NASCAR expands Chase format to other national series

The announcement was the first of a number of racing innovations presented by NASCAR on Tuesday during opening day of the annual pre-season media tour.

The two highest-finishing series regulars from each heat are eligible for the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus in the main event, with the award going to the highest finisher of the four drivers.

The Chase formats in the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series will feature seven races each and two elimination rounds before the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but beyond that, they diverge in format.

At each of these events there will be two, short heat races that will not only set the 40-car field for the main event, but decide the four drivers that will compete for the “Dash 4 Cash” prize.

That’s right, the September 24 UNOH 175 will be the first race in NASCAR’s new Chase for the Championship seven-race elimination format.

“That’s a little disappointing because sometimes the sponsorship races that we’re able to sell, the Daytona race is a big deal to them, the first race of the year, and Homestead is a big deal for them, the last race of the year”, Busch said. Like their Sprint Cup big brothers and sisters, XFINITY and Truck Series drivers must now outrun three others in order to take home the crown.

Another new wrinkle is a revamp of the XFINITY Series “Dash 4 Cash” program, a race within a race made up of four events.

The Truck postseason will include eight drivers over the final seven races, also finishing at Homestead. Busch competed in 15 Xfinity races and won six last season, more than any other driver. The start of the season finale was delayed, and the event at Phoenix that decided the championship field was called before its completion, denying drivers a chance to race their way into the finale. Busch will continue to be a top contender to win in these lower division races, but cross him off the list on the restrictor-plate tracks. The remaining available positions (1-6) that have not been filled by wins will be filled on points. If two drivers have the exact same finishes, the tiebreaker then goes to the driver who scored the best finish first.

” France said that he is “very optimistic” NASCAR and its team owners will finalize a new Sprint Cup team ownership structure to be implemented this season”. The Truck Series will see the introduction of a “caution clock“, which will automatically halt a race if it has been under green-flag conditions for 20 consecutive minutes. “That is an area where some of our younger drivers, younger teams, newer teams, can really use the competition caution to adjust the truck”. The caution clock would be turned off with 20 laps remaining in all races except for Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and Pocono Raceway, where it will be turned off with 10 laps to go.