Since its 2017 debut, NASCAR’s stage-based format – dividing each race into three segments with bonus points – has reshaped both regular-season and playoff racing. Under the system, drivers finishing 1st–10th in Stages 1 and 2 earn championship points (10 points for the stage winner, 9 for second, … down to 1 for 10th).
Each stage winner also collects one playoff point, while the overall race winner earns 40 regular points plus five playoff points. (Playoff points carry over through most of the postseason and help reset a driver’s total at each round.) In practice this means every lap matters: drivers now race hard throughout a long event, not just at the end. As NASCAR noted when introducing stages, “each point can eventually result in winning or losing a championship”.
Strategy Overhaul on Track
Teams and crew chiefs have radically adjusted their race playbooks. Instead of running a long green-flag stint, crews must pit or stay out around each stage break to optimize points. NASCAR veteran Steve Letarte praised the change for adding a new dimension: “with stages during the event there are more opportunities to have an effect,” he said, noting crew chiefs now have extra strategic choices. In many races we see a split strategy in play: some contenders will pit before a stage end to gain track position for the next run, while others stay out just to grab those precious stage points.
Denny Hamlin summed it up bluntly on the Driver’s Edge podcast: “The stage racing has to stay,” he explained. Without stages, Hamlin noted, one dominant car might run away with every lap; stages force alternative strategies. He recalled a race where a caution fell just before a stage break, creating two strategy groups: “you’re going to see the field flip‑flop. There’s going to be a handful of people going for stage points, and … about five people that believe they could win the race, and they will pit”. In short, stage breaks create mini-races inside the race, and crew chiefs juggle track position, tires and fuel to balance stage points versus final victory.
Road-course races have even tweaked the rule: starting in 2023 NASCAR eliminated guaranteed stage cautions on road courses to avoid marathon caution laps. But stage points are still awarded there – teams simply race through the first two stage endpoints. Overall, every race now has built-in drama, and caution timing is often determined by these stage rules.
Fox NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass noted that this system “revamped” the old format in 2017, adding stage races and playoff points to the existing knockout playoffs. Even as rules are periodically adjusted (such as adding a fastest-lap bonus point in 2025), NASCAR’s core approach of emphasizing in-race segments remains.
Drivers Adjust Their Focus
Drivers readily acknowledge the changed calculus. Playoff contenders now routinely say they’ll “take anything they can get” in stage points if the car isn’t fastest for the win. For example, Chase Elliott explained before a recent elimination race that he always eyes early-stage points: “In a perfect world, you try to get some stage points in the first stage. If you have a shot to win, you probably flip the second one and hope you’re in a position to take advantage of it. Anything short of being super fast, I think you have to take advantage of the stage points…”
Likewise, reigning champion Ryan Blaney said he and crew chief Jonathan Hassler discuss every scenario stage by stage: if he’s in contention for stage points they’ll race that fight; if not, they might sacrifice stage position to optimize the final run. “You kind of keep your mind open… you just kind of have to have all plans and be ready to audible if you need to,” Blaney said . Even veteran Joey Logano – often focused on the win – notes that in playoff must-win races he’s “not out of it” as long as he can harvest every available point. Coming into a cutoff race he said simply: “We need as many points as we can (get) … 13 points is definitely doable.”
In short, drivers approach stages tactically. Many teams now plan for two modes: one for collecting stage points if they can’t challenge at the end, and another for outright victories if the car is fast. A crew chief today must decide when to race for the stage and when to pit, knowing that each stage win also adds to a playoff cushion. As Denny Hamlin noted, stages also give trailing teams a chance to adjust: “at least there was an opportunity because of a stage for people to change strategy”. In practice we’ve seen countless times this season a late caution before a stage end triggering a split: a group dives for stage points while another gambles on fresher tires.
2025 Season Highlights
The 2025 season’s first races underscore stage racing’s grip. In the Daytona 500 (February 2025), Penske teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney each took a stage, putting playoff points into their pockets before the overnight rain delay. Logano won Stage 1 and Blaney won Stage 2, while William Byron ultimately won the race. Earlier at Bristol (March 2025), Kyle Larson swept the two opening stages (earning 20 points) and Byron took the win.
Most recently at Darlington (April 2025), Byron dominated by winning both Stage 1 and Stage 2 – and even grabbed a 2025 bonus fastest-lap point – though veteran Denny Hamlin won the final-stage overtime. These examples illustrate a key point: excelling in stages can vault a driver up the standings even if they don’t win the race.
After eight races in 2025, Ryan Blaney leads the series with 89 stage points, with Byron (81) and Larson (79) close behind. Blaney has remarkably yet to win a race this year, but his stage-point consistency has kept him atop the standings, showing that the format can reward consistency as much as checkered flags.
Statistical Trends: Consistency vs. Winners
Over the long term, data show the stage/playoff system mixes rewards for pure speed and for steady scoring. For instance, in 2024 Kyle Larson was dominant in the analytics: he led the series with 12 stage wins and piled up 312 stage points. But he did not win the championship.
Instead, 2024 champ Joey Logano won far fewer stages (just three) and earned only 193 stage points – roughly 62% of Larson’s total. Logano’s title came from maximizing race wins and finishing well, even if he wasn’t the top stage scorer. Conversely, Christopher Bell (11 stage wins in 2024) still finished second overall without a title, underscoring that stage success alone doesn’t guarantee championship fate.
In other words, NASCAR has created a balance: winning stages or finishing consistently in the top 10 both help you advance. The data bear this out. Besides Larson and Bell, drivers like Ryan Blaney and William Byron have climbed playoff standings through steady stage-point hauls, while others like Hamlin and Truex Jr. collected a mix of stage points and victories.
In 2025’s early going, mid-tier teams (not just the winningest cars) have capitalized on stage points: 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace, for example, has not won a race but quietly sits near the playoff cutoff thanks to numerous top-10 stage finishes. By contrast, a driver can win a race yet fall behind in points if they miss stages.
Looking Ahead
NASCAR officials have decided to keep the current knockout playoff format intact for 2025, meaning stages and playoff points will again decide the championship. The key impact is clear: stages have upped the emphasis on every corner of each race. As NASCAR’s Steve O’Donnell said in 2017, the format “puts a premium on every victory and every in-race position … [because] each point can eventually result in winning or losing a championship.”
In this era, a driver who consistently racks up stage points – even without the most wins – can make the playoffs, while a driver who only races hard at the end risks falling behind. In Bob Pockrass’ words, stage racing “revamped slightly” the playoff points system, and through 2025 it continues to force teams to think about points, not just checkered flags. The net effect: a more strategic, segmented style of racing that keeps more contenders in play and makes each stage a battle, reshaping NASCAR’s competitive dynamics race after race.
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