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The NASCAR Cup Series season features a total of 36 races. The first 26 races make up the regular season, where drivers collect points through race finishes and stage wins.
The races before the Daytona 500 and the All-Star Race before the Coca-Cola 600 are exhibition races and do not count towards points.
A season winner in the Cup Series is decided by the NASCAR playoffs. It works by eliminating drivers after each round, and the final race decides the champion.
Qualification for playoffs
Before qualifying for the rounds, 16 drivers must win the regular season and advance to the playoffs. These 16 spots are filled by the Regular Season Champion and other race winners.
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If the remaining races are won by already winning drivers, all 16 advance to the playoffs.
However, if new drivers win the remaining races, the one-race winners with the lowest total points will be eliminated.
Alternatively, if less than 16 (or 15 if the champion doesn't win) drivers win during the regular season, the highest point-scoring winless drivers will fill the remaining slots.
Regular Season Champion is the driver with the most points at the end of the regular season. He automatically gets a playoff spot, regardless of the number of wins.
Playoff structure
The playoffs start with 16 drivers who qualify based on their performance during the regular season. These are divided into four rounds which include three races each. The last race in the Championship Race.
Excluding the final race, drivers carry playoff points into each round, and these points are added to their total after each round reset. NASCAR's playoffs are an elimination format, with four drivers eliminated after each three-race round.
What are the NASCAR playoff elimination rounds?
As mentioned above, there are four rounds and if a driver wins a race in any playoff round he automatically advances to the next round.
However, if no playoff driver wins a race in the round, drivers are ranked by points, and the bottom four are eliminated.
The four rounds are:
- Round of 16 (Darlington, Richmond, Bristol)
- Round of 12 (Las Vegas, Talladega, Charlotte)
- Round of 8 (Kansas, Texas, Martinsville)
- Championship Race (Phoenix)
The first round starts with 16 drivers and four are eliminated after three races.
Similarly, in the Round of 12, the remaining 12 drivers compete and four are eliminated after three more races. Then, four more are eliminated after the Round of 8.
The remaining four drivers compete for the Championship title at the last race. The driver who finishes the highest among the four in this final race wins the NASCAR Cup Championship.
