NASCAR: Five Lessons Learned From The Quaker State 400 At Kentucky

Points System Continues to Reward Being Conservative

As the Chase continues to get closer, where drivers end up in the standings and how many points they gain or lose at each race becomes even more important.

Kentucky was a prime example of how the points system continues to reward drivers who play safe instead of take risks.

Both Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman avoided trouble on Saturday night and didn’t push to try and win the race, but both gained major points in the standings helping them inch even closer to locking in Chase spots.

Newman finished in third and moved up two spots in the standings, putting him in 12th. Stewart didn’t move up in the standings but did gain points over 31st place driver Brian Scott. He finished 5th on Saturday night.

Other drivers though, like Chase Elliot and Ryan Blaney, were racing hard to try and make it to the front.

Both ended up wrecking and while Elliot still has some cushion left in the standings, Blaney dropped three spots. He is still searching for his first Sprint Cup Series win, but if he doesn’t start driving more conservatively he won’t be competing in the Chase.

The points system rewards driving safe instead of pushing for a win, and as the Chase gets even closer we will see more drivers racing conservatively.

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