Competition updates: New provisional spot added to Cup Series field; Damaged Vehicle Policy revised

Competition officials released updates to the NASCAR Rule Book on Friday, including a measure that creates a new provisional starting berth which would increase the Cup Series’ starting grid to a maximum of 41 cars for select races.

The “Open Exemption Provisional” rule was one of a handful of changes issued in a rule book bulletin to the NASCAR industry Friday. Other updates were made to the Cup Series’ Damaged Vehicle Policy, the process for granting waivers for playoff eligibility, and penalties for rules violations by manufacturers.

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Competition officials compared the new provisional spot to the “promoter’s choice provisional” that’s used in some forms of short-track racing to guarantee a starting spot for a special or invited entrant. The Open Exemption Provisional (OEP) rule would only become a factor if the entry list exceeded the Cup Series’ current starting-field maximum of 40 cars, and eligible drivers would need pre-approval by NASCAR on a case-by-case basis — with racing experience and accolades carrying significant weight.

An OEP entry would be eligible for the race win, the trophy and All-Star Race eligibility, but would not be eligible for championship points from that event, prize money or playoff eligibility.

The Open Exemption Provisional takes on added focus for this season’s Daytona 500 (Feb. 16, 2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), with several non-chartered “open” entries planned already for the “Great American Race,” and more expected to be announced soon.

Among other updates in Friday’s rule book bulletin:

• NASCAR officials updated the Damaged Vehicle Policy (DVP) for the Cup Series starting this season, adjusting the rule that damaged cars that are either driven or towed to the garage will be out of the race. Starting in 2025, cars will be permitted to continue in the race after repairs in the garage.

Officials will continue to maintain a seven-minute time limit (eight minutes for Atlanta Motor Speedway events) for repairs made on pit road. Any repairs exceeding the seven-minute limit must be made in the Cup Series garage, where no clock will be kept on repair work. Teams will be penalized if a car leaves its pit box to rejoin the race and the DVP clock expires before it reaches pit exit.

Any vehicle unable to be driven to pit road because of crash damage or flat tires will be towed to the garage.

• If competition officials grant a waiver for playoff eligibility, in some circumstances that driver will forfeit any playoff points accumulated in the regular season. Such a driver would start the playoffs with a baseline maximum of 2,000 points in the re-set standings.

Playoff points would be forfeited if a waiver is granted after a suspension or if a driver chooses to skip a race. Playoff points would not be forfeited in the event of a medical absence, missing a race for the birth of a child or a family emergency, or if age restrictions prevent a driver from racing a full season.

• NASCAR officials clarified the penalty structure for rules violations made by OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers). Such infractions may result in loss of manufacturers’ points, and/or a reduction in wind-tunnel testing time or computational fluid dynamics (CFD) test runs. Penalties will be assessed for violating policies in place for vehicle testing, wind-tunnel limits, event-roster protocols and code of conduct.

• Competition officials adjusted the wording for the “100% rule” of performance obligations, changing the focus on competitor(s) who “artificially alter the finishing positions” to competitor(s) who “manipulate the outcome” of the event.

• NASCAR officials also formally added changes to practice and qualifying procedures, which were introduced in December.