Rules Changes for the 2023 Season
NASCAR will see an abundance of changes for the 2023 season, including driver and team change-ups, a few changes to the schedule, and modifications to the car – some of which we addressed on our pre-season podcast which can be heard HERE.
On Tues, January 31st, just 6 days prior to the Busch Clash at the LA Coliseum, NASCAR unleashed several new rules and procedure changes that include:
- The Ross Chastain move at Martinsville that became known as Haul the Wall or Hail Melon has been banned. NASCAR cites a pre-existing rule that states such moves are “deemed to compromise the safety of an event,” despite that they chose not to enforce it after the Martinsville incident. Going forward, such a move will be considered illegal, and the driver will be given a lap or time penalty.
- The restart zone will be extended by 50% for the first five races of the season, based on driver requests. NASCAR will evaluate the success after Atlanta.
- Stage breaks (cautions and restarts) will be eliminated at road course races; however, stage points will still be awarded. The new rule will allow teams to create a fuel strategy.
- The damaged vehicle policy will be increased from 6 minutes to 7 minutes.
- The choose rule will be extended to include superspeedways and the Bristol dirt race.
- Pit road will undergo changes with an orange box painted a few feet from the line that separates each pit stall. If a driver hits the box on pit entry and interferes with another team’s stop, there could be a penalty.
- If a car loses a wheel on pit road under yellow, the car will restart at the end of the field. If a car loses a wheel on pit road under green, the driver will incur a pass-thru penalty. If a car loses a wheel on track, the incident will incur a 2-lap penalty and 2-race suspension for 2 crew members.
- “Win and You’re In” now applies to ALL drivers. There is no longer a rule that drivers need to be among the top 30 drivers in points to be eligible for the playoffs.
