With less than two weeks remaining until the season-opening Daytona 500, NASCAR has laid out new rules regarding drivers’ conduct during a Qualifying attempt. The same was reported by Jeff Gluck of The Athletic only a few hours ago.
This rule will forbid drivers from using their hands to try to change the air coming in and around the cars. This trick doesn’t do much at Talladega, Atlanta, or Daytona, but still, some drivers have continued the tradition.
However, it seems like NASCAR will not let them do it anymore. According to the revised verbiage, drivers must keep their hands inside their cockpits and out of the zones that are influenced by the airflow. Explaining further, Gluck took to X and wrote:
“As determined by NASCAR, once a vehicle exits pit road during a Qualifying attempt, the driver’s hands may not be used to redirect air in any manner, including but not limited to, touching the window net, blocking air from entering the cockpit, redirecting air from the window, etc.”
NASCAR will use in-car cameras to monitor drivers’ hand placement during the qualifying laps. Failing to follow this rule will result in the loss of qualifying time, typically forcing drivers to start at the back of the field.
Next up for the drivers is the 68th running of the Daytona 500. Scheduled for February 15, fans can watch the annual crown jewel event on FOX, starting at 2:30 pm ET, or listen to live radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron will enter this year’s race as the defending winner.
NASCAR Tweaks Qualifying Rules for the Upcoming Daytona 500
Veteran FOX journalist Bob Pockrass reported that NASCAR will have a pair of new rules for this year’s Daytona 500. These rules will change how the Open cars qualify for the 500-mile event.
Previously, Open cars were allotted four spots in the Duel races. If there were more than four Open cars, they had to fight their way into the event through elimination. This more or less remains the same, with just one minor change.
Pockrass took to X and wrote:
“The top two open cars in single-car qualifying are locked in and they aren’t racing for the spot allotted to the top open car in each duel.”
The remaining Open cars will go head-on against each other for that one spot in the Duel races. The best finishing driver will be selected from each Duel race, which means that only one Open car from each Duel race can enter the 2026 Daytona 500 lineup.
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