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NASCAR: Five Lessons Learned From The Coke Zero 400 at Daytona

By Michael Guadalupe

Jul 5, 2015; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Matt Kenseth (20) and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Aric Almirola (43) wreck in front of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kasey Kahne (5) during the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 5, 2015; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Matt Kenseth (20) and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Aric Almirola (43) wreck in front of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kasey Kahne (5) during the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /
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Point System Is Still A Little Too Much

In a sport where winning is talked about like it is everything, the actual standings and the way drivers are ranked doesn’t seem to reflect it.

After the Coke Zero 400, Brad Keselowski earned his third win of the season. The only other driver to do this so far in 2016 is Kyle Busch, yet both drivers are sitting behind Kevin Harvick in the standings.

Keselowski now has two more wins over Harvick and one less did not finish (DNF), yet that’s still not enough to put him first in the standings. The only thing Harvick has over Keselowski is 2 more top 10’s.

Kyle Busch currently sits sixth with three wins and more top 5 finishes than any of the drivers above him in the standings. His current spot though is a result of his 4 DNF’s.

For these two drivers, where they are in the standing’s doesn’t really matter as at this point in the season it would be very unlikely that they could slip out of Chase contention. There current standings are more of a reflection of how winning races does less for you than having solid finishes.

Where the points system starts to get a little blurry is when it comes to drivers like Ryan Newman and Ryan Blaney. Both are still searching for a win and are sitting on the Chase bubble.

Both drivers have one DNF, but Newman has less top 5 and top 10 finishes than Blaney yet is currently one spot above him in the standings. Blaney also finished better than Newman at the Coke Zero 400.

Newman is more than likely ahead of Blaney because he understands how the point system works better than the rookie driver. Newman of course would like to win a race, but understands how finishing in the top 20 is a safer, more rewarding bet than trying to push toward the front to win a race.

Over the last several years NASCAR has improved their point system and how drivers are ranked in the standings, but there are still issues with the system and there will probably always be issues.

Still, drivers need to be rewarded more for trying to win races instead of playing safe and being happy with a top 15 or top 20 finish.

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