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Tournament Chasing NASCAR Style: Driver Incentives in Stock Car Racing's Playoff Season

Author

Listed:
  • J Brian O'Roark

    (Department of Finance and Economics, Robert Morris University, 6001 University Blvd., Moon Township, PA 15108.)

  • William C Wood

    (Department of Economics, James Madison University.)

  • Benjamin Demblowski

    (Department of Economics and Legal Studies, Robert Morris University.)

Abstract

This paper applies tournament theory to NASCAR racing's playoff season, the Chase for the Cup. The consequences of a mixed tournament with the top 10 and lower-ranked drivers racing simultaneously are explored and tested. Using individual driver and race data, we empirically show that Chase races experience more accidents. In the lead up to the Chase, the relative position of drivers to the leader in terms of rank is more important in predicting accidents than the absolute position in terms of points. Once the Chase begins, contrary to tournament theory, the increase in accidents is spread across the subsets of drivers, and occurs without regard to the relative position of the drivers to the leaders of each subgroup.

Suggested Citation

  • J Brian O'Roark & William C Wood & Benjamin Demblowski, 2012. "Tournament Chasing NASCAR Style: Driver Incentives in Stock Car Racing's Playoff Season," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 38(1), pages 1-17.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:easeco:v:38:y:2012:i:1:p:1-17
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    Cited by:

    1. Brad Humphreys & Bernd Frick, 2019. "Prize Structure and Performance: Evidence from NASCAR," Economies, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-13, October.
    2. Thieme, Lutz & Falk, Rüdiger, 2021. "Zur Entwicklung von Vergütungssystemen in deutschen Großsportvereinen," Working Papers of the European Institute for Socioeconomics 35, European Institute for Socioeconomics (EIS), Saarbrücken.
    3. David M. Yaskewich, 2017. "Heterogeneous Ability and Risk Taking in a Rank-Order Tournament," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 18(8), pages 803-830, December.
    4. Craig A. Depken II & Matthew Hood & Ernest King, 2017. "Consistency and Momentum in NASCAR," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 18(6), pages 601-621, August.

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