NASCAR Stage Racing: Pros and Cons

By Asher Fair | Oct 5, 2017

JOLIET, IL - SEPTEMBER 17: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

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LOUDON, NH – SEPTEMBER 24: Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Target Chevrolet (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

LOUDON, NH – SEPTEMBER 24: Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Target Chevrolet (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) /

Con – Effect on the driver standings and playoff points

Again, like the other three pros and cons discussed thus far in this article, you could make the case that stage racing’s effect on the driver standings and playoff points and such is a good thing, as it rewards drivers who do well throughout the race with points that do toward their standings total and, if they win a stage or two, a playoff point or points.

However, in what sport do teams get rewarded for being ahead at halftime?

Now, I know NASCAR isn’t basketball or football, and I know that no one wants it to be. However, it seems pretty universal that the winners of games and races should be rewarded more so than the those who don’t win.

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With stage racing, that isn’t always the case. Race winners get 40 points, while 2nd place finishers get 35. That total decreases by 1 point for each position from 3rd place finishers down to 36th place finishers, with 36th place finishers and lower getting just 1 point.

But stage winners get 10 points, a total that decreases by 1 point all the way down through the 10th place finishers, who get 1 point.

So you could essentially have a driver that wins both stages but only finishes in 16th place in the race end up with more points than a race winner who didn’t finish in the top 10 in either stage. The 16th place finisher would end up with 41 points, while the winner would end up with just 40.

Now, the winner would end up with 5 playoff points, while the 16th place finisher would end up with just 2, which is good. However, those 2 playoff points are still a lot, especially seeing as how no other driver aside of the winner gets any.

None of that really makes sense, and this can really affect the drivers standings and playoff points and make some drivers look better than they actually are and make some drivers look worse than they actually are.

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Stage racing has been, is and will continue to be debated. There is no doubt that there are both pros and cons to stage racing.