Default Rules for Driver Group Game 2023

If you want to have a team that competes against a large group of players be sure to join my public leagues for each Series.

DGG League - Cup (ID #2)
DGG League - Xfinity (ID #3)
DGG League - Trucks (ID #4)

These DGG Leagues entries are the ones that makes you eligible for DGG Hall of Fame Awards.

Why is that? Well, since commissioners are able to change their league settings - even down to the races and drivers, not just scoring - those league entries are not an apples-to-apples representation of the default leagues scoring. So, I keep the recognition of outstanding players exclusive to these three Public Leagues.

In each league there is a Rules page that covers the specifics for that league. Be sure to read it to see if there are any changes to your gameplay you should make. Although, many leagues keep their driver groups, races and scoring set to the Default Rules.

Driver Group Game is a weekly game that runs the full schedule of races that each Series runs throughout the 2023 season.

Cup Series season consists of 36 races.
Xfinity Series season has 33 races.
Craftsman Truck Series season runs 23 races.

Each NASCAR Series begin their season at Daytona International Raceway in Daytona Beach, Florida and finish up at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona.

Cup Series Race 01 - is the Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 19th, 2023.
Xfinity Series - Race 01 - is the Beef. It's What's For Dinner 300 on Saturday, February 18th, 2023.
Truck Series - Race 01 - is the NextEra Energy 250 on Friday, February 17th, 2023.

The Cup Series has a few non-points races, the Busch Light Clash on February 6th, 2023; the 'Duels' on February 17th, 2023; the All-Star Open and the All-Star Race on May 22nd, 2023 that are not included in the formal game. Take your owner hat off and enjoy the action!

The full-season is divided into three segments that vary a little in each Series due to their schedule and number of races.

Cup Series Segments

SPRING:
- Race #01 on February 19th, 2023 at Daytona International Speedway
- Race #13 on May 14th, 2023 at Dalington Raceway
SUMMER:
- Race #14 on May 28th, 2023 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
- Race #26 on August 26th, 2023 at Daytona International Speedway
PLAYOFFS:
- Race #27 on September 3rd, 2023 at Darlington Raceway
- Race #36 on November 5th, 2023 at Phoenix Raceway

Xfinity Series Segments

SPRING:
- Race #01 on February 18th, 2023 at Daytona International Speedway
- Race #13 on June 3rd, 2023 at Portland International Raceway
SUMMER:
- Race #14 on June 10th, 2023 at Sonoma Raceway
- Race #26 on September 9th, 2023 at Kansas Speedway
PLAYOFFS:
- Race #27 on September 15th, 2023 at Bristol Motor Speedway
- Race #33 on November 4th, 2023, at Phoenix Raceway

Craftsman Truck Series Segments

SPRING:
- Race #01 on February 17th, 2023 at Daytona International Speedway
- Race #08 on May 6th, 2023 at Kansas Speedway
SUMMER:
- Race #09 on May 12th, 2023, at Darlington Raceway
- Race #16 on July 29th, 2023 at Richmond Raceway
PLAYOFFS:
- Race #17 on August 11th, 2023 at Lucas Oil Raceway
- Race #23 on November 3rd, 2023 at Phoenix Raceway

The Driver Group Game is only $5.00 to play. Whether you're in One League or Several - a Commissioner or a Player or Both. This transaction is handled safely through PayPal. A PayPal account is not necessary to make your payment. Players who begin play at the start of the season, have until the end of the Cup Series race #04 (Sunday, March 12th, 2023) to complete your payment.

For purposes of playing the game and creating a team entries you will need to Register if you have not played before, or Login to resume playing in any leagues you were in and access your player history from previous seasons.

You can join the game anytime from when the game opens for entries until the final deadline for the last races of the 2023 NASCAR race season. The game comprises weekly contests that begin on Monday and conclude on Sunday, unless Monday racing is required to decide a real-life race winner.

Join as many leagues as you like! There is no need to create additional registrations on the site because each league you play in has an entry form that is unique to that league.

Create a Private League and personally invite only those friends or colleagues you want to join. To join someone else's Private League, you must get the League ID# and password from the league founder. Or, create a Public league for others to join with you.

You remain in leagues season after season. There is no need to create a new league each year.

Your weekly team entry does carry over from race-to-race. If you're going to play the game to win, it makes sense to set the optimum lineup each race. But, even the most diligent player could have some real life event that causes them to miss setting their team. As such, your lineup from the previous week will advance forward to the current race. If, however, a driver on the 'carry over' team is out of eligible usage because their starts have reached 0, you will no longer receive any points for them.

Weekly Reminder Emails

I send weekly email reminders each race week a few days before your entry 'Partially' locks (more on that below) to remind you.

Available drivers are broken into three driver groups. A, B and C. Placement of drivers in these three groups is determined prior to the season based on their level of past or predicted future performance. Once in the A, B or C driver group a driver will not be moved to another group at any time during the season. However, I may add additional drivers to a group at any point during the season.

Select drivers on your entry page to choose your team entry for each race week. You must choose an eight-driver team - two Group A drivers - four Group B drivers - two Group C drivers.

When you have finished setting your team lineup click the Save Team button to save your entry.

If a driver on your partially- or fully-locked roster gets substituted with another driver in their vehicle - you will still earn the points they (the replacement driver) earns - the original driver will be charged with a start. Same rule applies if a driver starts a race and then turns the vehicle over to another driver to finish the race. You score 'as if' the original driver completed the whole race.

If it is announced prior to entries partially-locking that a driver is replacing another driver in his normal vehicle for one or more races, the replacement driver (who could be in a driver group different from the original driver) must be selected for your team entry to earn points. The selected replacement driver will incur a driver usage. You will not earn any points from the replacement drivers results if you still have the original driver selected.

I don't want to blow-up someone's game

My goal is to be as lenient as possible and not blow-up your whole season because you got 'stuck' with a driver on your roster that is not racing due to being replaced.

The timing of the replacement announcement will be taken into consideration.

I have the final say on how 'close' to the 'partial' lock time the replacement announcement is made - and if the rules above cover a situation clearly.

Each driver in the Driver Group Game can be used on your team in no more than nine races.

Once a driver has reached the nine-race limit, he or she will no longer accumulate any fantasy points for your team even if occupying a spot on your entry. This limit does not change no matter when you join the game. Driver start totals DO NOT RESET at the segment divisions of the season. If you start your driver nine times during the first segment of the season, they will not be eligible to earn ANY fantasy points (qualifying, finish or lap points) for the remainder of the season. Drivers with zero starts left will not earn any qualifying points even if they are on your Bench.

The number of races each driver has started for you is listed on your entry form.

I first learned how important qualifying BONUS points were from my friend Marlon Clark (aka Hot Rod Lincoln) - who is also one of the Fantasy NASCAR Experts on my NASCAR statistics site. He showed me a spreadsheet detailing his season-long accumulation of qualifying points. Each week, this focus on qualifying points put him more and more ahead of the competition and - his reasoning - why he scored in the 99% at Yahoo! every year.

Starting Drivers & Bench drivers

Your entry form consists of eight drivers from three driver groups - that's where the games' name comes from - novel, right?

Two 'Group A' drivers - designated as A1 and A2.
Four 'Group B' drivers - designated as B1, B2, B3 and B4.
Two 'Group C' drivers - designated as C1 and C2.

All eight drivers are eligible to earn Qualifying Bonus points for starting positions of 1st through 5th. Only four drivers - A1, B1, B2 and C1 - can also earn Lap, Stage and Finish position points. These four drivers are referred to as your 'Starters'.

The other four-drivers - A2, B3, B4 and C2 - are your 'Bench' drivers. They can only earn Qualifying Bonus points.

'Starting' drivers are charged with a usage against their maximum start total. 'Bench' drivers are not.

In the event that qualifying is cancelled and the race lineup is set by NASCAR, there will be no qualifying bonus points awarded - except for the Truck Series where qualifying bonus points are always awarded.

First Race of the Season

The first races of the season for Cup (Daytona 500) and Xfinity (Beef. It's What's for Dinner. 300) - no qualifying bonus points are awarded due to the peculiarities of the Cup qualifying and it being the first race of the season in general. This allows for all players to have time to get their entries filled and not miss out. The Truck Series will still earn qualifying points the first race because all Truck races earn qualifying points even with the race time lock.

Your League. Your Rules.

I've added the option for the 2023 Season to allow your league not to use the Partial-Lock prior to Qualifying as the default rules have always used. League Commissioners can select that option. League entries will then not lock prior to Qualifying. You could set the Qualifying Bonus points to 0 if you like - or as the 'DGG League - Trucks' uses, you can award Qualifying Bonus Points even though players know where each driver is starting the race. It's a chance to take for guaranteed points up-front versus picking the best drivers to finish up front at the end.

The 'Partial' Lock

Each race week your Cup and Xfinity entry forms will 'Partially Lock' 30-minutes prior to the scheduled qualifying time.

You read that right. For 23 years it was at 8AM ET the day of qualifying. Not very friendly to those where the sun sets the latest! Plus, kind of annoying as well to lock (usually) several hours before really needed. The 'Partial' lock time will vary as a result! If you don't like it - continue to play as if it locked at 8AM ET and you should be groovy. The actual 'Partial' lock time is displayed with your entry form and in each league's 'About > League Rules' section. Since many track schedules are tentative until a few weeks before the race, all 'Partial' lock times start out as 8AM ET the day of qualifying. Watch for them to update! You will also be told of the correct time in the reminder email.

The 'Full' Lock

The 'Full' Lock takes place just prior to the green flag. I use the race time shown on the Weekend Schedule by NASCAR Media. It usually turns out the green flag is a few or several minutes after your entry form is fully-locked. Don't fall victim to listening to the 'talking heads' prior to the race giving you their predictions that you change your entry thinking "cars are still on pit road". The 'Full' lock will happen when it is scheduled to. Don't get caught with an empty roster.

In the event that NASCAR changes the start time of the race to an earlier time than I have published, then entry forms will lock accordingly.

In the event that NASCAR changes the start time of the race to a later time (or day) than I have published - usually because or rain or the dreaded 'lightning strike' rule - the deadline to change your drivers will not change.

It's Like Thunder, Lightnin'

Entries will not remain open or be re-opened after they have locked for any reason.

FINISH POSITION is the driver's finish position at the conclusion of the race...that is, how they were shown at the finish of the race. AKA the Unofficial Results.

If a driver is disqualified as a result of post-race inspection, it will not change the driver's Stage Positions, Finishing Position or Laps Led!

I don't penalize players for picking a driver with a team that cheats but not well enough to get away with it.

All applicable driver scores are updated following qualifying and after each race which, when completed, updates your league standings. Below are the default values that new leagues are set up with. Each league Commissioner can change these values to suit their scoring preferences.

DGG LEAGUE - CUP League ID: 2

Public League: YES
Use Lucky Dog Scoring?: NO
Lead Most Laps: 5 points
Lead a Lap: 5 points
Qualify Pole: 10 points
Qualify 2nd: 5 points
Qualify 3rd: 4 points
Qualify 4th: 3 points
Qualify 5th: 1 points
Stage Finish: 1: 10 points
Stage Finish: 2: 9 points
Stage Finish: 3: 8 points
Stage Finish: 4: 7 points
Stage Finish: 5: 6 points
Stage Finish: 6: 5 points
Stage Finish: 7: 4 points
Stage Finish: 8: 3 points
Stage Finish: 9: 2 points
Stage Finish: 10: 1 points
Race Finish: 1: 100 points
Race Finish: 2: 90 points
Race Finish: 3: 88 points
Race Finish: 4: 86 points
Race Finish: 5: 84 points
Race Finish: 6: 82 points
Race Finish: 7: 80 points
Race Finish: 8: 78 points
Race Finish: 9: 76 points
Race Finish: 10: 74 points
Race Finish: 11: 72 points
Race Finish: 12: 70 points
Race Finish: 13: 68 points
Race Finish: 14: 66 points
Race Finish: 15: 64 points
Race Finish: 16: 62 points
Race Finish: 17: 60 points
Race Finish: 18: 58 points
Race Finish: 19: 56 points
Race Finish: 20: 54 points
Race Finish: 21: 52 points
Race Finish: 22: 50 points
Race Finish: 23: 48 points
Race Finish: 24: 46 points
Race Finish: 25: 44 points
Race Finish: 26: 42 points
Race Finish: 27: 40 points
Race Finish: 28: 38 points
Race Finish: 29: 36 points
Race Finish: 30: 34 points
Race Finish: 31: 32 points
Race Finish: 32: 30 points
Race Finish: 33: 28 points
Race Finish: 34: 26 points
Race Finish: 35: 24 points
Race Finish: 36: 22 points
Race Finish: 37: 20 points
Race Finish: 38: 18 points
Race Finish: 39: 16 points
Race Finish: 40: 14 points
Driver Group A Max Starts: 9 per driver
Driver Group B Max Starts: 9 per driver
Driver Group C Max Starts: 9 per driver
NASCAR Series: CUP Series
Lock A: YES

DGG LEAGUE - XFINITY League ID: 3

Public League: YES
Use Lucky Dog Scoring?: NO
Lead Most Laps: 5 points
Lead a Lap: 5 points
Qualify Pole: 10 points
Qualify 2nd: 5 points
Qualify 3rd: 4 points
Qualify 4th: 3 points
Qualify 5th: 1 points
Stage Finish: 1: 10 points
Stage Finish: 2: 9 points
Stage Finish: 3: 8 points
Stage Finish: 4: 7 points
Stage Finish: 5: 6 points
Stage Finish: 6: 5 points
Stage Finish: 7: 4 points
Stage Finish: 8: 3 points
Stage Finish: 9: 2 points
Stage Finish: 10: 1 points
Race Finish: 1: 100 points
Race Finish: 2: 90 points
Race Finish: 3: 88 points
Race Finish: 4: 86 points
Race Finish: 5: 84 points
Race Finish: 6: 82 points
Race Finish: 7: 80 points
Race Finish: 8: 78 points
Race Finish: 9: 76 points
Race Finish: 10: 74 points
Race Finish: 11: 72 points
Race Finish: 12: 70 points
Race Finish: 13: 68 points
Race Finish: 14: 66 points
Race Finish: 15: 64 points
Race Finish: 16: 62 points
Race Finish: 17: 60 points
Race Finish: 18: 58 points
Race Finish: 19: 56 points
Race Finish: 20: 54 points
Race Finish: 21: 52 points
Race Finish: 22: 50 points
Race Finish: 23: 48 points
Race Finish: 24: 46 points
Race Finish: 25: 44 points
Race Finish: 26: 42 points
Race Finish: 27: 40 points
Race Finish: 28: 38 points
Race Finish: 29: 36 points
Race Finish: 30: 34 points
Race Finish: 31: 32 points
Race Finish: 32: 30 points
Race Finish: 33: 28 points
Race Finish: 34: 26 points
Race Finish: 35: 24 points
Race Finish: 36: 22 points
Race Finish: 37: 20 points
Race Finish: 38: 18 points
Race Finish: 39: 16 points
Race Finish: 40: 14 points
Driver Group A Max Starts: 9 per driver
Driver Group B Max Starts: 9 per driver
Driver Group C Max Starts: 9 per driver
NASCAR Series: XFINITY Series
Lock A: YES

DGG LEAGUE - TRUCKS League ID: 4

Public League: YES
Use Lucky Dog Scoring?: NO
Lead Most Laps: 6 points
Lead a Lap: 3 points
Qualify Pole: 10 points
Qualify 2nd: 5 points
Qualify 3rd: 4 points
Qualify 4th: 3 points
Qualify 5th: 1 points
Stage Finish: 1: 10 points
Stage Finish: 2: 9 points
Stage Finish: 3: 8 points
Stage Finish: 4: 7 points
Stage Finish: 5: 6 points
Stage Finish: 6: 5 points
Stage Finish: 7: 4 points
Stage Finish: 8: 3 points
Stage Finish: 9: 2 points
Stage Finish: 10: 1 points
Race Finish: 1: 100 points
Race Finish: 2: 90 points
Race Finish: 3: 88 points
Race Finish: 4: 86 points
Race Finish: 5: 84 points
Race Finish: 6: 82 points
Race Finish: 7: 80 points
Race Finish: 8: 78 points
Race Finish: 9: 76 points
Race Finish: 10: 74 points
Race Finish: 11: 72 points
Race Finish: 12: 70 points
Race Finish: 13: 68 points
Race Finish: 14: 66 points
Race Finish: 15: 64 points
Race Finish: 16: 62 points
Race Finish: 17: 60 points
Race Finish: 18: 58 points
Race Finish: 19: 56 points
Race Finish: 20: 54 points
Race Finish: 21: 52 points
Race Finish: 22: 50 points
Race Finish: 23: 48 points
Race Finish: 24: 46 points
Race Finish: 25: 44 points
Race Finish: 26: 42 points
Race Finish: 27: 40 points
Race Finish: 28: 38 points
Race Finish: 29: 36 points
Race Finish: 30: 34 points
Race Finish: 31: 32 points
Race Finish: 32: 30 points
Race Finish: 33: 28 points
Race Finish: 34: 26 points
Race Finish: 35: 24 points
Race Finish: 36: 22 points
Race Finish: 37: 20 points
Race Finish: 38: 18 points
Race Finish: 39: 16 points
Race Finish: 40: 14 points
Driver Group A Max Starts: 6 per driver
Driver Group B Max Starts: 6 per driver
Driver Group C Max Starts: 5 per driver
NASCAR Series: Craftsman Truck Series
Lock A: NO

These are the default driver groups. Each league can change these drivers to suit their grouping preference.

Cup Driver Groups

Chase Elliott - A
Christopher Bell - A
Denny Hamlin - A
Joey Logano - A
Kyle Larson - A
Ross Chastain - A
Ryan Blaney - A
William Byron - A
Alex Bowman - B
Aric Almirola - B
Austin Cindric - B
Austin Dillon - B
Brad Keselowski - B
Bubba Wallace - B
Chase Briscoe - B
Chris Buescher - B
Daniel Suarez - B
Erik Jones - B
Justin Haley - B
Kevin Harvick - B
Kyle Busch - B
Martin Truex Jr - B
Michael McDowell - B
Tyler Reddick - B
AJ Allmendinger - C
Austin Hill - C
BJ McLeod - C
Chandler Smith - C
Cody Ware - C
Conor Daly - C
Corey Lajoie - C
David Ragan - C
Garrett Smithley - C
Harrison Burton - C
Jimmie Johnson - C
JJ Yeley - C
Jordan Taylor - C
Josh Berry - C
Kurt Busch - C
Noah Gragson - C
Ricky Stenhouse Jr - C
Riley Herbst - C
Ryan Preece - C
Timmy Hill - C
Todd Gilliland - C
Travis Pastrana - C
Ty Dillon - C
Ty Gibbs - C
Zane Smith - C

Xfinity Driver Groups

Austin Hill - A
Brandon Jones - A
Cole Custer - A
John Hunter Nemechek - A
Josh Berry - A
Justin Allgaier - A
Sam Mayer - A
Sheldon Creed - A
Alex Labbe - B
Anthony Alfredo - B
Bayley Currey - B
Brandon Brown - B
Brett Moffitt - B
Chandler Smith - B
Daniel Hemric - B
Jeremy Clements - B
Justin Haley - B
Landon Cassill - B
Myatt Snider - B
Parker Kligerman - B
Riley Herbst - B
Ryan Sieg - B
Ryan Truex - B
Sammy Smith - B
Trevor Bayne - B
Austin Dillon - C
Austin Wayne Self - C
Baltazar Leguizamon - C
BJ McLeod - C
Blaine Perkins - C
Brennan Poole - C
Caesar Bacarella - C
Cameron Lawrence - C
Chad Finchum - C
Cj Mclaughlin - C
Connor Mosack - C
David Starr - C
Garrett Smithley - C
Gray Gaulding - C
Hailie Deegan - C
Jade Buford - C
Jeb Burton - C
Jeffrey Earnhardt - C
Jesse Iwuji - C
JJ Yeley - C
Joe Graf Jr - C
Joey Gase - C
Jordan Anderson - C
Josh Bilicki - C
Josh Williams - C
Kaz Grala - C
Kyle Busch - C
Kyle Larson - C
Kyle Sieg - C
Kyle Weatherman - C
Masson Massey - C
Matt Mills - C
Parker Chase - C
Parker Retzleff - C
Patrick Emerling - C
Rajah Caruth - C
Ross Chastain - C
Ryan Ellis - C
Sage Karenm - C
Stefan Poarsons - C
Tyler Reddick - C

Truck Driver Groups

Ben Rhodes - A
Carson Hocevar - A
Chase Elliott - A
Christian Eckes - A
Corey Heim - A
Grant Enfinger - A
Stewart Friesen - A
Ty Majeski - A
Zane Smith - A
Austin Wayne Self - B
Chase Purdy - B
Colby Howard - B
Dean Thompson - B
Derek Kraus - B
Hailie Deegan - B
Jack Wood - B
Johnny Sauter - B
Matt Crafton - B
Matt DiBenedetto - B
Nick Sanchez - B
Rajah Caruth - B
Spencer Boyd - B
Tanner Gray - B
Taylor Gray - B
Tyler Ankrum - B
Bayley Currey - C
Blaine Perkins - C
Brennan Poole - C
Clay Greenfield - C
Corey Lajoie - C
Cory Roper - C
Daniel Dye - C
Ed Jones - C
Jake Garcia - C
Jason White - C
Jennifer Jo Cobb - C
Jesse Little - C
John Hunter Nemechek - C
Jordan Anderson - C
Josh Reaume - C
Kaden Honeycutt - C
Kaz Grala - C
Kyle Busch - C
Lawless Alan - C
Norm Benning - C
Parker Kligerman - C
Ross Chastain - C
Ryan Preece - C
Tate Fogleman - C
Timmy Hill - C
Travis Pastrana - C
Tyler Hill - C
William Byron - C

Driver Group Game

How to Play