New NASCAR rules crack down on race manipulation ahead of Daytona 500

CONCORD, N.C. — A new section of the rulebook gives NASCAR the power to penalize manufacturers for infractions in all three national series.

NASCAR added the penalties for manufacturers crack down on race manipulation after last fall’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway ended with manufacturers ordering drivers to race a certain way to manipulate who made the Championship 4.

While NASCAR penalized the drivers and teams, the rulebook didn’t allow them to penalize the manufacturers. However, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, Elton Sawyer said they planned to change that, leading to the new section of the rulebook published Wednesday.

The new section stipulates NASCAR may penalize a manufacturer or its representative(s) for reasons that may include:

• Violations of the Wind Tunnel Testing Policy.
• Violation of engine Rules with respect to submitted parts.
• Violations of Restricted CFD Policy.
• Violations of the Vehicle Testing Policy.
• Violation of the Body Submission Process.
• Violation of the Performance Obligation (Section 5.5).

NASCAR also amended the performance obligation to more broadly include the manufacturers, as follows:

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Infractions resulting in penalties for a manufacturer may be found pre-race, post-race or a penalty not associated with an event. An example of the last case is NASCAR severely penalizing Denny Hamlin and his team after Toyota didn’t properly submit his Bristol spring race-winning engine for inspection.

Penalties for infractions could consist of:

• Loss of 25-50 manufacturer points (Cup, Xfinity, Trucks)
• Loss of wind tunnel hours (30-60 for Cup; 4-7 for Xfinity and Trucks)
• Loss of vehicle testing (2-4 for Cup; 1 for Trucks and Xfinity)
• Loss of 250-500 runs (Cup only)

NASCAR also added a subsection to the rulebook that gives a bonus point to the driver who runs the fastest lap of the race and their owner. Dubbed the Xfinity Fastest Lap, the bonus point will be in effect for all three national series.

Because of this, a driver can earn as many as 61 points in a race, except the Coca-Cola 600. A driver can earn as many as 71 points in the 600 because of the additional stage.