[Robertdjr]

NASCAR will reallocate prize money from the last five spots in the field this season in an attempt to make it less profitable for teams to start and park.

"We moved prize money higher in the purse, so if someone's intent is solely to run a lap or two and park, the revenue stream shrinks,'' NASCAR president Mike Helton said Tuesday during an "Autoweek" panel discussion in Detroit.

According to NASCAR, each position from 43rd through 39th will receive $4,000 less for each position. For example, 39th will receive $4,000 less than 38th, 40th $4,000 less than 39th, etc.

NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp emphasized this is not a reduction in purses, that the overall prize money in 2013 will increase slightly. He said the money taken away from the last five spots will be redistributed "throughout the remainder of the field.''

NASCAR will reallocate prize money from the last five spots in the field - ESPN

[nascaraddict]

It's a step in the right direction. Although I do in the back of my mind feel that the smaller teams will really feel the pinch.

[Stewart Fan]

It's a great decision. More could be done but this is a solid start.

[oncea3fan]

someone on another board sugested that prorate the prize money by laps competed, I like that.

plus if nascar were to start calulating at 43 position and work thier way up to first each higher position would first gain from the added money from the lower postions, but then only get a full cut by finishing all the laps or get a % of that postion purse.

[nascaraddict]

Or maybe make it where they have to finish a higher percentage of laps to get a stake in purse money. Otherwise, it's just a set amount.

[Racer Duck]

I like the idea of prorating the purse based on laps completed. that is, post a prize amount for each position then prorate it. so, say the "nth" place paid $20K, but the car finishing in "nth" place only finished 50 of 200 laps, then the prize payout would be $5K (25% of $20K). The incentive is to finish as much of the race as possible (and try not to wreck!).

SInce this probably wouldn't matter much to the mega teams, you could fix that by doing the same thing for finish position points. Tho I don't think NASCAR will ever go to a point system like F1 or some of the other series where only the top x number of finishers received points, this % of laps completed idea might cause cooler heads to prevail on the track if they thought they'd be loosing significant points over and above the loss of position points. In other words, it would become more important to finish the race.

The only problem I see with this system is it could cause the racing action to tend toward the ho-hum-ness of gas-mileage racing...

So, now we come full circle to the problem of points racing and mega payouts for low finishers. If the intent is to have the x fastest cars in the race, then throw out the guaranteed starting by points rule (top 35) and then qualifying for each race is independent of where a car is in the points standing. This makes start and parkers have to better prepare the car to make the race, since starting the race has nothing to do with their record to that date. I know this may be tough on small teams, but the idea is to have a race with the best of the best, not a welfare race.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

[DOF_power]

Originally Posted by Racer Duck

I like the idea of prorating the purse based on laps completed. that is, post a prize amount for each position then prorate it. so, say the "nth" place paid $20K, but the car finishing in "nth" place only finished 50 of 200 laps, then the prize payout would be $5K (25% of $20K). The incentive is to finish as much of the race as possible (and try not to wreck!).

SInce this probably wouldn't matter much to the mega teams, you could fix that by doing the same thing for finish position points. Tho I don't think NASCAR will ever go to a point system like F1 or some of the other series where only the top x number of finishers received points, this % of laps completed idea might cause cooler heads to prevail on the track if they thought they'd be loosing significant points over and above the loss of position points. In other words, it would become more important to finish the race.

The only problem I see with this system is it could cause the racing action to tend toward the ho-hum-ness of gas-mileage racing...

So, now we come full circle to the problem of points racing and mega payouts for low finishers. If the intent is to have the x fastest cars in the race, then throw out the guaranteed starting by points rule (top 35) and then qualifying for each race is independent of where a car is in the points standing. This makes start and parkers have to better prepare the car to make the race, since starting the race has nothing to do with their record to that date. I know this may be tough on small teams, but the idea is to have a race with the best of the best, not a welfare race.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Well the real elephant in room is that the costs in (just about any) mature industry are high and only a few big players can cope with the costs.
NASCAR realistically would have to reduce the grid and/or increase the number of mega team subsidiaries.

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[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by DOF_power

Well the real elephant in room is that the costs in (just about any) mature industry are high and only a few big players can cope with the costs.
NASCAR realistically would have to reduce the grid and/or increase the number of mega team subsidiaries.

<img style="position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; right: 0px; bottom: 0px; margin: auto;">

You're right, DOF - no matter what the level, money does buy wins. I found that out many years ago and it hasn't changed.

Trouble is money it doesn't buy true loyalty and it doesn't buy love of the sport. yes there are many out there who idolize those who win, those who have the most. but there are a bunch of REAL fans who love the sport and they don't see the sport in Start & Park.
In my opinion, start & parkers are thieves .. they steal prize money by not putting forth their best effort .. to me that's the same as cheating and I have absolutely no respect for them .. even though some of them were stars of the sport in the past, people I respected for their accomplishments .. but now they have no accomplishments - just a complete lack of respect for the sport and it's fans.
As such, I'm completely in favor of anything that drives them out of the sport, tho I know it's unlikely they can be kept out.
But maybe, just maybe, we can make it painful for them to compete.
I hope so...

[DodgeFB]

Originally Posted by Racer Duck

You're right, DOF - no matter what the level, money does buy wins. I found that out many years ago and it hasn't changed.

Trouble is money it doesn't buy true loyalty and it doesn't buy love of the sport. yes there are many out there who idolize those who win, those who have the most. but there are a bunch of REAL fans who love the sport and they don't see the sport in Start & Park.
In my opinion, start & parkers are thieves .. they steal prize money by not putting forth their best effort .. to me that's the same as cheating and I have absolutely no respect for them .. even though some of them were stars of the sport in the past, people I respected for their accomplishments .. but now they have no accomplishments - just a complete lack of respect for the sport and it's fans.
As such, I'm completely in favor of anything that drives them out of the sport, tho I know it's unlikely they can be kept out.
But maybe, just maybe, we can make it painful for them to compete.
I hope so...

I agree 100%. If driver and crew leave the track knowing they did all they could for the best outcome possible they should be proud. If not they cheated the fans and themselves.

[Stewart Fan]

The #98 team of Michael McDowell who currently sit 8th in points have decided not to run the Phoenix race this weekend. What happened to them always being at the track and getting noticed and all that????

[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by Stewart Fan

The #98 team of Michael McDowell who currently sit 8th in points have decided not to run the Phoenix race this weekend. What happened to them always being at the track and getting noticed and all that????

LOM (Lack of $$$)