NASCAR launched a prolonged guidelines bulletin on Friday that features adjustments to race procedures, further penalties, and the addition of a forty first automobile to the Cup Sequence discipline.
The latter is among the greatest gadgets from the bulletin. It begins with the addition of an Open Exemption Provisional that can assure a beginning place for a world class driver of one other collection who enters a race. NASCAR will add a forty first beginning place if a crew is permitted to make the most of an Open Exemption Provisional.
A crew should make the request 90 days earlier than an occasion. The driving force and automobile proprietor that makes use of the provisional just isn’t eligible for factors, playoff factors, or prize cash. If the crew had been to win a race, it will be an official race win and go towards All-Star Race eligibility, however it will not rely towards postseason eligibility.
Within the case of the latter, the second-place finisher would obtain first playoff factors however not playoff factors or playoff eligibility.
Essentially the most notable race process change pertains to the Broken Car Coverage (DVP) within the Cup Sequence, which is able to not take a crew out of the race. A driver might be allowed to drive or be towed to the storage whereas beneath the DVP and return to the race. There might be no DVP clock for a crew making repairs within the storage.
The choice additionally stays to work on the car within the pit stall. Nonetheless, repairs on pit street will nonetheless be held to the seven-minute clock (or eight minutes at Atlanta Motor Speedway). When the clock expires, the crew should go to the storage to proceed the repairs. There might be a penalty if the driving force leaves their pit field to rejoin the race and the DVP clock expires earlier than they attain the exit of pit street.
A minimal pace will nonetheless be required to be met when a driver returns to the race.
As anticipated after the controversy across the end of the autumn Martinsville Speedway race, NASCAR added penalties for producer violations. These will embrace producer level deductions and/or the lack of wind tunnel hours and/or the lack of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) runs.
NASCAR formally added the adjustments to the follow and qualifying procedures that had been introduced in December. Moreover, the wording across the 100% rule was modified to give attention to “manipulating” the result of a race.
The playoff waiver eligibility has additionally modified. If a driver misses a race and is granted a playoff waiver, they’ll forfeit all present and future playoff factors which are earned earlier than the postseason begins. The driving force will start the postseason with a most of two,000 factors.
Nonetheless, there are exceptions to forfeiting factors if given a playoff waiver. These will should be for medical causes resembling the driving force having a medical motive, delivery of a kid, household emergency, and extra. The age restriction for drivers not being eligible to compete on racetracks one mile and or bigger can be an exception.
NASCAR’s determination on granting or denying a playoff waiver can’t be appealed.
