by Helio Castroneves will be in the Daytona 500 field via the new Open Exemption Provisional in the NASCAR Rule Book.
NASCAR announced the rule Friday, explaining that it is similar to the interim rule a promoter uses in short track and dirt racing. It means that a world-class driver from 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 to the starting field when a team is awarded an Open Exemption Provisional, meaning Castroneves will appear in the field either by through traditional means (speed or a Duel race) or by using the preliminary.
NASCAR would recognize a race victory by a team using an Open Exemption Provisional, and it would make them eligible for the All-Star Race. However, there are certain things that the driver and car owner are not eligible for if they make the race using the preliminary injunction:
– Race points
– Postseason Eligibility
– Prize money
– Any final position tiebreak advantage.
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 to win both the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500. He would also be eligible to compete in the All-Star Race, but that’s where the rewards end.
The person who finishes in second place receives first place points. However, they will not receive the benefits of the win, such as playoff points and postseason eligibility.
NASCAR will review each provisional open exemption on a case-by-case basis. Castroneves is the latest highly regarded motorsports talent to 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 has made Cup Series starts in recent seasons, as have Kimi Raikkonen, Brodie Kostecki, Mike Rockenfeller and Kamui Kobayashi.
The addition of a provisional open waiver was an unexpected move when it was announced. Other updates to the Rule Book came in the same release.
OEM penalties
NASCAR has formally added language to penalize its manufacturers when deemed necessary. In the fallout from the Martinsville Speedway race in the fall, in which several teams (Trackhouse Racing, 23XI Racing and Richard Childress Racing) were penalized for manipulating the race finish to help teammates, NASCAR admitted that there were no rules were to penalize manufacturers, but it would be addressed in the off-season.
Penalties can include loss of manufacturer points, wind tunnel hours and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) runs.
Deviations for the play-offs
NASCAR senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer initially said in June that nothing could be done at this time to change the waiver process for the playoffs. His comments were made after NASCAR granted Kyle Larson a waiver from the playoffs when he missed the Coca-Cola 600 after opting to stay in Indianapolis to compete in the Indy 500. However, Sawyer admitted that there will be reviewed again after the season.
That has now happened. The wording has been updated to read that all drivers and team owners must start and attempt to participate in all races to qualify for the postseason. NASCAR subsequently clarified that:
– “If a driver does not start and attempts to complete a race and wishes to remain eligible for the Playoffs, that driver must request a Playoff Waiver through the Playoff Waiver Request. If a Playoff exemption 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 deny a Playoff waiver request and subsequent loss of Playoff points is final and may not be appealed.”
– The driver would start the postseason with a maximum of 2,000 points.
For example, Larson would not have had a medical reason. These would include a driver’s medical reason regarding why he could not compete (injury or otherwise), the birth of a child, a family emergency and other similar events that NASCAR will consider.
A driver who is suspended and requests an exemption for the playoffs would also be non-medical. It eliminates the optic of a driver getting off lightly when suspended for an on- or off-track incident, as he will then be granted a playoff exemption to remain eligible for the postseason. If a driver were to be suspended in the future — take Chase Elliott for hooking Denny Hamlin in 2023 — they could get the playoff exemption to qualify for the postseason, but Eliott would have had to lose his playoff points forfeit.
The age restriction would mainly impact drivers in the Craftsman Truck Series. A driver must be 18 years old to drive full-time (with approval on race tracks). A driver can apply for a playoff exemption – as we’ve seen in the past – if he has a full-time ride but can’t start the season at Daytona or other similar facilities.
Damaged vehicle policy
NASCAR was criticized more than once in 2024 for its DVP policy that eliminated drivers from a race. The consensus in the garage was that teams wanted to control their fate and not let NASCAR determine whether they were out of the event or dragged back to the garage. There was controversy over who was or wasn’t towed at Talladega Superspeedway after a big crash in the Cup Series race.
The new policy is simpler. It virtually eliminates the seven-minute time pressure for a team to repair a car. They can now work on their car and return to the race if they see fit. The breakdown is this:
– A driver can drive to the garage or be towed back if he is on the DVP.
– There will be a seven-minute clock (eight minutes in Atlanta) as 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 the pit box and the clock runs out before reaching the pit lane exit, a fine will be imposed.
– Vehicles that cannot drive to the pit lane due to damage or flat tires will be towed to the garage.
NASCAR has long maintained that the DVP should eliminate additional warnings if repaired cars lose parts and pieces. But persistent criticism and sometimes confusion about the rule warranted a change. It puts decisions and responsibility back to the teams.
