Winston Cup

While NASCAR racing has been popular for more than fifty years, it wasn’t until the mid 1990’s that it gained mainstream success. With televised coverage and racing greats fighting for the top prize the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing has grown into one of the top rated sports in the United States. Each weekend from February through November, forty-three of the top drivers compete while millions of fans watch from home and from the stands while cheering for their favorite driver to take home the checkered flag.

Prior to 2004 NASCAR teams raced head to head for the entire season on a quest to be named the series champion. Known as the Winston Cup, drivers such as Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt had much success, each winning seven titles over their career. However, after the 2003 season, amid waning interest, NASCAR developed a new scoring system that would forever change the sport.

In 2004 the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was unveiled. In the new series drivers would compete against each other to become one of the top ten drivers on the circuit. The competition would last until there were only 10 races left in the season. The last ten races were changed to a different format known as the Chase. In The Chase the top ten driver’s points were reset and those drivers would compete against each other for the top honors.

Today, NASCAR’s top series is known as the Sprint Cup. The Sprint Cup follows the same rules as the Nextel Cup with only a few minor changes.  Since the inception of the new series only three different drivers have won the Chase. Though there are many who would like to see NASCAR revert to the old format there is no denying that the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship gives NASCAR some end of the season excitement that it previously lacked.