Is Stage Racing Making NASCAR Exciting Again?

Credit: Hendrick Motorsports
Is Stage Racing Making NASCAR Exciting Again?
Credit: Hendrick Motorsports

I told a buddy of mine the other day about how NASCAR races are in stages now. He couldn’t believe that there are actually programmed breaks in the race. I remember hearing something along the same lines when the “competition caution” was first introduced. Now, while it may not be universally liked, the competition caution is at least an accepted part of the sport. I don’t think stage racing is going to take as long to sway the unconvinced.

 

Stage Racing Is Not New in NASCAR

The Can-Am Duels at Daytona are in effect stage races. These are races that have been held prior to the Daytona 500 and lead up and influenced the starting order of it for years. Although not many would admit it, they are stage races. The real new thing about stage racing this year is that every race, in all three national series, is broken up into three stages.

 

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Is Stage Racing Making NASCAR Exciting Again?
Stage racing is making the races more exciting. Credit: Hendrick Motorsports

My buddy John grew up watching NASCAR back in the day when the only drivers who weren’t racing to the front were the ones who couldn’t. There came a time when ‘points racing’ became a thing – don’t push yourself or your car, don’t take any risks until the last part of the race. Being involved in or the cause of a wreck fighting to keep yourself in the top 10 all day doesn’t do you any good if you’re not around when the checkered flag waves.

Is Stage Racing Making NASCAR Exciting Again?
Geoff Bodine and team manager Harry Hyde are from the day when the drivers all went hard from the drop of the green to the waving of the checkered flag. Waltrip calls the attitude “checkers or wreckers.” Credit: NASCAR.com

Points for leading a lap and leading the most laps gave drivers with cars that could run up front all day to fight to do so. However, many perennial favorites were found actually moving towards the back of the lead lap for most of the race, usually avoiding the pitfalls that befall some (sometimes many) of their competitors in the laps leading up to what Darrell Waltrip calls “Go Time.”

Is Stage Racing Making NASCAR Exciting Again?
Kyle Larson is the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup points leader, thanks in part to his stage performances to date. Credit: NASCAR.com

With a couple exceptions, this year’s eight races have been much better throughout the race than previous years. The fact that stage points carry over to championship/Chase points is instilling the urge to run at the front throughout the race, or at least at the ends of the stages in more drivers. Drivers who wouldn’t normally run up front are doing so. There’s more passing and side-by-side racing action throughout the race than we’ve seen in a long time.

Is Stage Racing Making NASCAR Exciting Again?
Ricky Craven is also from the time when it just felt like the drivers put more effort into the whole race instead of just one or two parts. Credit: NASCAR.com

John last watched a NASCAR race more than 15 years ago. He said that even then the excitement factor in most races rose and fell as drivers decided to start seeing how well they could pass and what they needed to work on to help them do so more efficiently. He said Monday’s Food City 500 at Bristol had more excitement throughout the race than what he remembered from his last race.

 

Drivers Still Gain Championship Points in Three Ways

Last year, a driver could earn bonus points for leading a lap and for leading the most laps of the race. Stage racing has done away with these bonus points and instituted new ones gained in new ways. Winning the race still nets the driver five points the other drivers don’t get, but these are now playoff points that mainly count in The Chase. Stage winners get one playoff point for use in The Chase. These points are added once The Chase begins.

Is Stage Racing Making NASCAR Exciting Again?

Where you were in the standings when the checkered flag waved determined where on the zero to 40 championship points scale you land. Points earned here determine if you become a member of The Chase after the 26th race of the season at Richmond. Stage points, ten for the stage winner on down to 1 for tenth place, also count towards a driver’s championship total.

 

Points for Doing Well Pushes More Drivers Towards the Front

 

Is Stage Racing Making NASCAR Exciting Again?
Kyle Larson has won so many stage points that he has a comfortable lead in the points. Credit: Chip Ganassi Racing

Doing well in the first two stages of races delivers rewards up to the Chase and beyond. It’s like the “getting a win lets us do xxxxxxxx” from back when getting a win basically secured you a spot in the Chase. Points garnered in stages can be the difference between advancing to The Chase or not. They can also be the difference between advancing or not between rounds of The Chase.

Is Stage Racing Making NASCAR Exciting Again?
Credit: NASCAR.com

Sure, except for the “usual suspects,” drivers at the back aren’t going to fight tooth and nail to get to the front from the drop of the green and keep at it until the checkered flag waves throughout the race. Stage points means that more drivers are going to fight to get and stay in range of that magical “Top Ten” so that they can make a run with any chance of succeeding.

Is Stage Racing Making NASCAR Exciting Again?

That’s making for better, more exciting racing than what we’ve seen the last few years. It could be improved upon by adding another stage to every Cup race, breaking the race up into four equal segments. Jimmie Johnson recently said, “It’s tough. The competition in this garage area, the format and the fact there are points and a rhythm of the race with stages, it’s like three shorter races now and there is a reward at the end of each of them.”

Brad Keselowski, who was one of the drivers with whom NASCAR consulted when deciding to implement stage racing, said “In general, NASCAR wanted there to be more moments that mattered, more moments that make the SportsCenter highlight reel… That was a key moment in the race, and it’ll be a key moment in the season as we get into the playoffs. But that’s what this format is supposed to be about, is having more moments like that. Whether you agree with specific moves is really neither here nor there, but when you put more on the line throughout the race, you get more moments like that.”

Is Stage Racing Making NASCAR Exciting Again?
JJ has two wins but isn’t the points leader because he doesn’t have much to show in stage points. Credit: Hendrick Motorsports

What do you think? Has stage racing brought excitement back to NASCAR, or have “the powers that be” made another mistake that will drive fans away? Let us know how you feel in the comments below.

About Mike Aguilar 388 Articles
Mike's love of cars began in the early 1970's when his father started taking him to his Chevron service station. He's done pretty much everything in the automotive aftermarket from gas station island attendant, parts counter, mechanic, and new and used sales. Mike also has experience in the amateur ranks of many of racing's sanctioning bodies.

4 Comments on Is Stage Racing Making NASCAR Exciting Again?

  1. this stage point is a joke let give points to some that led’s 30- 50 laps let get real i used to be a big fan of nascar but when they put in the playoff system it got really stupid when kyle bush win a championship when he miss’es 11 race’s because of some stupid point system get real nascar to many rule’s and stupid point system i have stopped watching nascar i went to alot of race’s in the passed but haven’t been to one in over 10 years it more of entertainment then real men racing

    • Your spelling, punctuation, and capitalization isn’t doing anything to dispel the “Nascar fan” stereotype. LOL

    • And what would you consider “real men racing.” 3 seconds and done? 4 seconds and done? I have yet to talk with a driver that doesn’t feel the new rules have made the races better and the fans and drivers safer. REAL racing fans appreciate that. WE don’t watch a race or go to the track hoping someone’s going to die. We want to watch a good race that’s hard fought. And that’s what we get today, more or less. We also don’t get the snoozefests we used to have where one guy’s already sitting at home polishing his trophy for an hour when the rest of the field starts crossing the finish line.

      I agree with you that Schrub should not have been allowed to compete for the Cup, but, when Toyota pays NASCAR as much as they did, NASCAR has to let the Toyota big mouth play.

      The old points system was confusing for people new to the sport. This one makes a helluva lot more sense. Why give someone points for leading a single lap or even the most laps if they don’t win?

      Stage wins equaling playoff points has definitely made for much better racing throughout the race.

      If the new rules are too hard to understand, ask a fifth grader

  2. Make the sport a true win and your in. No points, just run them all like the all star race and only race winners race for the championship at years end. Also run stock cars that have little engineering. The science part of the sport makes it so boring.

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