A points race is any event whose finish is added to a championship standing — track, regional or national — as opposed to a non-points show that pays a purse but leaves the standings untouched.
The scale differs everywhere, so learn yours. An IMCA weekly A-feature win is 40 points, dropping one per position down to 17 for 24th, and you have to race for them: a driver must run a heat or feature to receive any points, minimum 11, and there are no show-up points. DIRTcar’s UMP system pays 75 for a win down to 26 for 25th, guarantees any driver in the event 10 finish points, and cuts everyone 10% per missing car when fewer than ten enter. Non-points nights are a category the rulebooks name outright — IMCA calls them non-track point/special events, and the Super DIRTcar Series, which pays 150 to win a points race, can score a special on show-up points alone.
Running a non-points show on a night your championship rivals are at the home track is how a title gets lost in July, and running only points nights is how you leave the biggest purses of the year on the table.