NASCAR rules and regulations
[4][3] Beginning in 2013, the livery layout for the NASCAR Cup Series was altered, coinciding with the change to the Generation 6 model car.
In lieu of the series sponsor like in lower series, the windshield prominently features the last name of the driver (as well as first name or first initial in the case of siblings and family members, as is the case for both Busch brothers, or suffixes for drivers such as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Martin Truex Jr.) placed in the center of the windshield header.
Number and sponsor logos were barred from being placed on the headlights and taillights, as not to obstruct each car model's unique characteristics.
[6] For 2015, the liveries of the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series would feature the driver's last name on the upper rear window.
This safety rule, to avoid confusion for spotters, NASCAR officials, and other drivers, was brought into light in October 2014 at Talladega, when Terry Labonte's Go FAS Racing team painted his No.
[9] However, by 2016, it seems that NASCAR has either quietly removed this rule or allowed teams to race with a split-side scheme as long as they got the permission to do so, as seen with John Hunter Nemechek's No.
61, in the Whelen Modified Tour, has been retired, in memory of nine-time series champion Richie Evans, who was killed at Martinsville Speedway practicing for the final race of the 1985 season.
In spite of the legislation, tobacco sponsorship continues in the sports through electronic cigarettes, with companies such as Green Smoke, blu (owned by R. J. Reynolds), and Arrowhead sponsoring NASCAR teams.
A brand of herbal smokeless tobacco, Smokey Mountain, has also sponsored drivers such as Hornaday, Johnny Sauter, Brian Scott, and Daniel Hemric.
Whitetail Smokeless, a brand of chew that also offers a nicotine-free variant, has also sponsored drivers such as Jeremy Clements and Josh Bilicki.
[22][23] The rule has come into effect on several occasions, most notably when Nextel signed a ten-year $700 million deal to replace Winston as the Cup Series sponsor.
12 car of Ryan Newman) were allowed to continue their deals,[23][25] but both sponsor agreements were put into question when the companies were purchased and sought re-branding.
[23] In a separate 2007 incident, Robby Gordon was allowed to retain his sponsorship from mobile phone manufacturer Motorola (although Nextel carried Motorola products, NASCAR blocked Gordon's sponsorship as his sponsor deal was done through Verizon)[26] after adding logos referring to the company's "Digital Audio Players".
Rick Hendrick stated that his teams would display the Monster Energy logo on their cars and uniforms when required.
[28] The team exploited a loophole in the NASCAR rule book when Chase Elliott took his Mountain Dew (a sponsorship that otherwise would fall into grandfather clause, as the brand had sponsored Hendrick dating back to Sprint Cup era) No.
[29] The Viceroy Rule, however, does allow for a competing brand of a same type of product that is manufactured, or whose trademarks are owned, by the same company as the title sponsor.
For 1998, the team did switch its primary sponsorship to the Winston brand, coincidentally due to the one-brand rule imposed by the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement that went in effect that year.
If a safety car is called, and the race cannot be restarted, video rules on the last lap will be used to determine the finishing order.
Once the pace car has pulled into the pits, there is a restart "zone" consisting of lines painted on the outside wall of the track.
Single-car qualifying has been used for most of the sport's history other than a five-year span between 2014 and early 2019 where a knockout system similar to Formula One was used.
Instead, a timing loop placed considerably ahead of the pit entrance is marked as the official line to start and finish a lap, similar to INDYCAR.
The session results from single car qualifying set the starting lineups for the Can-Am Duel races on Thursday.
This special provisional allowed a former Cup champion to claim the final starting position if he was too low in the points standings and was unable to qualify by speed.
Those who were repeatedly suspended may be banned from the sport permanently, such as in the case of Shane Hmiel who failed three drug tests, although he was able to participate in other ACCUS/FIA-sanctioned competition after a suspension.
Cars sustaining accident damage that cannot be repaired on pit road within six minutes will automatically be removed from the rest of the race.
They are required to attend in person, and no exceptions are allowed (which has caused trouble with drivers attempting the Memorial Day Double).
For road course races, starting in 2022, NASCAR will no longer call a safety car situation if rain is potentially an issue to allow teams to change tires and install windshield wipers.
All oval tracks in any of NASCAR's National Series (except dirt races, such as at Eldora) use the SAFER Barrier and other soft wall technology to lessen impacts.
After a series of flips and dangerous crashes in the 1980s, NASCAR began requiring all cars to run a restrictor plate at Daytona and Talladega.
[56][57] On road courses, track limits are defined by chicanes, enforced at Watkins Glen, Daytona, and Charlotte road courses, the Turns 1-3 complex at Indianapolis, or the Maggots-Becketts-Chapel section in Austin (a driver who exceeds track limits such as driving beyond the white lines or the long lap penalty section used by MotoGP to make a pass), drivers must stop at an assigned point of the circuit or face a drive-through penalty.
