What the 2018 Cup Series standings would look like under NASCAR’s classic scoring system
By Nick Tylwalk
Joey Logano, not Kevin Harvick, would lead the way if the 2018 season was scored under the system NASCAR used for 35 years.
Of all the things longtime NASCAR fans like to gripe about from time to time, the points and scoring system is right up there near the top. Because the “classic” system was used for so long in the Cup Series — from 1975 through 2010 — there’s a lot of fondness for it even though it unquestionably rewarded consistently racking up top-10 finishes over winning races.
As evidence of that, and just because it’s a fun project to see how the current Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season looks through the lens of the past, we thought we’d put the results from the first three 2018 races into the classic scoring system and see what the standings would look like.
A few disclaimers … First, we didn’t use the modifications made from 2004 to 2010. If we had, Harvick would fare better, moving up to second if the 2007-2010 points system was in effect. He still wouldn’t be within 10 points of the leader, though.
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Second, and this is very important, the math was done by sports journalists/bloggers and not statisticians. That means there’s likely to be some mistakes, though hopefully they are small ones.
We’re hoping to make this a weekly feature, and as such, we’ll include the difference between the drivers’ place in the current and classic points systems, since comparisons are what makes the whole exercise interesting. Without further ado, here’s what the standings would look like after the Pennzoil 400 in Vegas under the old scoring rules.
2018 NASCAR Cup Series standings – Classic scoring system
- Joey Logano, 471 points, +1 place vs. 2018 system
- Denny Hamlin, 447 points, +6 places
- Ryan Blaney, 443 points, even vs. 2018
- Kevin Harvick, 440 points, -3 places
- Martin Truex Jr., 439 points, -1 place
- Austin Dillon, 425 points, +4 places
- Kyle Busch, 414 points, -1 places
- Kyle Larson, 409 points, -2 places
- Paul Menard, 405 points, even
- Aric Almirola, 393 points, +2 places
- Brad Keselowski, 392 points, -4 places
- Clint Bowyer, 392 points, -1 place
- Ryan Newman, 374 points, +1 place
- Chris Buescher, 361 points, +2 places
- Bubba Wallace, 337 points, even
- Alex Bowman, 335 points, +1 place
- Erik Jones, 330 points, +2 places
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 317 points, even
- Kurt Busch, 295 points, -6 places
- AJ Allmendinger, 288 points, +3 places
- Michael McDowell, 286 points, -1 place
- Trevor Bayne, 285 points, even
- William Byron, 285 points, +1 place
- Jamie McMurray, 276 points, +1 place
- Kasey Kahne, 267 points, +3 places
- Chase Elliott, 264 points, -5 places
- Jimmie Johnson, 261 points, +2 places
- David Ragan, 261 points, -2 places
- Daniel Suarez, 258 points, -2 places
- Matt DiBenedetto, 249 points, even
Who wishes it was 1975: Denny Hamlin
Hamlin would be the biggest beneficiary of NASCAR’s classic scoring system, finding himself just 24 points back of leader Joey Logano instead of in eighth place as he is in the real 2018. Two top-5 finishes with laps led were worth a lot in the retro scoring.
Who’s glad to be in the 21st century: Kurt Busch
Harvick would also not be “Happy” with the 2010 and older rules, considering he’d be rewarded for back to back wins by still being 31 points back of the lead. But the older Busch brother would have it even worse: He’s currently 13th since his stage win and stage points help him overcome wrecking out in Las Vegas, but he’d be 19th under the classic system. Chase Elliott is also lucky it’s 2018 and not 1978, considering he’d be even more miserable than he probably already is this year.