List of American Championship car racing points scoring systems

This is a list of points scoring systems used to determine the outcome of American Championship car racing (often referred to colloquially as Indy car racing) championships in 1905, 1916, and from 1920 onwards. The championships were awarded each year to the driver who accumulated the most championship points during the course of a championship season.

AAA Championship 1905

 * Barney Oldfield was the points champion of the inaugural American Automobile Association (AAA) sanctioned season in 1905, organized by the AAA Racing Board. Following the 1905 season, the AAA sanctioned no further races until 1909, by which time the Racing Board had been reorganized by the AAA into the Contest Board.
 * Despite the resumption of sanctioned racing, the Contest Board and did not award points towards a championship again until 1916.

AAA Championship 1916

 * Dario Resta was the champion of the 1916 season, during which the Contest Board awarded championship points to the first ten drivers in each race. There were only points for ranks in races, no bonus points. The points system was based in general on race distance but not on mileage factor.
 * Drivers had to be running at the finish in order to score points. Points were moved to the next eligible driver if a finisher completed fewer laps than a non-finisher. Points scored by drivers sharing a car were split according to the respective percentage of the race those drivers had driven. Drivers who started a race were not allowed to score points as relief drivers; a race-starter finishing a race driving a different car from that in which they had started would accumulate no points, even if they had driven the latter car to what would normally have been a points-paying finish.
 * While the Contest Board continued sanctioning Championship car races after 1916, they did not award points towards another championship until 1920.

AAA Championships 1920–1929

 * From 1920 through 1929, championship points were awarded to the first ten drivers. There were only points for ranks in races, no bonus points. The points system was based on mileage factor. The winner received 2 points per mile.
 * Drivers had to be running at the finish to score points. Points scored by drivers sharing a ride were split according to percentage of race driven. Starters were not allowed to score points as relief drivers (except 1920), if a race starter finished the race in another car in a points-scoring position those points were not awarded.

AAA Championships 1930–1936

 * Between 1930 and 1936, the Championship points were awarded to the first ten drivers. There were only points for ranks in races, no bonus points. The points system was based on mileage factor. The winner receive 1.2 points per mile. The points gaps between the ranks were also changed from a relatively arbitrary scheme to a uniform allocation.
 * Drivers had to be running at the finish to score points. Points scored by drivers sharing a ride were split according to percentage of race driven. Starters were not allowed to score points as relief drivers, if a race starter finished the race in another car in a points-scoring position those points were not awarded.

AAA Championships 1937–1941

 * Between 1937 and 1941, the Championship points were awarded to the first twelve drivers. There were only points for ranks in races, no bonus points. The points system was based on mileage factor. The winner received 2 points per mile.
 * Drivers had to complete 50% of the race distance to score points. Points scored by drivers sharing a ride were split according to percentage of race driven. Starters were not allowed to score points as relief drivers, if a race starter finished the race in another car in a points-scoring position those points were not awarded.

AAA Championships 1946–1955 and USAC Championships 1956–1977

 * Between 1946 and 1977, AAA and USAC awarded the Championship points to the first twelve drivers. There were only points for ranks in races, no bonus points. The points system was based on mileage factor. The winner received 2 points per mile. This is the most common points system in IndyCar, used over 3 decades of racing.
 * Points scored by drivers sharing a ride were split according to percentage of race driven. Drivers who started in one car were allowed to score points in another as a relief driver.

USAC/CART Championships 1978–1980

 * One year before the split with CART, the USAC extended their points scoring system to award points to all race entries. CART continued to use this modified USAC points scoring system in the following seasons (1979 and 1980).
 * There were only points for ranks in races, no bonus points. The points system based on a mileage factor, the winner receiving 2 points per mile.
 * Points scored by drivers sharing a ride were split according to percentage of race driven. Drivers who started in one car were allowed to score points in another as a relief driver.

USAC Gold Crown Championship 1981–1995

 * After split with CART, the USAC continued to use their points system to award championship points for their own championship named the "Gold Crown". They used the 200-mile points scheme for 100-mile dirt races and the 500-mile points scheme for the Indianapolis 500.

CART Championships 1981 and 1982

 * For the seasons 1981 and 1982 CART continued to use the USAC points scoring system. But they divided the points values by 10, so the winner received only 0.2 points per mile.
 * For the first time, there were bonus points. The driver with the fastest qualifying lap, usually on pole position, and the driver with the most laps led received additional to their rank points a bonus. Bonus points multiplied by mileage factor the same as race points.
 * In 1982, CART awarded 300 mile points also for 400- and 500-mile races and didn't use the 400- and 500-mile pattern.

Ranking points

 * Beginning with 1983, CART used their own scoring system. As previously, only the first twelve ranks got points. All races got the same number of points, based on the 100 mile points scheme from USAC with the points values divided by 10.
 * After the CART has been converted in 2004 into the new Champ Car World Series, a new points system was also introduced. The first 20 ranks were given points. The points scoring system is similar to the original CART points scoring system.
 * Although the Indy Racing League commissioned the USAC to perform the races, the old USAC points system was not reused. Instead, the IRL used its own simple points scoring system for all races, regardless of their distance. The first 33 ranks in race got points, starting with 2 points for position 33. Between the winner and the second place was a 2-point gap, between all other ranks a 1-point gap.
 * In the 1996 season, there was a multiplier for awarding points in race two (Phoenix) and race three (Indianapolis). Drivers were credited with overall points multiplied by the number of races they had competed in. For example, Scott Sharp had scored a sum of 82 points in the first three race, so he got 246 championship points (82 multiplied with 3) at the end of season.
 * In the 1997 season, there wasn't a multiplier, but they awarded additional 1 point for ranks 34 and 35 because of the extended 1997 Indy 500 entry list.
 * After taking over the driving operation from USAC in 1998, the IRL also changed its points system. All participants of a race were eligible to get championship points, even non-starters received points starting in 1999. The points scoring system applies to all races, regardless of their length or importance.
 * In 2004, the IRL modified their points scoring system again. The ranks from 18 to 24 received the same number of 12 points instead of a decreasing score, the ranks 25 to 33 received 10 points. This is a consequence of the introduction of shorter twin races, in which only half the number of points was awarded and this point structure is easier to divide by 2 without getting 0.5 points.
 * Non-starters received full race points in 2004 and 2005, and half race points beginning with 2006.
 * In 2013, the ICS modified the points awarded to the ranks 19–25. It essentially corresponds to the decreasing points scheme of 2003, but with 5 points for all ranks beginning with 25th. This system is still in use.

Indy qualifying and other qualifying races

 * Starting with the 2010 season, IndyCar introduced a points scoring system for the Indy 500 qualification. As a result, no additional bonus point for the pole position is awarded during this race.
 * In 2013, there was a qualifying race in Iowa instead of qualifying practice. For this race, they awarded nine points down to one point for the first twelve finishers.
 * In 2014 points were awarded on both Indy qualifying days: on Saturday points were awarded to all the 33 drivers, on Sunday only the Fast Nine Qualifiers got points.
 * In 2015 no points were awarded due to last minute changes on the qualifying rules.
 * In 2016 the separated points schemes from 2014 where added together and all drivers, who started the race, gets points after the last qualifying round.
 * Between 2018 and 2021 only points were awarded for the Fast Nine Qualifier.
 * Since 2022, the first twelve qualifying positions receive points.

Twin races with half points 2011

 * In 2011, the race on Texas Motor Speedway was divided into two short races. Rounded half points were awarded for both races.

Double point events 2014–2022

 * From 2014–2022, double points were awarded for the Indianapolis 500.
 * In 2014, double points were awarded for all 500-mile events — the Indianapolis 500, as well as events held at Pocono and Fontana.
 * From 2015–2019, double points were awarded for the season finale, regardless of race length or type of track.
 * In 2023 the double points were dropped.