The NASCAR Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year Points System

My previous blog post begs the question, how on earth does the RoTY points system work. While I was writing that last post, the whole time I'm thinking "What? How has Scott Speed hung so close in points? Or, how did Joey Logano hold a points lead after finishing behind Speed?" Well, if there is anyone reading this blog yet, here is the points system explained.

1) The highest-finishing rookie in each race earns 10 points, the second-highest, nine points, etc.

2) Only the top-17 race results, of the 36-race 2009 Sprint Cup schedule, for each RoTY candidate are counted in the RoTY race.

Rule 2 means that the third viable RoTY contender, Max Papis, does have a shot at the RoTY honors, because he is scheduled to run 18 races. All three RoTY drivers, Logano-Speed-Papis, can have any number of bad races, or even missed races, and still be in it to win it, if they qualify and finish well in at least 17 races.

3) In order to be eligible for the RoTY award, a driver must attempt to qualify in at least eight of the first 20 events.

Again, Mad Max Papis makes the cut. By the time race 20 (Allstate 400 at Indianapolis) has been run, Papis' schedule has him attempting to make 9 races.

4) Attempting to qualify for a race earns the rookies one bonus point, which is a bonus that is available for all 36 events.

Advantage of 18 points each to Logano and Speed, who should be attempting to qualify for each of the 36 events (Papis only attempting 18).

5) Bonus points are awarded for a top-10 finish. A rookie who wins a race is awarded 10 points, second place gets nine and so on down the line with a 10th-place effort earning one point.

There have been no collectors of the top-10 finish bonus points, yet.

6) "Segment Bonus Points." The season is divided into three segments, the first segment being the first ten races of the season, the second segment being the second ten races of the season, and the third segment being the final 16 races of the season. The candidate with the most championship points in each segment earns ten bonus RoTY points, the candidate with the second-most championship points earns nine, etc.

This is where Papis will lose most of his ground in the RoTY points chase. He will run only 3 of the first 10 races on the schedule; 6 of the second 10; and 9 of the final 16 races. Assuming that Logano and Speed attempt and make most of the 36 races, they should easily outscore Papis in Sprint Cup championship points, and gain 28-30 RoTY points on Papis.

7) Following the final race of the season, the highest-ranking rookie in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points standings receives 10 bonus points. The second-highest rookie earns nine points, third receives eight, etc.

8) During the final weekend of the season, a Raybestos Rookie of the Year panel meets and rewards favorable conduct in the following categories: Conduct with NASCAR officials in the garage and pit areas; conduct and awareness on track; personal appearance and relationship with the media. The panel rates each driver, with scoring ranging from a maximum of 10 to a minimum of 1. Total points will be averaged from each panel member’s ballot. The points derived from the panel will be added to the entry, competition, and bonus points after the final race of the season to determine the overall Raybestos Rookie of the Year winner.

Mad Max could actually have an edge, here. He is a very competent racer, well presented and a well mannered individual. He has many years of experience dealing with on-track stress and off-track media relations. The media gets alot of energy and excitement out of a Papis interview!

The RoTY Season, To Date

After 7 races, Logano and Speed have attempted 7 races, and Papis has attempted 2 races. There has been only one race (Shelby 427, Las Vegas), where all three RoTY candidates made the race. In that race Logano finished 13th, Speed 21st, and Papis 35th. Logano has had the highest finish among RoTY drivers in 5 of the 7 races, and Speed was highest in 2 of the 7 races run. Here is the breakdown of RoTY points scored, as of the completion of the Samsung 500 (Texas, Race 7).

Joey Logano, 75 points
7 Qualifying Attempts (1 pt. each) = 7 points
5 Highest Finishes (10 pts. each) = 50 points
2 2nd Highest Finishes (9 pts. each) = 18

Scott Speed, 63 points
7 Qualifying Attempts (1 pt. each)= 7 points
2 Highest Fiinishes (10 pts. each)= 20 points
4 2nd Highest Finishes (9 pts. each) = 36

Max Papis, 19 points
2 Qualifying Attempts (1 pt. each) = 2 points
0 Highest Finishes = 0 points
1 2nd Highest Finish (9 pts. each) = 9 points
1 3rd Highest Finish (8 pts. each) = 8 points

So there you have it! It's not confusiong at all... I think.

Sloey Nogano, er, Joey Logano

(Photo Courtesy of LOLnascar)

Alright. Raise your hand if you thought Joey "Sliced Bread" Logano was going to be 35th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup driver point standings, after seven races? Okay. Put your hands down. Now. Raise your hand if you really thought Logano was going to start the 2009 season, 9th in points (based on the 2008 owners points), and sink to the 35th and final guaranteed starting position so quickly. My hand stayed down both times. And if you raised your hand both times, well, I won't call you a liar, but I will say most of you aren't being completely honest.

I guess you have to give the rookie a break. He is only 19 years old, and a veteran of only 10 Cup races. But I thought he would have done more with the powerhouse that is the Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota. Joey is also competing against Scott Speed, for Rookie of the Year (ROTY) honors, and currently leads the ROTY points. That ROTY contest may ultimately be set in Logano's lap. Speed failed to qualify for the most recent race. That can't happen if there is to be a ROTY race, since there are no other drivers involved (Max Papis is considered a ROTY candidate, but he is scheduled to run only 18 races).

Note that, if Joey falls out of the top-35 in owners points, and fails to qualify for any races, this could be the most lame ROTY contest in history.

So, here's a rundown of Joey's (and Scott's) season so far.

JoeLo's 2009 Season Recap

Daytona 500: Start 9th (Good!), Finish 43rd (Bad!).
While running 27th, lost it on Lap 79, trying to avoid the loose car of Scott Speed (coincidentally, the only other Cup rookie of the year candidate in the race). Speed finished 35th.

ROTY Points: Logano 11, Speed 10

Auto Club 500 (California): Start 34th (could be worse), Finish 26th (could be better). A decent result, for the rookie. He was one lap down, at the finish, but at least he finished, and finished ahead of Scott Speed (41st, blown engine).

ROTY Points: Logano 21, Speed 21

Shelby 427 (Las Vegas): Start 20th (nice), Finish 13 (now we're talkin). A solid race, for the newbie. Things are looking up.

ROTY Points: Logano 32, Speed 31

Kobalt Tools 500 (Atlanta): Start 42nd (huh boy), Finish 30th (doh!). Somebody bumped Logano and put him into the wall. Scott Speed pinned David Ragan's car to the wall, which caused Speed to pound the wall, which resulted in a multicar crash. Speed finished 35th.

ROTY Points: Logano 43, Speed 41

Food City 500 (Bristol): Start 23rd (okay), Finish 38th (that's Bristol). Struggled to stay on the lead lap, but ended up blowing an engine on Lap 324. Speed finally tops Logano for top-finishing rookie of the race (28th).

ROTY Points: Logano 53, Speed 52

Goodies Fast Pain Relief 500 (Martinsville): Started 34th (yawn), Finished 32nd (yawn). Cut down a tire, early in the race, and finished four laps down. Better than Speed, who finished 39th, 76 laps down, after getting wrecked by Kyle Busch.

ROTY Points: Logano 64, Speed 62

Samsung 500 (Texas): Started 10th (yee haw), Finished 30th (gal darnit). Again, finished four laps down. But the good news is that the other ROTY contender (Speed) did not qualify his way into the race. Speed is another, and bigger, disappointment in 2009. Can you hear A.J. Allmendinger giggling in the distance. Red Bull should never have dropped A.J. for Speed. Bling bling, don't mean a thing Red Bull!!

ROTY Points: Logano 75, Speed 63

Phoenix International Raceway: Subway Fresh Fit 500 Preview

Let's go racing, Pardner. Week 8 has the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) and the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS), headin' out west to the 1.0- mile quasi-oval of Phoenix International Raceway (PIR). PIR is located in lovely Avondale (not really in Phoenix), Arizona.

Here's a summary of the television broadscast schedule for the Subway Fresh Fit 500 race weekend.

Practices
NNS, Friday, April 17, 11:00am/et, on SPEED TV (Only Practice)
NSCS, Friday, April 17, 1:00/et, on SPEED TV
NSCS, Friday, April 17, 3:30/et, on SPEED TV (Final Practice)

Qualifying
NNS, Friday, April 17, 5:30pm/et, on SPEED TV
NSCS, Friday, April 17, 7:10pm/et, on SPEED TV

Race
NNS, Bashas' Supermarkets 200
Friday, April 17, 9:00pm/et on ESPN2

NSCS, Subway Fresh Fit 500
Saturday, April 18, 8:00 pm/et on FOX
Green Flag at ~8:46pm/et

Pre-Race Honors

Michael Strahan, future NFL Hall of Fame Defensive End for the New York Giants (1993-2007), wiil be the race's Grand Marshall, and will cue the racers to "Start Your Engines!"

Country Music performers, and twin sisters, Kate and Kacey Coppola, will do the honors of presenting the National Anthem.

I think the U.S. Navy will execute the pre-race flyover.







Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has officially declared Phoenix International Raceway as “Zoomtown U.S.A.", for the race weekend.

Interesting Stats
There have been 25 NSCS races run at PIR (1988 through 2008).
*Chevys have won 11 events at PIR, including 9 of the last 10 races.
*Fords have won 12 events at PIR, including 11 of the first 15 races.
*Pontiacs have won the other 2 races.
*The average winning pole speed is 131.243 MPH.
*The average race winning speed is 103.203 MPH.
*The race averages 7 cautions and 39 laps run under caution.
*Only 42 cars started the the 1992 race.
*44 cars started the 1995 and 1996 races.

Greenhorns Shootin' to Qualify

These drivers will be attempting to make their first NSCS PIR start.

Brandon Ash (No. 02 Sprinter Trucking, Inc Dodge) - Between 2006 and 2008, the 32 year old Ash has 4 NSCS starts; three on road courses and one at Kansas Speedway, with a best finish of 38th.

Dexter Bean (No. 51 LiveWire Enrgy Chews Dodge) - 22 year old Bean, has only one NNS start under his belt. I he does manage to make this race, God bless him, and God help the other 42 drivers.

Trevor Boys (No. 06 Boys Will Be Boys Racing, Co. Dodge) - Boys, aged 51, actually has 102 NSCS starts, between 1982 and 1993 (93 of 'em between 1983 and 1987). Boy's best finish was 10th, at Darlington, in 1984. He drove for James Hylton in all 102 races.

Special Paint Schemes
Carl Edwards - No. 99 Subway Ford
Denny Hamlin - No. 11 FedEx Office/March of Dimes Toyota
Elliott Sadler - No. 19 Stanley Tools Dodge
John Andretti - No. 34 Taco Bell Chevy
Marcos Ambrose - No. 47 Chlorox Toyota
Mark Martin - No. 5 CarQuest Auto Parts Chevy
Paul Menard - No. 98 Peak Antifreeze Ford