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The Cup Series is the highest level of the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most popular stock car racing series in the world. The series launched in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Series; although it launched after the NASCAR Modified Series, it quickly supplanted it in popularity and became NASCAR's premier divison. Initially, the series used production model ("stock") cars and ran on a mix of oval speedways and dirt tracks; the modern series uses cars designed specifically for racing, with most races taking place on oval speedways; a smaller number take place on oval short tracks, superspeedways, and road courses.
The NASCAR Cup Series Drivers' Championship is determined by a points system based on race results. The method to determine a champion has changed over time; from 1949 tt0 1974, points were variously awarded based off of earnings or race mileage. In all years since, points have been awarded based off of performance in the race.
The Drivers' Championship was first awarded in 1949 to Red Byron.[1] The first driver to win multiple Championships was Herb Thomas in 1951 and 1953. The current Drivers' Champion is Ryan Blaney, who won his first NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2023.[2]
The NASCAR points system has undergone several incarnations since its initial implementation. Originally, races awarded points by a complicated system based upon final positioning and weighted by prize money purses, such that higher-paying events gave more points. Soon after the advent of the modern era in 1972, the championship was decided by a more basic cumulative point total based solely upon a driver's finishing position in each race. In order to reduce the possibility of a driver clinching before the final event, NASCAR implemented the "Chase for the Cup" in 2004 which, with minor modification from 2004 to 2013[3] and more radical changes in 2014,[4] stands as the current format. Before the final ten races, 16 drivers, chosen primarily on race wins, are reset to an equal number of points, with bonus points awarded to a driver for each win prior to the reset.[4] With these changes, the last Drivers' Champion to clinch before the final race was Matt Kenseth in 2003.[5]
Overall, thirty-six different drivers have won the Championship,[2] with Richard Petty,[6] Dale Earnhardt,[7] and Jimmie Johnson holding the record for most titles at seven. Johnson has the record for most consecutive Drivers' Championships, winning five from 2006 to 2010.[8] Thus far, every champion has originated from the United States.[2] Bill Rexford is the youngest Cup Series champion; he was 23 years, 7 months, and 15 days old when he won the title in 1950.[9] Bobby Allison is the oldest Cup Series champion; he was 45 years, 11 months, and 17 days old when he won the championship in 1983.[10]
By season
[edit]Early champions (1949-1971)
[edit]| Season | Driver | No.(s) | Age | Owner/Team(s) | Manufacturer(s) | Starts | Poles | Wins | Top tens | Points | Points gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Modern era (1972-present)
[edit]| ^ | Indicates the driver is a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame |
|---|---|
| * | Indicates the driver also won the Most Popular Driver Award |
| Season | Driver | No.(s) | Age | Owner/Team | Manufacturer | Starts | Poles | Wins[A] | Top tens[A] | Points | Points gap | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | |||||||||||||
- ^ "NHOF: New Class Unveiled Tonight". Speed. Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 25 May 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
- ^ a b c Diepraam, Mattijs; Galpin, Darren; Young, Rob; Korzan, Nicolás; Costa, Paulo; Ullrich, Andreas; Jones, Mark Alan (December 11, 2022). "Lower category champions - NASCAR Winston Cup". 8W. Forix. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
- ^ Graves, Gary (21 January 2004). "David Pearson endorses new point system". USA Today. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
- ^ a b "NASCAR Announces Chase for the Sprint Cup Format Change" (Press release). NASCAR. January 30, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
- ^ "Matt Kenseth Claims NASCAR Winston Cup Championship". Motor Trend. 10 November 2003. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
- ^ "Richard Petty Information". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
- ^ "Earnhardt Information". Sports Illustrated. CNN Sports. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
- ^ Biebrich, Richard (21 November 2010). "Jimmie Johnson wins fifth straight NASCAR Sprint Cup championship". New York Daily News. Homestead, Florida. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
- ^ "Drivers under 30 to win a NASCAR Cup Series title". NASCAR. November 11, 2021. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
- ^ Jensen, Tom (January 12, 2017). "45 days to Daytona: Allison, Petty oldest champions at age 45". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on January 13, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
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