NASCAR: Rule changes to be clarified

The 29th annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour opens on Monday in the Charlotte, N.C., area. It's a four-day smorgasbord of announcements, team-shop tours, optimistic predictions and the unveiling of new race-car paint schemes, team members and sponsorships. More than 150 writers, broadcasters and photographers will get a steady diet of claims such as “we're excited,” “we've been working harder than ever,” “we feel we've got everything in place” and “we can't wait to get started.”

The tour will visit almost every team that plans to run the full series schedule in 2011, teams such as Earnhardt-Ganassi, Stewart-Haas, Penske, Michael Waltrip, Richard Childress, Kevin Buckler's TRG, Team Red Bull, Furniture Row, Richard Petty, Hendrick, Roush-Fenway and Joe Gibbs. In addition, participants will hear from Nationwide Series teams and listen to NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France explain the new points system and perhaps a change in the Chase for the Championship playoff format.

France will address the media on Wednesday night at the beleaguered NASCAR Hall of Fame in downtown Charlotte. He'll confirm that the points system will, indeed, change for only the second time since 1975. The new system is expected to pay 43 points for winning, 42 for second, 41 for third and so on right on down to one point for 43rd and last place in each Cup race. The only question is how NASCAR will distribute lap-leader bonus points.

Details emerged over the weekend about changes to the Nationwide Series points, too. Only drivers who are registered for the series will earn points, thus disqualifying Cup regulars from the championship. But here's the twist: Nationwide drivers will still only score points based on their actual finishing position in each race. A series regular, for example, will earn fifth-place points even if four Cup drivers finish ahead of him, rather than the full points normally dished out to win. Cup drivers will continue to get finish-position money but not points.

NASCAR is also considering a change to its qualifying system. Currently, a blind draw determines the qualifying order each weekend for the top 35 teams in owner points, while teams outside of the top 35 run last. Under the proposed change, drivers will now go out onto the track in reverse order of their fastest practice lap. The idea is to build drama and suspense as the fastest drivers go head-to-head toward the end of what is often a long, boring and uneventful qualifying grind.

By Al Pearce