Smaller Field Of Cars For Today’s NASCAR Race

There are a number of changes in place for the 2016 NASCAR season and one of them effects the number of cars in each race. Today it's even lower than what will be the norm.

Over the off-season, NASCAR decided to lower the field of starting cars for each race from 43 cars to 40. Today's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway will only feature 39 cars. This season, NASCAR has implemented a "Charter System" in which it rewards a guaranteed starting spot for each race of the NASCAR Schedule. There are 36 Charter teams so each week only four non-charter cars/teams will qualify.

Something else new this year is the payoff. NASCAR used to post the winnings of what each position paid. This has led smaller, non-charter teams, from entering future races because of less money paid out per race. Experts are predicting that by the end of the year, some races may only have 37 cars starting.

What used to be a grass roots sport where the little guy could win is now becoming more and more like an NFL, NBA, or MLB game. Only large amounts of money will let you play.

[VIA Jayski]