the Cup Series, the regular season champion and the 15 drivers who’ve won the most races get a berth (provided they rank 30th or better in the standings). In case there aren’t enough winners, the field is filled out using points.

The Chase will continue to be comprised of four rounds with four drivers eliminated at the conclusion of every round. The methodology for the Cup championship finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway remains unchanged, with four title-eligible drivers racing straight-up. Whoever finishes best among the four is crowned series champion.

While the format modifications may sound confusing, Earnhardt, Hamlin, and Keselowski were insistent that the changes will improve the sport and increase the competitiveness.

"You don't necessarily need to know how a watch works, you just need to know what time it is," Hamlin said. "You're going to see better racing on the race track, and that's all that matters."

The implementation of segments will provide natural opportunities for NASCAR’s television partners, Fox Sports and NBC, to take air commercial breaks without interrupting the action. It also provides an incentive for drivers to perform at an optimum level for the entire duration of a race.

NASCAR has been looking at revising the race format for its premier division for several years, though it ultimately elected not to make any dramatic variations before Monday’s announcement. But as television ratings continued to drop significantly during the second half of the 2016 season, Fox and NBC executives began imploring NASCAR senior leadership behind the scenes to enact modifications that would both improve the on-track product and allow the networks to present races in a more advantageous way for the viewer.

NASCAR executives said those within the industry have been working closely together on changes since last summer. During the process of determining if and what changes to undertake, NASCAR executives spoke with and solicited ideas from several parties within the industry. They include the nine-member drivers’ council made up of appointed members, plus television partners and track promoters, as well as new Cup Series entitlement sponsor, Monster Energy, which announced last December it would take over the role previously held by Sprint from 2004-16. Those involved heralded the “unprecedented collaboration” in the conceptualization.

“I’m proud of the unprecedented collaboration from our industry stakeholders, each of whom had a common goal -- strengthening the sport for our fans,” NASCAR CEO and chairman Brian France said. “This is an enhancement fully rooted in teamwork, and the result will be an even better product every single week.”