THE CHASE RULES
Well with NASCAR changing how drivers make the Chase in 2026, that means we'll make some changes here also.
1) We'll STILL take every player that wins a weekly race during the first 26 races to be in the "Chase";... just like the NASCAR series. We don't want to just take the top 16 in points at the end of 26 races. Since we have around 125 players, that shuts out the majority of folks. And folks in the top 16 in overall points have generally made some nice winnings already, and this just turns into a "rich gets richer" type situation, and I like to be able to spread out the winnings.
2) We WILL take the top 16 players in the overall points at the end of the third segment (26 races)
3) We will also add the winner of each bracket to the Chase like in years past
4) If you tie with another player for a weekly win it will count as 'a win' for both players. Players won't be penalized or given 1/2 credit because you tied.
5) The players that make the Chase will start off with 5,000 points - PLUS whatever bonus points you have earned from having a Top 10 finish in the weekly races.
6) Bonus points can be earned weekly as follows. Weekly Winner will get 60 points. Second 55; - Third 50; - Fourth 45 - Fifth 40; Sixth 35; - Seventh 30; - Eighth 25; - Ninth 20; - Tenth 15:
NOTE** - NASCAR is giving bonus points to the Winner of each race, but I feel like our game has a nice distribution of points as itis. SO I am increasing the points given out as bonus points that will go to start the Chase. This may "seem" like a lot of points to give out to start the Chase, but since the Chase is now a full 10 races long, with no elimination segments, I think it will be easy for players to make up a couple hundred points over 10 races.
7) SO; I am sure we'll have a wide variety of people qualify for the Chase. I suppose we'll have at least 26 weekly winners, and then we could add as many as 16 more via points. This would give us 42 in the Chase. In last years "other" format we had 41.
8) While all of this is going on - The rest of the game will carry on and the weekly, segment, and overall winnings will go on as per the original rules. Basically, you 'earn' your way into the Chase, and the Chase is a side-item.
9) Just like in NASCAR we will kick off the Chase and some folks will have bonus points to start. The people who win the money will be the folks who end up the top 10 in points in the Chase (including their bonus points).
10) I have NOT decided if I will award bonus points once the Chase starts.... in full; partially; or not at all. More on that later.... I suppose I need to sleep on that some more.
Now these Chase scores will be kept separate from the "Overall' part of the game. It's possible you could win money in both the Overall part of the game, and also the Chase part. And just because you might not make the Chase,... that don't keep you from winning any overall prize money. Here is the reason we add this Chase portion to the Fantasy Racing game. Let's face it, from time to time we have a bad season. This will keep EVERYONE that is playing the game with the possibility of making (or winning) the Chase. No matter your overall score, you'll have a shot to make the Chase since we ARE keeping the "Win and In" part of the game. It's 100% possible to get in the Chase at the last second (even the very last regular season race). Also, I think it will keep people more involved. So far, each year determining who will make the Chase has come down to the very last race; whether it's trying to get in via points; or with a race win.
A player could be doing bad all year long, and win the final race of segment number three, and all of a sudden find themselves in the Chase. So along with some extra payouts, it'll add some extra excitement (and it may get players to juggle their picks a bit more to shoot for the wins). You have more options. Go for the gusto and shoot for the wins, or try to be steady all year, and get to the Chase on points. It has been an exciting addition to our game. Both for the competition and the 'un-known' of who does what the last couple races to move themselves into the Chase and knock someone else out.