What the differance between Nascar Sprint cup and Nascar Nationwide cup?

The Nationwide Series used to be for up-and-coming drivers and veterans that have retired from the Cup Series.However,these days it is a little more complicated.The Nationwide Series is still used for developing new drivers and there are still some older drivers that used to race in Cup there,but there are a lot of Cup drivers that also race in the Nationwide Series(some full-time,some only for a couple of races).The last two Nationwide champions have also been Cup drivers,which(in my opinion)hurts the integrity of the series.Either way,they are both great series and are fun to watch.

Technical differences:

The Cup cars are completely different than the Nationwide cars now that NASCAR has introduced the COT(Car of Tomorrow-the standardized,bigger,safer car that is supposed to cut costs for teams and make the competition better).NASCAR is still developing a COT for the Nationwide Series,but it is still a lot different than the Cup COT.The Cup cars have more horsepower,the Cup races are longer,and the season is also longer.The Cup Series has the 26-race regular season and the Chase for the Cup,which is 10 races long.

Here is how the Chase works:

During the first 26 races of the season,the drivers try their best to win as many races as possible(which is always true) and make sure that they will be in the top-12 in points when the regular season is over.

After race 26,the top-12 drivers in points make up the Chase and the points are reset to 5,000 per driver.These 12 drivers are the only ones eligible to compete for the championship.The drivers' starting positions(points-wise) for the Chase are seeded by the points equalization and accrued wins during the regular season;they are awarded 10 bonus points to start the Chase for every win.If a driver has 8 wins,they will start the Chase with 5,080 pts.,6 wins=5,060,etc.

If two or more drivers have the same amount of wins during the regular season,they are seeded according to which driver(s) were higher in the standings before the reset.

The Chase is a 10 race title bout between the 12 drivers;whoever the last man standing is at Homestead-Miami in November will be the Sprint Cup champion.

Hope that helps and I didn't confuse you any :)

Some drivers do race in both series but most don't. The Sprint series have the most experienced drivers. Also the cars are slightly different. The Sprint Cup cars are a newly designed car that were created for improved safety. The Nationwide Cars are an older design car that spins out real easy when they run beside another car. The Sprint Cup cars have more horsepower. More money is involved in the Sprint Cup series than the Nationwide series.

There are about 7-8 different NASCAR series, 3 National (Sprint Cup,Nationwide, and Craftsman Trucks), 4 regional (Camping World East and West, Whelan Modifieds, Whelan Southern Modifieds), and bunch of sanctioned local series as well.

Sprint Cup's the top rung of the ladder, this is what drivers in the lower series strive for.

Nationwide is a step below that, and is meant as a stepping stone to Cup. However you do see Cup drivers, running anywhere from a few races to a whole schedule in Nationwide(in fact the last 2 Nationwide Champions have been Cup drivers). NASCAR allows this because it raises attendance at Nationwide Races. Several Cup drivers are also Nationwide Team owners, notably Earnhardt Jr and Kevin Harvick.

Finally, we have the Craftsman Truck Series, which as the name implies is racing with pick-up trucks( think of it as racing Falcon UTES), here you'll see a mixture of young talent and former Cup drivers racing. Incursions by Cup drivers are a little rarer although not unusual(see Kyle Busch).

The primary differences in Cup and Nationwide are the cars, Nationwide cars are basically old Cup cars since Cup switched to a new style car. Chevy actually runs different models in Cup and Nationwide( Impala and Monte Carlo respectively). Before this season the main differences in Cup and Nationwide cars was NW cars ran a smaller carburetor, longer wheelbase and a larger spoiler.

Nationwide Series is for up and coming drivers. You have to start in the Nationwide series and work your way up from there. Several of the Sprint Cup drivers also race in the Nationwide races. It gives the drivers a chance to race with the "Big Boys" so too speak. After a period of time, the Nationwide drivers are allowed to race in a Cup race and their cars are identified with a stripe on the rear bumper to let the other drivers know that it is a rookie driver. Hope this helps.

Welcome to Nascar Nation, enjoy!

Sprint Cup is the top-tier Series in NASCAR whereas the Nationwide Series (no Cup in their name) is seen as the 2nd-tier Series.

There are actually a lot of series in NASCAR. Such as the Canadian Tyre Series, Corona Mexican Series, AutoZone Elite division, the Dodge Weekly Series, the Camping World East Series & the 3rd-tier Series the Craftsman Truck (to be Camping World Truck) Series.

The Sprint Cup cars are faster & of course use the COT (car of tomorrow) template which has splitters on the front & a wing on the back vs what the Nationwide Series uses now where there is a valance on the front and a spoiler on the rear.

Sprint Cup is for better more qualified drivers. Nationwide series is for drivers who aren't into the right range around the Sprint Cup drivers. And yes some drivers race in both such as Clint Bowyer or Carl Edwards.

P.S. Welcome to NASCAR.

the nationwide series is a class where younger drivers race in and sprint cup series is a class where more experienced drivers and the drivers with more money race at

Nationwide is like the "minor leagues" and Sprint is like the "major leagues". some of the Sprint drivers do race in the Nationwide series.

I have a dear friend that lives in Dunedin. I'd love to visit her and see NZ.

I am new to NASCAR this season. Seems okay to me just wish there were a few tracks near my house so I could actually go to one. But my brother said something about them taking out one of the best races in each season? Not sure what he was talking about but I think he has a point with this one. Even tho I dont quite know.

Age has nothing to do with it.

As the very voluptuous Maggie said, it's a lesser series. Less talent and less money needed and paid. It's not Nationwide cup. There is only one cup series.