RELATED: Sign up for Fantasy Live today | How the new Fantasy Live works

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Following a successful first season of stage racing, NASCAR today announced a new fantasy game inspired by the competition format that has created closer, side-by-side racing and even more dramatic moments throughout races.

Accessible via NASCAR.com and the NASCAR Mobile app, the all-new NASCAR Fantasy Live follows the NASCAR official scoring system, allows players to make in-race driver substitutions and features incentives for correctly predicting stage wins, race wins and more.

Players can register at NASCAR.com/fantasy beginning today and set their driver rosters for the 2018 DAYTONA 500 when the race entry list is announced.

“In NASCAR, every lap matters,” said Tim Clark, managing director, NASCAR Digital Media. “The new NASCAR Fantasy Live game reflects the lap-by-lap intensity of modern NASCAR racing by giving fans the opportunity to strategize and adjust their driver lineups in real-time during races.”

In NASCAR Fantasy Live, players pick five drivers to start prior to each Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. In addition, a sixth “garage” driver on the roster can be swapped in-race for any active driver before the final stage begins.

Game scoring follows NASCAR official scoring and rewards points based on race results and driver finishing position for all three stages. Only drivers in the “starting” position at the end of each race will earn fantasy points.

Individual drivers can be used a maximum of 10 times during the season. If a driver ends the race in the player’s garage, it will not count against the season limit.

During races, drivers running in the top 10 at the conclusion of Stage 1 and Stage 2 receive points, beginning with 10 points for the stage winner, nine points for second place, eight points for third place, and so on.

Mirroring how Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races are scored, the race-winning driver earns 40 points, the second-place finisher 35 points, the third-place finisher 34 points, and so forth. The final four drivers to finish each race earn one point apiece.

Players can also score bonus points by correctly picking the pole winner (5 points), Stage 1 winner (10 points), Stage 2 winner (10 points), winning manufacturer (10 points) and race-winning driver (30 points).

NASCAR Fantasy Live will run throughout the 26-week Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular season and culminate with the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on September 9, 2018. The overall points leader after the final race will be crowned 2018 champion and win $10,000.

The NASCAR Fantasy Live enhancements are aimed at providing players more opportunities to engage with the game during races, while honoring the nuances of NASCAR’s stage-based format.

“As our sport continues to evolve, it only made sense for our fantasy game to follow suit,” said Clark. “The new NASCAR Fantasy Live will engage fans more deeply than ever before, and we’re excited about that.”

For more information on NASCAR Fantasy Live, including rules and eligibility requirements, please visit NASCAR.com/fantasy.

The 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season kicks off with the 60th annual DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 2:30 p.m. ET. The race will be broadcast live on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (channel 90), with additional coverage on NASCAR.com.