NEXTEL Cup

The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series is NASCAR's top racing series.

Chase for the Cup

Prior to the 2004 season, a series of rules and scoring changes resulted in a new formula for declaring a series champion. After 26 races, the top 10 drivers in points (plus any driver within 400 points of the leader who may be outside the top 10) are placed in the Chase for the Championship. Eligible drivers' points are elevated to a level mathematically unattainable by anyone outside this field. Points are also bunched together in 5-point increments so the leader is 5 points ahead of second place, 10 points ahead of third place, all the way to 45 points ahead of 10th place, continuing in 5-point increments if there are more than 10 drivers in the chase. Race layouts remain the same and points are scored the same way in the final 10 races. Whoever leads in points after the 36th race is declared the NEXTEL Cup champion.

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This playoff system was implemented primarily to increase television ratings during the National Football League season, and to make the points race more competitive. Previously, the champion may have been decided before the last race (or even several races before the end of the season) because it was mathematically impossible for any other driver to gain enough points.

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