Welcome to The Sportsline NASCAR Fantasy League Rules Page

The league consists of 7 teams , 4 of which belong to The Sportsline, the other 3 belong to listeners. As you can see, some of the teams are sponsored by local businesses. If you are interested in sponsoring a team as well, please contact The Sportsline at 434-455-3280.

Each team has 5 drivers , and 4 start each race. The points accumulated in that race are added to the teams overall score. 15 points are added to the winner of the race. Its a lot of fun, with some great prizes for winning teams and drivers.

Official Rules

Team Selection. The league should be made up of 7 teams of 5 drivers, 4 starters and 1 alternate. Prior to the start of the Nextel Cup ® season, teams will be selected by a draft that allows each owner an equal opportunity to obtain his/her favorite drivers and build a winning team. The draft will work as follows. A lottery will be held to determine draft position. The captain who draws number 1 will have first pick of where he wants to draft, #2 will have second choice of draft position and so on. Whomever winds up with the draft position #1 will draft first, #2 will draft second and so on, all the way down to number 7. Then in round 2, number 7 has the first pick, and number 1 would have the last pick in the round. Round 3 starts with number 1, and so on. The draft will continue until all teams have filled their rosters. During the season, rosters can be modified through trades or by acquiring "free agent" drivers not on another team's roster. Teams further down in the standings will be given priority in acquiring available free agents.

Scoring. Points will be awarded based upon the results of all NASCAR ® Nextel Cup ® Races. Prior to each Nextel Cup ® race, team owners must name a starting lineup of 4 drivers on the air during friday night's show prior to the race, unless otherwise noted by The Sportsline. Drivers in each team's starting lineup will earn the number of points awarded under the Winston Cup ® formula. If your driver wins a race, an additional 15 points will be added to his point total. If no new lineup is named, the most recently named lineup will continue to be in effect. In the event a regular starting driver does not make the field, though, a team will not earn those points won by its alternate driver. Finally, if a starter is disqualified by NASCAR ® , his/her team will also not earn the points won by its alternate driver. The top 3 point getters after 8 races, and every team within 300 points of the leader will qualify for the championship division and a 3 race shootout. The remaining teams will have a shootout of their own in the ladies division. At the begin of the chase, the team in the lead will begin with a 40 point lead over 2nd place, unless the team in second place is closer than that in points at the end of the regular season. If that is the case, the point discrepancy will remain the same at the beginning of the chase. The same rules apply for the lead of 2nd place over 3rd and so on.

Drivers. Each driver must start at least 3 races, although they need not be for your team. Plus all roster spots including the 5th spot, must have at least 5 starts by the end of the chase. Any team that finishes the season, without each driver having started 2 races, will be disqualified, and ineligible for any prizes.

Prizes. Weekly prizes may be awarded to each team captain who has the driver who wins each race. Weekly prizes may also be awarded to the team who winds up earning the most points each week. A more substantial prize may await the captain whose team is leading in the points race halfway through the season. And a grand prize may be awarded to the captain of the team who wins the points championship. A prize may also be given to the captain who collects the most wins throughout the season. The prizes will be determined at a later date by The Sportsline.

Trades. Teams may trade drivers each week right up until race time. However, no trades may be made following the Friday after the 7th race of the season (the Final Transaction Deadline). Trades of an uneven number of drivers are permitted, but teams must release enough drivers to reach the roster size limit of 5 drivers. If trades are not approved by the commissioner and the assistant commissioner then 4 out of 7 team captains must vote to approve.

Free Agents. During the course of the season, teams will be allowed to acquire free agents. The weekly deadline for requests will be Friday at 8 pm. Only 1 driver may be picked up every week . The only exception to this rule is if you have a driver who is injured. In this case you may make 1 extra acquisition during the two week interval. However, if you release a driver due to injury, when he is eligible to come back to race, he will be a free agent, but you will have the right of first refusal, to pick him up. Free agents are aquired in the reverse order of the standings.

Key Dates for Season 1

Week prior to Daytona 500 - Draft

Every Friday, 7pm - Free Agent Deadline, Lineup Deadline, Trade Deadline

Friday after week 7 - Final Transaction Deadline

Key Dates for Season 2

Week prior to Coca-Cola 600 - Draft

Every Friday, 7pm - Free Agent Deadline, Lineup Deadline, Trade Deadline

Friday after week 7 - Final Transaction Deadline

Team Nicknames. Owners should select a nickname for their team. The Sportsline reserves the right to assign a sponsor name to your team nickname. For example, if you nickname your team "The Intimidators", at any point during the season, The Sportsline can assign your team a sponsor, and your team would then become "The Triangle Ford Intimidators", or whomever is your sponsor.