Section 6: Scoring
6.1 Race Points — Regular Season
NASCAR Cup Series points are awarded to all cars that attempt to start each points-paying event. The points structure is as follows:
- 1st place: 40 points
- 2nd place: 35 points
- 3rd place: 34 points
- 4th place: 33 points
- 5th place: 32 points
- 6th place: 31 points
- 7th place: 30 points
- 8th place: 29 points
- 9th place: 28 points
- 10th place: 27 points
- 11th–35th place: 26 points decreasing by 1 point per position (26 for 11th, 25 for 12th, ..., 2 for 35th)
- 36th–40th place: 1 point
Additionally, bonus points are awarded as follows:
- Leading at least one lap: 1 bonus point
- Leading the most laps in the race: 1 bonus point
6.2 Stage Points
At the conclusion of each of the first two stages of a race, championship points are awarded to the top 10 finishers of that stage:
- Stage winner (1st): 10 points
- 2nd: 9 points
- 3rd: 8 points
- 4th: 7 points
- 5th: 6 points
- 6th: 5 points
- 7th: 4 points
- 8th: 3 points
- 9th: 2 points
- 10th: 1 point
6.3 Playoff Points
Playoff points are a separate currency used to determine seeding within the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Playoff points are earned as follows and carry over into the Playoff rounds for drivers who qualify:
- Regular season race win: 5 playoff points (plus an automatic playoff berth)
- Regular season stage win: 1 playoff point per stage win
- Regular season points champion (non-winner): 15 playoff points added at Playoff entry
- Playoff round race win: 5 playoff points
- Playoff round stage win: 1 playoff point per stage win
6.4 The NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Structure
The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs begin following the conclusion of the 26-race regular season and consist of 10 races across four rounds:
- Round of 16 (3 races): Darlington Raceway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway
- Round of 12 (3 races): Talladega Superspeedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, Las Vegas Motor Speedway
- Round of 8 (3 races): Homestead-Miami Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway
- Championship 4 (1 race — Championship Race): Phoenix Raceway
Sixteen drivers qualify for the Playoffs. Playoff qualification is achieved by: (a) winning a regular season race and being within the top 30 in driver points at the regular season's conclusion, or (b) being among the top 16 in driver points among non-winners at the regular season's conclusion (if fewer than 16 race winners exist in the top 30). After each of the first three rounds (Rounds of 16, 12, and 8), four drivers are eliminated. In each round, drivers can advance by winning a race within the round (automatic advancement), or by accumulating enough combined playoff points and race points to be ranked within the top 12, 8, or 4 at the end of each respective round. The four drivers remaining in the Championship 4 compete at Phoenix Raceway; the driver who finishes highest among those four at Phoenix is crowned NASCAR Cup Series Champion.
6.5 Owner Points and Manufacturer Points
In addition to driver points, Owner Points and Manufacturer Points are tracked throughout the season. Owner Points follow the same structure as driver points and are used to determine charter eligibility and other owner-based awards. Manufacturer Points are awarded based on the highest finishing car of each manufacturer in each event and are used to determine the NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturers' Championship.