All 36 Cup points races will be broken into three stages: The first and second stages will each be equal in length — approximately one-quarter race distance with breaks of about five minutes between stages. The final stage will be roughly half the total race distance and will determine who the race winner will be.

The breaks between stages mean television viewers will see more green-flag racing.

The top 10 finishers in each of the first two stages will be awarded points: 10 for the winner, then counting down in 1-point increments so 10th-place finisher gets 1 point.

The race winner gets 40 points, second place gets 35th and then it counts down in 1-point increments to 35th place, which gets 2 points. Positions 36-40 are worth 1 point each. The race winner also gets 5 bonus points that carry over into the final 10 races of the season.

At Daytona, the top-10 finishers in the Duels will be awarded points on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.