Playing the NASCAR Sector By Ray (rijansson) Welcome fellow Jockstock players, I have been a NASCAR/Racing fan for more than 30 years. I attended my first Live NASCAR race in June of 1984 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mi. I have also attended races at many of the other racetracks involved with the NASCAR Series. And I am currently a season infield site holder in turn 2. I have also worked on a pit crew as a jack man with a friend’s race team in New Hampshire while living there, and have tried my hand at wheeling a racecar in a few Enduro events. To say I’m passionate about NASCAR racing is an understatement………I’m a speed freak pure and simple! So if you’re new to NASCAR or don’t quite understand how it all works…you’ve come to the right place. Hopefully in the next few paragraphs most of your questions will be answered. The NASCAR series starts its point season around the middle of February with the Daytona 500 in Daytona, FL and runs until late November, finishing up at Homestead-Miami Speedway. They race pretty much every weekend except for Easter, Mothers Day, and the middle of July, which is the halfway point of the season. They also have an All Star race the week before Memorial Day where no points are awarded. Occasionally there may be another weekend where they do not race due to scheduling; almost all races are run on the same weekend every year at the same track. It is important for you to keep in mind divis are only awarded for the NEXTEL cup races. All other divisions while great from a fan’s perspective are meaningless from the game’s perspective. And now we’ll move on to the explanation of the sector and what you’re all interested in…the divi. As with all other sectors, divis are based on projections. Remember, projections are based on last year’s performance and updated periodically thru the season. A driver’s projections can be found at the bottom of his profile page. Keep in mind these are the season projections to figure out who has beaten and by how much they have beaten their per race projections (the basis of the divi) you will need to divide these numbers by the total number of races they are projected to participate in. Below is a brief explanation of each category. Top 5 Qualifying: Each weekend consists of several events that have an effect on us Jockstockers, First is Qualifying. Only the top 5 Qualifiers will receive a Divi the next morning after qualifying takes place (there has been discussion about changing this but for now this is the case). The respective divis are based on the top 5 qualifying projection per race and how well they exceed this. For example if a driver is estimated for 10 top 5 qualifying spots he would receive a larger divi than a driver who is slated for 20. If you want to follow qualifying live you can either catch it on TV or you can subscribe to TrackPass (available thru NASCAR.com) as well as a few other racing sites on the net that carry almost up to minute qualifying info. Race Day Categories NASCAR runs 36 pts races a year. Not all listed drivers will run all 36 possibly due to Only running a “limited” schedule, Injuries from accidents, or just not having a good enough qualifying car. So pay attention if you’re going to” long term” anyone. Below are brief explanations of the race day categories. Points: This category refers to the number of points a driver earns for the specific race. As with the other categories you will need to pay attention to how many points the driver is projected to earn on a per race basis. To the degree the driver exceeds the projected points his divi will be positively affected (higher). Each winner receives 180 pts for 1st and 170 pts for 2nd. From there points decline in 5 pt increments 3rd thru 6th, 4 pt increments 7th thru 11th , and 3 pt increments 12th to last place. Last place will get 34 pts. Each week it is added to the total for the year etc. So pay attention as the year goes on drivers change teams from one year to next as well as changing car manufactures…it does make a difference from one year to the next. +/-: This category is based upon the official starting position and refers to the number of positions a driver gains + or losses – from that starting position to the finishing spot . So for example if a driver officially sits on the pole and finishes 10th he gets a -9 and if he starts 30th and wins it’s a +29. So remember its better divi wise to have a driver who GAINS spots from his starting position than loses spots. But it is possible for a driver lose a few spots and still divi the next day, due to a projected loss of positions (represented by a negative total in this category). Top 5 and Top 10 Finishes: This category is based on whether or not a driver finishes in either the top 5 or top 10 positions for the race. All finishes will affect the driver’s divi. Depending on his projected stats and where he finishes the divi may be affected either positively or negatively depending on these categories. If he finished out of the top 10 his divi will take a negative hit depending on the estimated projection the hit may be large or small so remember to check those per race projections before buying just anyone. For example if Ward Burton finishes 10th (he has a top five projection of .028 and a top 10 of .111) and lets say Dale Earnhardt Jr. finishes 5th (he has a top 5 projection of .361 and a top 10 of .583), Ward Burton will most likely be a better buy based on his projections. Of course this depends on the interplay of the other categories like the +/- and points category. Wins: Projected wins for the season. Anyone who wins will receive a positive gain on their overall divi and everyone else a slight negative hit (hey there can only be one winner). Again the amount of the effect on the divi will be determined by his projected stats. Achi Divi’s: Also called “Emmits” are awarded at the end of the season for Seasons Points Winner and the Raybestos Rookie of the Year. Questions about this article? Send a private message to the author.