Brant James

USA TODAY Sports

CHARLOTTE — NASCAR on Monday unveiled a detailed overhaul of its competitive model that series officials hope fans will distill to one premise: performance throughout individual races and the regular season will be relevant to the championship run.

Whether older fans already disgruntled with a culture of change are willing to give the new system a chance remains to be seen. But it is clearly an attempt to make the sport more digestible for a new generation unwilling to log four hours watching motorsports.

Under the new format unveiled for all three national touring series, races will be divided into three stages, with the top 10 drivers in the running order at the first two breaks awarded points, from 10 for the leader to one for 10th place. Races will be halted at a pre-determined lap decided by the length and size of the track. At the end of the race, the winner will be awarded 40 points, the second-place driver 35, with descending values to 35th place. The 36th-40th place drivers will receive one point.

A major change in the system is that drivers also will earn bonus points, or championship points, during the 26-race regular season: 15 for the regular-season championship; 15 for finishing in the top 10 at the regular-season finale at Richmond International Raceway; five for each victory; and one for each stage win. Those bonus points will establish playoff seeding for the final 10 races and carry over into the 10-race playoff.

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Drivers still would qualify for the playoffs under the current system — the Chase nomenclature is gone — by virtue of a win or by finishing in the top 16 in points without a win. The 16 drivers who qualify for the championship run will maintain those playoff bonus points through each of the three elimination rounds before the points are reset for the four-driver finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.

NASCAR officials and series stakeholders have been working on changes since last summer.

“Simply put, this will make our great racing even better,” NASCAR chairman Brian France said in a release. “I’m proud of the unprecedented collaboration from our industry stakeholders, each of whom had a common goal – strengthening the sport for our fans. This is an enhancement fully rooted in teamwork, and the result will be an even better product every single week.”

The Daytona 500 and its preliminaries will have added value with a win in each of the Duels worth 10 points in the series standings. The Daytona 500, therefore, could be worth 70 points: a Duels win (10), a 500 win (40) and winning both segments (10 apiece). Other races would max out at 60 points.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR's most popular driver who will return to racing next month after missing half of last season because of a concussion, said he's glad to see the sport reward drivers for their entire performance and not just a win.

“As a driver, I’m happy to be rewarded for how I performed and not how I finished,” he said.

Seven-time NASCAR Cup champion and team owner Richard Petty said in part via statement:

"... This new format just adapts to the current and next generation of fans. It's something to help create more excitement during the races. You have to put on a good race, a good show where people want to watch at home and enjoy coming to the track. Having two additional winning moments is a good step in that direction to keep the drivers competitive and fans excited throughout the race and season."

Track president Eddie Gossage, who runs Texas Motor Speedway, site of two NASCAR Cup races including one in the playoff, said:

"Not that there has ever been a time to kind of ride around, but now there is going to be a lot of points on the line. You've got to race hard the first 100 laps, race hard through those second 100 laps and then for the finish, of course, you're always running hard. It's going to make it better for the fans."

In case of rain, races will be declared official after the second segment is completed.

Segments can end under caution, but overtime finishes still are in place for the race's final laps.

For fans who found it difficult to sit for an entire race uninterrupted, this offers them built-in breaks. And TV built-in commercial time, plus the chance to interview segment winners.

“This new format is another step toward bringing racing in line with other professional sports," said Mike Joy, Fox's NASCAR play-by-play announcer. "Football is played in quarters. Baseball is played in innings and hockey in periods. Fans of other sports are more familiar with this type of format. The idea of trying to get the viewer in front of a TV set for 500 miles of straight competition has proven difficult in this century. People are consuming sports differently than ever before, and every sport is discussing evolving to suit the target audience. This race-stage format provides a better alternative than shortening races, because fans will still get their money’s worth with just as much competition as previously.”

In related news, NASCAR eliminated the competition clock in the Camping World Truck Series and also is prohibiting teams from replacing panels in-race.

Follow James on Twitter @brantjames

PHOTOS: 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule