The Owners’ Championship Explained

How does the Owners Championship work? I heard [Kyle] Larson say [Ryan] Blaney can’t run for the [owners’] championship, and yet he is still in the [Round of 8] for the [drivers’] championship. – Berty D., YouTube

To make things simple, the owners’ title works in exactly the same way as the driver’s title does. It’s only because 2022 has been 2022 that NASCAR has found itself steaming toward a confusing mess of a finale.

Yes, Kyle Larson’s No. 5 team could win the owners’ championship despite being eliminated from the playoffs, and Ryan Blaney could win the drivers’ title while his No. 12 can finish (at best) 17th in the owners’ standings. Here’s how.

Formula 1 fans will be familiar with the idea of the Constructors’ Championship – Red Bull Racing just locked up that title last Sunday (Oct. 23) at Circuit of the Americas. In F1, all the points scored by every driver racing for that team all season are added up, and the team with the most points wins the title (and the biggest share of prize money). The difference is NASCAR teams aren’t required to have two cars: Cup teams have as many as four and as few as one car. Instead, each “team” in the NASCAR owners’ championship is scored by the single car, with its single car number.

(For example, Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5, No. 9, No. 24 and No. 48 teams all compete against each other, but both Alex Bowman and Noah Gragson have contributed points to the No. 48 team’s total.)

A.J. Allmendinger will drive the No. 16 car for Kaulig Racing in this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway.

Noah Gragson will pilot the No. 48 car for Hendrick Motorsports as Alex Bowman aims to possibly return at Phoenix Raceway.

— Austin Konenski (@AustinKonenski) October 24, 2022

Plus, the owners’ championship has a playoffs, one that runs parallel to the drivers’ playoffs. In the elimination era, these results have always been the same. This year will be the first they differ, for one reason: Kurt Busch’s concussion.

Although Busch gave up his playoff waiver, the No. 45 car still qualified for the owners’ playoffs based on Busch’s win at Kansas Speedway this spring (and Ty Gibbs stepping in to drive the No. 45 in the remaining races). Then, 23XI Racing made the unusual decision to swap Gibbs for Bubba Wallace in the No. 45, tying the No. 45’s owners’ playoff fortunes (and potential for higher prize money) to Wallace.

NEWS: @BubbaWallace will…