About TrueLapScore
How TLS works
NASCAR's official points mostly reward where you finish. TrueLapScore (TLS) rewards where you ran, lap after lap.
The rule
- Every lap, every car scores. On each lap a car earns
field size − running position + 1points. In a 38-car field, P1 earns 38, P2 earns 37 … P38 earns 1. - The starting grid counts as lap 0, so a car's starting spot is its first scored "lap".
- Race total = the sum over every lap the car was scored. A car that retires stops scoring, so a long day up front is worth far more than a late charge.
- Season total = the sum of a driver's race totals. The TLS champion is the driver with the most TLS points for the season. That isn't NASCAR's official champion.
- ARP (average running position) is the average of a driver's running positions across the same scored laps.
Lap data comes from NASCAR's official timing and scoring feeds. TrueLapScore is an independent fan project and doesn't change official results or points.
Worked example: Pocono, June 14, 2026
The Cup Series field at the Great American Getaway 400 had 38 cars, so each lap was worth up to 38 points. Denny Hamlin (#11) was scored on 161 laps (the grid plus 160 racing laps) with an average running position of 4.43.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Best possible per lap | 38 − 1 + 1 | 38 |
| If he had run P1 every lap | 161 laps × 38 | 6,118 |
| Points actually earned | 161 × (38 + 1) − (sum of his 161 running positions = 713) | 6,279 − 713 |
| Hamlin's TLS race total | 5,566 |
Hamlin also won the race and posted the best ARP, so all three measures agreed. At many races they don't, and the race page shows the official winner, the TLS leader and the best ARP side by side.
Why it can differ from the official result
- A driver who leads most of the race and then gets caught up in a late wreck still banks a big TLS total.
- A driver who sneaks into the lead on the last restart wins the race but may score modestly in TLS.
- Stage points, playoff/Chase points and bonus points don't exist in TLS. Only running position counts.
Legend
Driver-name tags come straight from NASCAR's timing data, which reflects each driver's status at that race.
| Tag | Meaning | Effect on TLS |
|---|---|---|
(C) | Chase driver or participant (NASCAR's 2026 postseason format) | None; label only |
(P) | Playoff driver (NASCAR's postseason format through 2025) | None; label only |
# | Series rookie | None; label only |
* | NASCAR's footnote: entry "required to qualify on time" | None; label only |
(i) | Ineligible for driver points in this series (for example a Cup regular entered in an O'Reilly or Truck race) | Scores 0 TLS points and is left out of standings. Their laps still take up running positions. Where shown, their lap points are for reference only. |
Series names
NASCAR's second division became the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2026 (it was the Xfinity Series through 2025). Page addresses keep the old /xfinity/ path so existing links keep working.