Points Systems

The way points have been awarded has changed a number of times over the years.  Following is a list of the different scoring systems used by the various series throughout the sport's history.

1905 AAA

Position 1 2 3
Points 4 2 1

 

1916 AAA

Miles / Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
100 500 260 140 80 50 30 15 10 x x
150 600 320 170 90 55 35 20 15 x x
200 700 360 190 100 60 40 25 20 10 x
250 800 420 220 120 70 45 30 25 15 10
300 900 470 240 130 80 50 40 30 25 20
350+ 1000 520 270 140 90 60 50 40 30 25
Drivers had to be running at the finish to score points.  Points were moved to the next eligible driver is a finisher completed fewer laps than a nonfinisher.  Points scored by drivers sharing a ride were split according to percentage of race driven.  Starters were not allowed to score points as relief drivers, if a race starter finished the race in another car in a points scoring position those points were not awarded.

 

1920-29 AAA (also retroactively applied to 1909-15, 17-19)

Miles / Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
40 80 45 25 15 10 x x x x x
50 100 55 30 20 10 5 x x x x
60 120 65 35 25 15 x x x x x
80 160 80 45 30 20 x x x x x
100 200 110 60 35 20 15 10 5 x x
150 300 160 90 50 30 20 15 10 x x
200 400 210 110 60 40 25 15 10 x x
250 500 260 140 80 50 35 25 15 10 5
300 600 420 220 120 70 45 35 25 15 10
400 800 420 220 120 70 45 35 25 15 10
500 1000 520 270 140 90 60 50 40 35 30
Drivers had to be running at the finish to score points.  Points scored by drivers sharing a ride were split according to percentage of race driven.  Starters were not allowed to score points as relief drivers (except 1920), if a race starter finished the race in another car in a points scoring position those points were not awarded.

 

1930-36 AAA

Miles / Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
25 30 22.5 20 17.5 15 12.5 10 7.5 5 2.5
100 120 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10
150 180 135 120 105 90 75 60 45 30 15
200 240 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20
300 360 270 240 210 180 150 120 90 60 30
500 600 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50
Drivers had to be running at the finish to score points.  Points scored by drivers sharing a ride were split according to percentage of race driven.  Starters were not allowed to score points as relief drivers, if a race starter finished the race in another car in a points scoring position those points were not awarded.

 

1937-41 AAA

Miles / Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
100 200 165 135 110 90 75 65 55 45 35 25 15
300 600 495 405 330 270 225 195 165 135 105 75 45
500 1000 825 675 550 450 375 325 275 225 175 125 75
Drivers had to complete 50% of the race distance to score points.  Points scored by drivers sharing a ride were split according to percentage of race driven.  Starters were not allowed to score points as relief drivers, if a race starter finished the race in another car in a points scoring position those points were not awarded.

 

1946-77 AAA/USAC

Miles / Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
100 200 160 140 120 100 80 60 50 40 30 20 10
150 300 240 210 180 150 120 90 75 60 45 30 15
200 400 320 280 240 200 160 120 100 80 60 40 20
250 500 400 350 300 250 200 150 125 100 75 50 25
300 600 480 420 360 300 240 180 150 120 90 60 30
400 800 640 560 480 400 320 240 200 160 120 80 40
500 1000 800 700 600 500 400 300 250 200 150 100 50
Points scored by drivers sharing a ride were split according to percentage of race driven.  Drivers who started in one car were allowed to score points in another as a relief driver.

 

1952 NASCAR

Miles / Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
100 250 240 230 220 210 200 190 180 170 160 150 140 130 120 110 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10
100* 300 288 276 264 252 240 228 216 204 192 180 168 156 144 132 120 108 96 84 72 60 48 36 24 12
200 500 480 460 440 420 400 380 360 340 320 300 280 260 240 220 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20
*For unknown reasons extra points were paid for the race at Langhorne

 

1953 NASCAR

Unknown

 

1978-80 USAC/CART

Miles / Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13-16 17-20 21-24 25-28 29+
100 200 160 140 120 100 80 60 50 40 30 20 10 5 4 3 2 1
150 300 240 210 180 150 120 90 75 60 45 30 15 8 6 5 3 2
200 400 320 280 240 200 160 120 100 80 60 40 20 10 8 6 4 2
250 500 400 350 300 250 200 150 125 100 75 50 25 12 10 8 5 3
300 600 480 420 360 300 240 180 150 120 90 60 30 15 12 9 6 3
400 800 640 560 480 400 320 240 200 160 120 80 40 20 16 12 8 4
500 1000 800 700 600 500 400 300 250 200 150 100 50 25 20 15 10 5

 

1981-82 CART

Miles / Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12-20
100 20 16 14 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1
200 40 32 28 24 20 16 12 10 8 6 4 2
300 60 48 42 36 30 24 18 15 12 9 6 3
400 80 64 56 48 40 32 24 20 16 12 8 4
500 100 80 70 60 50 40 30 25 20 15 10 5
1 point for fastest qualifier, 1 point for most laps led.  Bonus points multiplied by mileage factor the same as race points.

 

1981-95 USAC Gold Crown

Miles / Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13-16 17-20 21-24 25-28 29+
100 Dirt 400 320 280 240 200 160 120 100 80 60 40 20 10 8 6 4 2
500 Paved 1000 800 700 600 500 400 300 250 200 150 100 50 25 20 15 10 5

 

1983 CART

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Points 20 16 14 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 2
1 point for fastest qualifier, 1 point for most laps led.

 

1984-2001 CART

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Points 20 16 14 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1
1 point for fastest qualifier, 1 point for most laps led.

 

1996 IRL

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33
Points 35 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

 

1996-97 IRL

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
Points 35 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1
2 bonus points for pole, 1 point for most laps led.

 

1998-2000 IRL

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29+
Points 50 40 35 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
3 bonus points for pole, 2 for second fastest qualifier, 1 for third fastest qualifier, 2 for most laps led   nonstarters did receive points starting in 1999

 

2001-03 IRL

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29+
Points 50 40 35 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
2 bonus points for most laps led, nonstarters did receive points

 

2002-03 CART

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Points 20 16 14 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1
1 point for fastest qualifier each day, 1 point for most laps led.

 

2004-07 CCWS

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Points 31 27 25 23 21 19 17 15 13 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
1 bonus point awarded for each of the following: fastest qualifier each day, leading a lap, fastest race lap (2004-06 only), most positions improved from starting spot.

 

2004-08 IRL

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18-24 25+
Points 50 40 35 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 10
3 bonus points for most laps led, nonstarters did receive full race points points (2004-2005), half race points (2006-2008)

 

2009 IRL

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18-24 25+
Points 50 40 35 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 10
2 bonus points for most laps led, 1 bonus point for fastest qualifier, nonstarters receive half race points

 

2010 IRL, 2012 INDYCAR

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18-24 25+
Points 50 40 35 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 10
2 bonus points for most laps led, 1 bonus point for fastest qualifier, nonstarters receive half race points
Points for qualifying at Indy paid as following: 1st - 15, 2nd - 13, 3rd - 12, 4th - 11, 5th - 10, 6th - 9, 7th - 8, 8th - 7, 9th - 6, 10th-24th - 5, 25th-33rd - 3

 

2011 INDYCAR

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18-24 25+
Points 50 40 35 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 10
2 bonus points for most laps led, 1 bonus point for fastest qualifier, nonstarters receive half race points
Points for Ft. Worth races paid as following: 1st - 25, 2nd - 20, 3rd - 18, 4th - 16, 5th - 15, 6th - 14, 7th - 13, 8th - 12, 9th - 11, 10th - 10, 11th-12th - 9, 13th-14th - 8, 15th-16th - 7, 17th-24th - 6, 25th-33rd - 5, nonstarters - 3
Points for qualifying at Indy paid as following: 1st - 15, 2nd - 13, 3rd - 12, 4th - 11, 5th - 10, 6th - 9, 7th - 8, 8th - 7, 9th - 6, 10th-24th - 5, 25th-33rd - 3

 

2013 INDYCAR

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25+
Points 50 40 35 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5
2 bonus points for most laps led, 1 point for leading a lap, 1 bonus point for fastest qualifier
Points for qualifying at Indy paid as following: 1st - 15, 2nd - 13, 3rd - 12, 4th - 11, 5th - 10, 6th - 9, 7th - 8, 8th - 7, 9th - 6, 10th-24th - 4, 25th-33rd - 3
Points for heat races at Iowa paid as following: Heat 1 1st-3rd - 1; Heat 2 1st-3rd 1; Heat 3 1st - 9, 2nd - 8, 3rd - 7, 4th - 6, 5th - 5, 6th - 4, 7th-8th - 2, 9th-10th - 1

 

2014 INDYCAR

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25+
Points 50 40 35 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5
2 bonus points for most laps led, 1 point for leading a lap, 1 bonus point for fastest qualifier
Base points for 500 mile races were doubled
Points for day 1 qualifying at Indy paid as following: 1st - 33, 2nd - 32, 3rd - 31, 4th - 30, 5th - 29, 6th - 28, 7th - 27, 8th - 26, 9th - 25, 10th - 24, continuing down 1 point per position until 33rd - 1
Points for day 2 qualifying at Indy paid as following: 1st - 9, 2nd - 8, 3rd - 7, 4th - 6, 5th - 5, 6th - 4, 7th - 3, 8th - 2, 9th - 1

 

2015 INDYCAR

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25+
Points 50 40 35 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5
2 bonus points for most laps led, 1 point for leading a lap, 1 bonus point for fastest qualifier
Base points for Indianapolis 500 and season finale were doubled

 

2016-17 INDYCAR

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25+
Points 50 40 35 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5
2 bonus points for most laps led, 1 point for leading a lap, 1 bonus point for fastest qualifier
Base points for Indianapolis 500 and season finale were doubled
Points for qualifying at Indy paid as following: 1st - 42, 2nd - 40, 3rd - 38, 4th - 36, 5th - 34, 6th - 32, 7th - 30, 8th - 28, 9th - 26, 10th - 24, continuing down 1 point per position until 33rd - 1

 

2018-19 INDYCAR

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25+
Points 50 40 35 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5
2 bonus points for most laps led, 1 point for leading a lap, 1 bonus point for fastest qualifier
Base points for Indianapolis 500 and season finale were doubled
Points for qualifying at Indy paid as following: 1st - 9, 2nd - 8, 3rd - 7, 4th - 6, 5th - 5, 6th - 4, 7th - 3, 8th - 2, 9th - 1

2020-23 INDYCAR

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25+
Points 50 40 35 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5
2 bonus points for most laps led, 1 point for leading a lap, 1 bonus point for fastest qualifier
Base points for Indianapolis 500 were doubled
Points for qualifying at Indy paid as following: 1st - 9, 2nd - 8, 3rd - 7, 4th - 6, 5th - 5, 6th - 4, 7th - 3, 8th - 2, 9th - 1