NASCAR scoring drastically altered

NASCAR is dramatically changing its format for the upcoming season, cutting every race into stages that reward points in hopes of making every lap matter and keeping fans interested.

The overhaul announced Monday assigns three stages to every race. The top 10 drivers at the end of Stage 1 and Stage 2 will be awarded points on a 10-through-1 scale.

The third portion of the race will be for the overall victory, and although traditional point scoring will be applied for that stage, the win will be worth 40 points. The rest of the field will be scored on a 35-to-2 scale, and positions 36th to 40th will receive only one point.

All bonus points accumulated through the 26-race regular season can be used in the 10-race playoff, which will no longer be called “The Chase.”

“There are no off weeks, every race matters, not only that, every lap of every race matters,” said Denny Hamlin, one of the many drivers who participated in the panel that created this new format.

NASCAR spent nearly seven months working with a wide range of industry stakeholders to come up with the changes.

Etc.

Bernie Ecclestone’s reign of Formula One ended after Liberty Media officially completed its takeover of the series on Monday and named American Chase Carey as the new chief executive. As a TV executive, Carey helped to launch Fox Sports and Fox News.