NASCAR's 2025 rule changes have a range of knock-on effects

Today at 01:37 PM

Helio Castroneves will be in the Daytona 500 field through the new Open Exemption Provisional in the NASCAR Rule Book.

NASCAR announced the rule Friday, explaining that it’s similar to a promoter’s provisional used in short track and dirt racing. It means that a world class driver of another racing discipline, in this case Castroneves, has a guaranteed starting position in a Cup Series race.

Castroneves will be entered in a fourth Trackhouse Racing car under the Project 91 banner. NASCAR will add a 41st driver into the starting field when a team is granted an Open Exemption Provisional, which means Castroneves will be in the field either having made it through traditional means (speed or a Duel race) or using the provisional.

NASCAR would recognize a race win by a team using an Open Exemption Provisional and it would give them All-Star Race eligibility. However, there are certain things the driver and car owner are not eligible for if they make the race using the provisional:

– Race points

– Postseason eligibility

– Prize money

– Any tiebreaker benefit of finishing position.

In other words, if Castroneves and Trackhouse Racing win the Daytona 500, they would be recognized as winners. Castroneves would then be one of three drivers who have won both the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500. He would also be eligible to compete in the All-Star Race, but that’s where the rewards stop.

The second-place finisher will receive first place points. However, they will not receive the benefits of the win such as playoff points and postseason eligibility.

NASCAR will consider each Open Exemption Provisional on a case-by-case basis. Castroneves is the latest highly regarded motorsports talent who will compete in a NASCAR race after Shane van Gisbergen burst onto the scene in 2023 by winning in his debut with Trackhouse Racing. Jenson Button made Cup Series starts over the last few seasons as has Kimi Raikkonen, Brodie Kostecki, Mike Rockenfeller and Kamui Kobayashi.

The addition of an Open Exemption Provisional was an unexpected move when announced. Other updates to the Rule Book came in the same release.

OEM penalties

NASCAR formally added language in order to penalize its manufacturers when deemed necessary. In the fallout from the fall Martinsville Speedway race in which several teams (Trackhouse Racing, 23XI Racing, and Richard Childress Racing) were penalized for manipulating the finish of the race to help teammates, NASCAR admitted there were no rules in place to penalize manufacturers but it would be addressed during the offseason.

Penalties can include the loss of manufacturer points, wind tunnel hours, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) runs.

Playoff waivers

NASCAR senior vice president of competition, Elton Sawyer, initially said in June there was nothing to be done at the moment to change the playoff waiver process. His comments were made after NASCAR granted Kyle Larson a playoff waiver when he missed the Coca-Cola 600 after opting to stay in Indianapolis to compete in the Indy 500. Sawyer, however, did admit another look will be taken after the season was over.

That has now happened. The wording was updated to read that all drivers and team owners must start and attempt to compete in all races to be postseason eligible. NASCAR then went on to clarify that:

– "If a driver does not start and attempt to complete a Race and wishes to remain eligible for the Playoffs, that driver must request a Playoff waiver via the Playoff Waiver Request. If a Playoff waiver is granted for anything other than a medical reason or age restriction, the driver will forfeit all current and future Playoff Points earned prior to the start of the Playoffs. NASCAR's decision to grant or decline a Playoff waiver request and subsequent loss of Playoff Points is final and non-appealable."

– The driver would start the postseason with a maximum of 2,000 points.

Larson, as an example, would not have been a medical reason. Those would fall under a driver’s medical reason as to why they could not compete (injury or otherwise), the birth of a child, family emergency and other such events NASCAR will consider.

A driver being suspended and requesting a playoff waiver would also be non-medical. It eliminates the optics of a driver getting off lightly when suspended for an on or off-track incident as they are then granted a playoff waiver to remain eligible for the postseason. Going forward, if a driver were suspended – take Chase Elliott for hooking Denny Hamlin in 2023 – they could receive the playoff waiver to remain eligible for the postseason but Eliott would have had to forfeit his playoff points.

The age restriction would mostly impact drivers in the Craftsman Truck Series. A driver needs to be 18 years old to run full-time (having approval on racetracks). A driver can apply for the playoff waiver – as we've seen in the past — if they have a full-time ride but cannot start the season at Daytona or other such facilities.

Damaged Vehicle Policy

NASCAR was criticized more than once in 2024 over the DVP policy eliminating drivers from a race. The consensus in the garage was that teams wanted to be in control of their fate and not have NASCAR determine if they are out of the event or if they get towed back to the garage. There was controversy over who was towed or not towed at Talladega Superspeedway after a big crash in the Cup Series race.

The new policy is more straightforward. It all but eliminates the seven-minute time constraint on a team to fix a car. They can now work on their cars and return to the race if they see fit. The breakdown is this:

– A driver can drive or be towed back to the garage if they are on the DVP.

– There will be a seven-minute clock (eight minutes at Atlanta) if the team works on the car on pit road.

– There is no clock for teams working on the car in the garage.

– If a driver leaves their pit stall and the clock expires prior to making it to pit road exit, a penalty will be issued.

– Any vehicles who cannot drive to pit road because of damage or flat tires will be towed to the garage.

NASCAR has long maintained the DVP was to eliminate additional cautions if repaired cars shed parts and pieces. But the continued criticism and at times confusion over the rule, warranted a change. It puts decisions and responsibility back onto the teams.