A way of spicing up the secondary series, NASCAR’s Dash 4 Cash returns for 2017 with more opportunity for the XFINITY regulars and the same big financial incentive.
It’s hard to believe, but the Dash 4 Cash is almost a decade old. In many ways, it’s the perfect example of something that is quintessentially NASCAR: an idea that sounds great in theory but has proven to be somewhat confusing and required constant tinkering.
What hasn’t changed is that there’s a chance for an XFINITY Series driver to make a million extra bucks by beating his fellow series regulars in four races during the 2017 season. The top finisher among XFINITY Series racers in those four races gets an extra $100,000, and if the same person does that in all four, a $600,000 bonus makes the money a cool $1 million total. With the schedule changing a bit from 2016, the first Dash 4 Cash race is already upon us this weekend in Phoenix.
Here’s a quick primer to what you need to know about the 2017 Dash 4 Cash.
Indianapolis is out, Phoenix is in
Not only does that change up the track mix, with the Brickyard making way for the one-mile oval of Phoenix and making it a full slate free of intermediate tracks, it also changes the order. Phoenix will lead off the new D4C schedule and Dover will be the final race.
No heats, just stages
NASCAR found a natural way to work stage racing into the Dash 4 Cash program, eliminating the heat races used for qualifying for the bonus money and using stages instead. The top two XFINITY Series regulars in Stage 1 and Stage 2 become eligible for the bonus, paid to whichever of them finish highest at the end of the race.
Here’s a great video from NASCAR to explain it:
Less Cup Series drivers
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers have never been eligible for the Dash 4 Cash bonus money, but now most of them won’t even be able to drive in these four races. Anyone with five or more years at the Cup Series level won’t be allowed to participate, except for XFINITY Series regulars like Elliott Sadler.
As NASCAR.com points out, that doesn’t completely eliminate Cup Series invaders, as Austin and Ty Dillon, Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney will all be in the field at Phoenix, but it will mean the fewest drivers from the top circuit so far in 2017.
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No driver has been able to claim the full $1 million prize since the Dash 4 Cash was first introduced in 2009, but the changes made for 2017 look like they strike the right balance between excitement and opportunity, and that’s exactly what an initiative like this should strive to achieve.