Winston Cup’s Legacy Refuses to Fade as Fans’ Hearts Still Beat for Legitimate NASCAR Champion

Even as the NASCAR’s playoff system, which started in 2004 as the Chase for the Championship, has been the official method to crown a champion, the debate between the modern format and the traditional points-based system continues to this day. While the playoffs dictate the official standings, and rule on paper, the old system has carved out its own niche among fans who love and prefer consistency and season-long performance over random wins gaining advantage over steady form.

Known as the Winston Cup Series Standings, named after the original premier series that ran from 1971 to 2003, the system provides an alternative perspective on NASCAR’s championship standings by calculating and sharing them using the traditional Winston Cup points system. Its X account @NWCS_Standings offers fans a comparison between the current playoff-based standings and those that would result from the Winston Cup system, highlighting how different formats can naturally have their own road to the championship, setting up its own different driver story arcs. And the latest update has a fan favorite sitting at the top, further amplifying the system’s validity.

Who is leading the championship the old school way?

As per the recent calculation of the Winston Cup system, their X account posted the fresh standings on September 1st, post the Darlington race. The table-leader (unofficial) is none other than the Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 star Chase Elliott with 3552 points. This is largely due to Elliott’s remarkable consistency throughout the season, regularly finishing in the top positions and accumulating points steadily across every race. However, another star rose to the runner up position, and that’s none other than the Darlington winner Chase Briscoe. The account tweeted, “Chase Briscoe climbs to 2nd place after winning the Southern 500 and trails new points leader Chase Elliott by 18 points.”

Briscoe won his consecutive Cook Out Southern 500 by leading 309 of 367 laps. As per the modern playoff positions, he enjoys the top position, locking himself into the next round. Christopher Bell takes the third spot, thanks to his three wins and nine top-5s, while HMS drivers Kyle Larson and William Byron sit at 4th and 5th positions, respectively.

After Byron, there’s a considerable gap difference in the points before Denny Hamlin comes in the 6th position, trailing 149 points. Hamlin shares the most wins this year with SVG, but he wins the latter on consistency on ovals too, including his 7th place finish at Darlington.

The final four of the top 10 are Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher, and Ross Chastain, filling in the 6th-10th positions in that order. They all have had consistently strong performances this season, and all have had their share of wins except for Reddick and Buescher, who’ve relied more on their points.

Even as the modern playoff system dictates the official championship, the Winston Cup points calculation continues to captivate fans, celebrating consistency and season-long excellence.

It keeps the old-school spirit of NASCAR alive, reminding enthusiasts why the traditional approach to crowning a champion still holds a special place in the hearts of racing purists, with many of them vouching for the system to be back for good.

Fans wish to see the Winston Cup Series format again

If you had to look at it from NASCAR’s perspective, they probably didn’t want any title fights to end too early. With the playoff format, there is no chance of a title fight mathematically ending early. However, the win-and-you’re-in formula could be exploited in its own flaw, by allowing a poor driver to secure a playoff berth that could go to a deserving, consistent candidate.

Nonetheless, when the Winston Cup Series put out the standings on social media, it triggered everyone’s nostalgia. One fan lamented on Twitter, “How have i not found this sooner?” There was also a lot of speculation going around, “What if Denny didn’t miss the race?”. This was a reference to Hamlin skipping the Mexico race to be with his family as they welcomed their third child. Under the Winston Cup points system, missing a race cost him a full complement of points for that event, which dropped him several positions in the standings.

Some fans also looked at how tight the championship was, “1992 shaping up all over again” and “look how close this is bruh!”. This shows just how close the points battle is under the Winston Cup system. For instance, the leaders Chase Elliott and Chase Briscoe are separated by such a small margin despite dozens of races. Fans see parallels to the legendary 1992 season, when the championship went down to the final race with multiple drivers still in contention, making the current standings also feel nail-biting and unpredictable in that same way.

Some took the opportunity to jeer at fears of a runaway leader, “hey no one’s “running away” this is still interesting and one race won’t ruin your whole season.” While others were more direct, “hey @NASCAR see what your missing out you frauds? this here is a real championship battle. 6 cars within a race worth of points. looking like 1992 all over again. but yall are missing out since you want to manufacture a champion and not let them come naturally.”

This shows the frustration among fans with the modern system and shows their excitement for a true, tightly contested season under the old one. While some dismiss fears of a runaway leader, others directly call out NASCAR, arguing that the playoff system “manufactures” a champion rather than letting a genuine, season-long battle play out naturally.

Few also saw the potential for great stories, saying, “Nine races remain and all 36 full time cars are still eligible to win the championship.” With all 36 full-time drivers still mathematically in contention even late in the season, fans see the potential for some dramatic comebacks and surprises, something that the current one misses.

In the end, one thing’s for sure. This debate between the modern playoff system and the traditional Winston Cup points format shows no signs of fading.

While NASCAR will officially crown its champion through the playoffs, this alternate reality has its own special place among the hardcore purists, and that old-school spirit will continue to spark passionate arguments among fans for years to come.