If NASCAR had the F1 points system, Kyle Busch is in the top 10
There would be no concerns for Kyle Busch’s Chase eligibility if NASCAR used Formula 1’s points system.
After winning his fourth race of the last five races in Sunday’s Brickyard 400, Busch is tied for the Sprint Cup lead in wins with Jimmie Johnson. But he’s in 32nd place in the points standings because of his absence in the first 11 races of the year after he broke his leg and foot at Daytona in February.
In the F1 format, Busch would rank ninth and ahead of such drivers as Denny Hamlin and Jamie McMurray.
A driver must be in the top 30 in points to be eligible for the Chase. Busch is on the fast track to the top 30 with the way he’s blistering the field. But he’s also potentially out of the Chase if he has a bad finish or two over the next five races and can’t recover.
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NASCAR’s points system awards one point to the driver that finishes last and increases by a point for each position. Drivers who lead a lap are granted a point, the driver who leads the most laps is given a point and winners are given three points extra, meaning race winners have, at most, a six point gap on the second-place finisher. Here’s how F1’s works.
1st: 25 points
2nd: 18 points
3rd: 15 points
4th: 12 points
5th: 10 points
6th: 8 points
7th: 6 points
8th: 4 points
9th: 2 points
10th: 1 point
Formula 1’s points system is everything NASCAR brags about when it comes to its Chase format. The system appropriately rewards winning vs. other finishes and doesn’t award points to drivers finishing 11th or worse. Points racing, something that NASCAR CEO Brian France has expressed his disdain for in the past, is severely lessened.
And unsurprisingly, Kevin Harvick is still dominating NASCAR with the F1 format. Here’s how the standings would stack up via F1’s system.
1. Kevin Harvick: 262 (1st in NASCAR’s standings)
2. Jimmie Johnson: 206 (4th)
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 179 (3rd)
4. Joey Logano: 175 (2nd)
5. Martin Truex Jr.: 133 (5th)
6. Kurt Busch 124 (8th)
7. Matt Kenseth: 119 (7th)
8. Brad Keselowski: 116 (6th)
9. Kyle Busch 102 (32nd)
10. Denny Hamlin: 94 (10th)
11. Ryan Newman: 72 (12th)
12. Jeff Gordon: 59 (11th)
13. Jamie McMurray: 57 (9th)
14. Carl Edwards: 44 (16th)
15. Kasey Kahne: 42 (14th)
16. Paul Menard: 35 (13th)
17. Clint Bowyer: 35 (15th)
18. Kyle Larson: 32 (20th)
19. Greg Biffle: 19 (18th)
20. AJ Allmendinger: 14 (23rd)
21. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: 12 (27th)
22. Austin Dillon: 11 (19th)
23. Aric Almirola: 10 (17th)
24. David Ragan: 10 (24th)
25. Sam Hornish Jr.: 9 (25th)
26. Casey Mears: 8 (21st)
27. Danica Patrick: 8 (22nd)
28. Tony Stewart: 8 (26th)
29. Trevor Bayne: 4 (28th)
30. Justin Allgaier: 4 (30th)
31. Brett Moffitt: 4 (33rd)
32. Josh Wise: 1 (37th)
As you can see, Kyle Busch clearly has the biggest difference between systems. Everyone else is pretty much in the same spot. Aric Almirola has the second-biggest discrepancy and his is only six points positions.
Would NASCAR consider going to a format like this? We’re guessing the chances are very slim and this post is simply designed as a fun exercise. The series keeps emphasizing the need for close competition – hence the Chase’s elimination format – and its one-point-per position format keeps the field relatively closer together in the standings. In F1’s, Hamlin has approximately 35 percent of the points that Harvick does. In NASCAR’s system, he has 76 percent of Harvick’s points.
But it’s clear that Formula 1’s format rewards successful drivers and doesn’t change NASCAR’s hierarchy too much. Plus, it really, really, emphasizes what the sanctioning body says it wants to spotlight: winning.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
