NASCAR Announces Competition Procedure Updates for Return to Racing

As NASCAR readies for a return to racing to start this Sunday at Darlington Raceway (SC) the sanctioning body has issued a number of competition updates which will apply to the seven events scheduled for Darlington and Charlotte Motor Speedway through May 27.

Pit Selection and Starting Lineup: Darlington May 17 (NASCAR Cup Series)

Pit selection:

Order based on charter team owner points followed by open team owner points. Pit stalls will be picked in advance and the pit boxes will be in the stalls when the teams arrive.

Starting lineup:

Positions 1-12: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
Positions 13-24: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
Positions 25-36: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
Positions 37-40: Open teams in order of owners points in owner points

May 19 (NASCAR Xfinity Series)

Pit selection:

Order based on Phoenix qualifying.

Starting lineup:

Positions 1 -12: The first 12 NXS Teams based on the Adverse Conditions Line Up Eligibility will be assigned starting positions 1st – 12th using a random draw.
Positions 12 – 24: The next 12 NXS Teams based on the Adverse Conditions Line Up eligibility will be assigned starting positions 12th- 24th using a random draw.
Starting positions 25 – 36: The next 12 NXS Teams based on the Adverse Conditions Line Up eligibility will be assigned starting positions 25th -36th using a random draw.
Any vehicles that are eligible for the Event in position 37th – 40th will be assigned starting positions based on their order of eligibility.

May 20 (NASCAR Cup Series)

Pit selection:

Order based on finishing position from the May 17^th race at Darlington, followed by new entries in order of points. Pit stalls will be picked in advance and the pit boxes will be in the stalls when the teams arrive.

Starting lineup:

Positions 1-20: Invert the top 20 from the May 17^th race at Darlington
Positions 21-40: In finishing order from the May 17^th race at Darlington, followed by new entries

CharlotteMay 24 (NASCAR Cup Series)

Pit selection:

Order based on finishing position from the May 20^th race at Darlington, followed by new entries in order of points. Pit stalls will be picked in advance and the pit boxes will be in the stalls when the teams arrive.

Starting lineup:

Based on qualifying

May 25 (NASCAR Xfinity Series)

Pit selection:

Order based on finishing position from the May 19^th race at Darlington, followed by new entries in order of points.

Starting lineup:

Same procedure as Darlington

May 26 (NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series)

Pit selection:

Order based on Las Vegas qualifying.

Starting lineup:

Positions 1 -10: The first 10 NGROTS Teams based on the Adverse Conditions Line Up Eligibility will be assigned starting positions 1st – 10th using a random draw.
Positions 11 – 21: The next 11 NGROTS Teams based on the Adverse Conditions Line Up eligibility will be assigned starting positions 11- 21 using a random draw.
positions 22 – 32: The next 11 NGROTS Teams based on the Adverse Conditions Line Up eligibility will be assigned starting positions 22nd – 32nd using a random draw.
Any vehicles that are eligible for the Event in position 33rd – 40th will be assigned starting positions based on their order of eligibility.

May 27 (NASCAR Cup Series)

Pit selection:

Order based on qualifying for the May 24^th race at Charlotte, followed by new entries in order of points. If qualifying is rained out, pit selection will be determined by finishing order on May 24. Pit stalls will be picked in advance and the pit boxes will be in the stalls when the teams arrive.

Starting lineup:

Positions 1-20: Invert the top 20 from the May 24^th race at Charlotte
Positions 21-40: In finishing order from the May 24^th race at Charlotte, followed by new entries

Modified Competition Caution Procedures:With the absence of practice, NASCAR will be modifying its Competition Caution procedures to allow teams additional time for adjustments. The competition cautions will occur at or around the following laps:

NASCAR Cup Series
- Darlington – May 17: Lap 30
- Darlington – May 20: TBD
- Charlotte – May 24: TBD
- Charlotte – May 27: TBD
NASCAR Xfinity Series
- Darlington – May 19: Lap 15
- Charlotte – May 25: TBD
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series at Charlotte – May 26: TBD

Below are the procedures for the modified competition caution:

Field will be frozen at the time of the competition caution
Field will be assembled behind the pace car
The running order lead lap / lap down will be established and the free pass sent
Wave around rule is not in effect
Pit road will open to the top 20 – car must beat the pace car off pit road to retain freeze position
Pit road will open to the next 20 – car must beat the pace car off pit road to retain freeze position
Above pit cycle repeats – each team allowed to pit two times
Re-establish line-up per freeze and restart race

Infractions under modified competition caution:

Not beating the pace car off pit road results in loss of lap and restarting at tail of the field
Pitting more than twice or out of sequence results in restarting at the tail of the field
All current pit road rules are in effect

Updated on Xfinity Series and Gander Trucks Field Size for Darlington and Charlotte:

Below is a statement from NASCAR, attributed to Scott Miller – NASCAR Senior Vice President, Competition:

“This move is critical for the long-term health of the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series. There are many new full-time and part-time team owners who have made significant commitments to our sport and secured sponsorship to participate this season. NASCAR wants to enable these teams to fulfill their commitments and grow their businesses without being affected by circumstances out of their control.”

For Xfinity Series and Gander Trucks races for which there is no qualifying scheduled to give teams the opportunity to earn their position in the starting lineup, the field size will be expanded to a maximum of 40 participants in each series to allow additional opportunities for teams to race.

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Maximum of 40 (up four positions from 36)
Currently 36^th finishing position receives one point
Under expanded field size, 36^th to the balance of the field will be awarded one point
Note: Post entries will not be eligible for the event.

NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series

Maximum of 40 (up eight positions from 32)
Currently 32^nd finishing position receives five points
Under expanded field size, 32^nd to the balance of the field will be awarded five points
Note: Post entries will not be eligible for the event.

Darlington & Charlotte Stage Lengths:

Darlington