The Championship Four - 2002 - A NASCAR Racing 2003 Story

[Thefallen365]

Premise

It’s 2002. Nascar has implemented a new points system with playoffs in all three major series. The new system goes as follows.

Winston Cup & Busch Series

Regular Season
-Twenty six races for Winston, Twenty four for Busch
---Winner gets 45 points, 2nd-43rd gets 35-1 in descending order
-No way to implement stages, so bonus points given for laps led
---10 points for most laps led
---5 points for 2nd & 3rd most laps led
---3 points for 4th & 5th most laps led
---1 point for all other lap leaders
-All declared full time drivers eligible for playoffs
---16 playoff spots available
---Win and you’re in the playoffs
------Must remain in Top 25 in points
------Must be your declared primary series
Playoff Points
-Performance in regular season races is rewarded
---Win = 5 Playoff Points
---Top 5 = 2 Playoff Points
---Top 10 =1 Playoff Point
-Regular season position is rewarded
---Regular season champion = 20 Playoff Points
---2nd - 10th in regular season = 9 to 1 Playoff Points
Playoffs
-Round of 16
---Three races
---Best 12 drivers advance
---Win and you’re in
-Round of 12
---Playoff points from previous round added
---Round of 16 champion gets 10 Playoff Points
---2nd - 6th gets 5 to 1 Playoff Points
---Three races
---Best 8 drivers advance
---Win and you’re in
-Round of 8
---Playoff points from previous round added
---1st - 5th in Round of 12 get 5 to 1 Playoff points
---Three races
---Best 4 drivers advance
---Win and you’re in
-Championship Four
---Final position is the only factor in deciding the championship
---Laps Led Bonus will not be factored in for the final four
---5th - 16th in standings will be decided by points carried over from Round of 16 through the rest of the playoffs

Craftsman Truck Series

Regular Season
-Fifteen Races
---Winner gets 38 points
---2nd - 36th gets 30 to 1 points in descending order
-Bonus points for Laps Led
---8 points for most laps led
---4 points for 2nd & 3rd most laps led
---2 points for 4th & 5th most laps led
---1 point for all other lap leaders
-All declared drivers eligible for playoffs
---12 Playoff Spots available
---Win and you’re in the playoffs
---Must remain in the top 20 in points
---Must be your declared primary series
Playoff Points
-Regular Season Performance
---Win = 5 Playoff Points
---Top 5 = 2 Playoff Points
---Top 10 = 1 Playoff Point
-Regular Season Standings
---Regular Season Champion = 10 Playoff Points
---2nd - 6th = 5 to 1 Playoff Points
Playoffs
-Round of 12
---Three Races
---Best 8 drivers advance
---Win and you’re in
-Round of 8
---Playoff points from previous round added
---1st - 5th gets 5 to 1 points
---Three Races
---Best 4 drivers advance
---Win and you’re in
-Championship 4
---Final position is the only factor in deciding the championship
---Laps Led Bonus will not be factored in for the final four
---5th - 12th in standings will be decided by points carried over from Round of 12 through the rest of the playoffs

So there you have it! Our playoff system is going to be very similar to the current real life system, but since we’re running this on NR2003, the stage points system is all but impossible to implement. While the system I’m using still stresses the importance of winning races, there are still rewards for consistency in the fact that top 5s and top 10s will award playoff points and serve as tiebreakers when drivers have the same win total. Bonus points for laps led will also reward a driver for dominating a race and act as a safety net in case it all goes wrong towards the end.

I'll be running all three series with this format, starting here with the 2002 season.

[Thefallen365]

Winston Cup

Chevrolet

Andy Petree Racing
55 - Bobby Hamilton

Dale Earnhardt Inc.
1 - Steve Park
8 - Dale Earnhardt Jr
15 - Michael Waltrip

Hendrick Motorsports
5 - Terry Labonte
24 - Jeff Gordon
25 - Jerry Nadeau
48 - Jimmie Johnson (R)

Morgan-McClure
4 - Mike Skinner

Richard Childress Racing
29 - Kevin Harvick
30 - Jeff Green
31 - Robby Gordon

Dodge

Bill Davis Racing
22 - Ward Burton
23 - Hut Stricklin/Kenny Wallace

Chip Ganassi Racing
40 - Sterling Marlin
41 - Jimmy Spencer

Evernham Motorsports
9 - Bill Elliott
19 - Jeremy Mayfield

Petty Enterprises
43 - John Andretti
44 - Steve Grissom/Buckshot Jones
45 - Kyle Petty

Ultra Motorsports
7 - Casey Atwood

Ford

Brett Bodine Racing
11 - Brett Bodine

Haas-Carter Motorsports
26 - Joe Nemechek

Jasper Motorsports
77 - Dave Blaney

Penske Racing
2 - Rusty Wallace
12 Ryan Newman (R)

PPI Motorsports
32 - Ricky Craven

Robert Yates Racing
28 - Ricky Rudd
88 - Dale Jarrett

Roush Racing
6 - Mark Martin
17 - Matt Kenseth
97 - Kurt Busch
99 - Jeff Burton

Wood Brothers Racing
21 - Elliott Sadler

Pontiac

AJ Foyt Racing
14 - Stacy Compton/Mike Wallace

Joe Gibbs Racing
18 - Bobby Labonte
20 - Tony Stewart

MB2 Motorsports
10 - Johnny Benson Jr.
36 - Ken Schrader

Busch Series

Chevrolet

AP Performance Racing
19 - Tim Sauter

BACE Motorsports
33 - Tony Raines

Brewco Motorsports
27 - Jamie McMurray
37 - Jeff Purvis

Carroll Racing
26 - Lyndon Amick

DF2 Motorsports
94 - Derrike Cope

Evans Motorsports
7 - Randy Lajoie

FitzBradshaw Racing
12 - Kerry Earnhardt (R)

Foyt Racing
14 - Larry Foyt

Hertzog-Jackson Motorsports
92 - Todd Bodine

Hendrick Motorsports
5 - Ricky Hendrick
24 - Jack Sprague

Innovative Motorsports
47 - Shane Hmiel (R)
48 - Kenny Wallace

Jim & Judie Motorsports
32 - Dan Pardus (R)

Ken Alexander Racing
63 - Shane Hall

Lewis Motorsports
46 - Ashton Lewis

Mixon Motorsports
44 - Mike Harmon

Phoenix Racing
1 - Jimmy Spencer/Martin Truex jr (R)

Richard Childress Racing
2 - Johnny Sauter (R)
21 - Jeff Green/Kevin Harvick

FT Motorsports
59 - Stacy Compton

Team Bristol Motorsports
54 - Kevin Grubb

Dodge

BLV Motorsports
40 - Brian Vickers (R)

Welliver-Jesel Motorsports
36 - Hank Parker Jr.
66 - Casey Mears (R)

Ford

Akins Motorsports
38 - Christian Elder

Jay Robinson Racing
49 - Joe Buford

PPC Racing
10 - Scott Riggs (R)
57 - Jason Keller

PRW Racing
77 - Andy Kirby

Roush Racing
60 - Greg Biffle

Rensi Motorsports
25 - Bobby Hamilton Jr.

Pontiac

Bill Davis Racing
23 - Scott Wimmer

Day Enterprise Racing
16 - Chad Chaffin

Joe Gibbs Racing
18 - Mike McLaughlin

[Thefallen365]

Saved for later use 2

[Thefallen365]

Saved for later use 3

[SkyFlyer]

A CUP 2000 MOD WITH THE PLAYOFFS? MAH IMERSIAN