(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)
By Aaron Bearden
NASCAR is set for year of change in 2019. That was apparent months ago, when series officials confirmed that the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will use variations of a new drafting package for 22 of the season’s 36 races.
But we learned Monday that the changes will stretch far beyond the package alone.
From procedural changes to personnel shifts, the sport is set for one of the biggest cultural shifts its seen since NASCAR’s inception in 1948. Disqualifications are set to enter the sport. Penalties are coming earlier and being ramped up. New programs are being launched, and old ones will have a new look.
There’s a lot to digest from Monday’s announcements. Here’s a look at each of them them, and what they’ll mean for the sport moving forward.
NASCAR speeds up inspection and embraces the DQ
What’s happening?
In a sizable shift from the sport’s longstanding mentality surrounding penalties, NASCAR has agreed to disqualify cars that fail post-race inspection beginning in 2019.
All penalty-eligible inspections for the week will be handled at the track. The top two finishers will undergo a thorough inspection, as will a third, randomly-selected car. Should any significant infractions be discovered, the car(s) in question will be disqualified and awarded last-place points and prize money. All other teams will be elevated in position above the offending parties.
Should the race winner fail inspection, they’ll be stripped of the win entirely. They won’t be listed in the record books as the winner, and will lose the trophy, points, stage points and prize money earned. The second-place finisher — or next eligible finisher should they be disqualified as well — will then be declared the victor and awarded all associated prizes.
Once teams have passed at-track inspection, which is estimated to last around 90 minutes, their results will be declared official. NASCAR may still decide to take a random car back to the NASCAR Research & Development Center, but the move will be made solely to keep up with trends among teams. Infractions found will largely come without a penalty, and the organization will instead be warned not to repeat the offense moving forward.
What does it mean?
Drivers that take the checkered flag at the end of the race will no longer be guaranteed a race win at day’s end. They’ll still go through the post-race festivities – burnouts, Polish victory laps and champagne showers. But when the celebrations have come and gone, the winner’s car will still need to past post-race inspection for the win to stick.
The concept of an ‘encumbered’ win will cease to exist. Whether it be the driver that crossed the line first, second or third, someone will be declared an official winner by the end of each completed race day.
This is a significant shift for NASCAR. Previously the tour had issued out stiff penalties for offending parties — particularly when they won the race — but series officials always stopped one step shy of stripping away a race win, claiming they wanted fans in attendance to know the race winner when they left the track.
Now NASCAR is embracing disqualifications. Monday’s announcement aligns the sanctioning body’s inspection process with those seen on short tracks across the country.
The process isn’t perfect – the team finishing third or fourth could conceivably secure a win with an infraction if the top cars all fail the post-race teardown. The general awkwardness around a post-race with disqualifications also means the system also won’t always end with the prettiest visual for the parties involved at day’s end. But the movie will keep teams and sponsors from claiming wins with cars deemed illegal by the inspection process – a move that should help to dissuade significant infractions to some extent moving forward, though teams could still test the waters and risk disqualifications, particularly if they already have a playoff-clinching win.
By confining the penalty process to the race weekend itself, NASCAR has also positioned itself to avoid the mid-week penalty announcements that disturb the flow of traditional race weeks – though engines could still pose an issue in the short-term.
No longer will the feelings around a particular race be significantly altered by a Wednesday penalty announcement, causing a break from the preview of the next weekend’s race and casting a dark shadow over the week’s discussion. Everything will be done and settled at the end of the race day, allowing teams, sponsors, media and fans to move on and focus on the race to come.
Time changes the only tweak in store for qualifying
What’s happening?
Despite the significant rules package changes being implemented to the Cup Series in 2019, NASCAR’s qualifying formats will remain largely unchanged. The only notable alteration to the format is based on time. The first round will be reduced from 15 minutes to 10, and the time between rounds is set to decrease from seven minutes to five.
A single-car qualifying format will continue to be used at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.
What does it mean?
Qualifying could become a whole different show for the majority of the Cup Series races in the upcoming season.
With the new 2019 rules package set to place an emphasis on drafting, teamwork may become necessary element for qualifying success. Drivers and teams will likely need to work together in order to give themselves a shot at the pole during many of the races where elements of the new package are to be used.
The need to draft and work together to reach pole speeds could lead to closer racing among the field, increasing the risk of a qualifying crash similar to the one seen during Daytona 500 qualifying in 2015. That would make qualifying more expensive for any unfortunate teams that fall victim to such a fate, but the packed up runs should add drama to time trials each week.
Looking toward the future
What’s happening?
NASCAR confirmed that its target year for the sport’s next generation of stock cars is 2021. The current set of rules is meant to serve as a bridge of sorts for the Gen-7 car, and NASCAR hopes to add two Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) with the new car to compete alongside the current trio of Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota. No major engine changes are expected until 2022 or later.
The new Cup cars are expected to have composite elements to the bodies – something learned from a similar implementation in the Xfinity Series. In addition, NASCAR is working to implement a common, interchangeable body for each of the the sport’s minor stock car tours – the K&N Pro Series, ARCA Racing Series, Pinty’s Series, Peak Mexico Series and Whelen Euro Series.
What does it mean?
The march toward the next generation of NASCAR stock cars is underway, continuing the theme of change within the sport. With the overall shift in the culture around inspection announced Monday and potential schedule changes expected in 2020 and beyond, NASCAR is currently positioned as a sport undergoing a period of significant change.
It’s fitting, then, that the next generation of cars be added to the discussion. Should the Gen-7 be implemented in 2021, it would come after eight seasons of competition in the Gen-6. That would be an increase over the previous generation, dubbed the ‘Car of Tomorrow’ at the time, which was tested in select races in 2007 and ran full-time for five seasons from 2008 through 2012.
This announcement was among the vaguest on Monday, and for good reason. There are still many decisions and discoveries to be made for the Gen-7 car, with two full seasons of competition expected before its’ implementation. But Monday’s announcement started the public process of introducing the next era of NASCAR stock cars, and hinted at the potential for new OEMs to enter with it.
Truck Series triple crown
What’s happening?
The Gander Outdoors Truck Series will see a new triple crown format or sorts implemented during a trio of June races. The stretch, dubbed the ‘Triple Truck Challenge,’ (TTC) will provide Truck Series competitors a three-race stint with an opportunity to earn a bonus of up to $500,000 should they win all three events.
During the three-race stretch including Texas Motor Speedway (June 7), Iowa Speedway (June 15) and Gateway Motorsports Park (June 22), the TTC will award a bonus to each winner along the way. Teams will earn a $50,000 bonus for a victory during the slate, with the potential for $150,000 or $500,000 bonuses with wins in two or three of the races, respectively.
Cup or Xfinity drivers looking to cash in on the opportunity will have to look elsewhere. Only drivers declared for points in the Truck Series will be eligible to compete in the three races, along with the championship finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
What does it mean?
Truck Series competitors have a new incentive program that could help a team struggling to find funding, like champions Hattori Racing did at times in 2018, stay afloat for the season.
The TTC will serve as the Truck Series equivalent to the Xfinity Series’ Dash 4 Cash, but the format is simpler. Teams won’t need to worry about qualifying for the ensuing week’s program, leaving the focus of the program on winning alone – something NASCAR’s emphasized since the implementation of the modern playoff format.
By restricting competition to drivers declaring for Truck Series points, the program also further decreases the number of races Cup Series drivers can enter with their five-race allotment. The TTC will instead serve as a three-race stint of Truck Series regulars, giving a mid-season highlight to the tour’s drivers and perhaps even offering a preview of what the playoffs may look like for the series.
Keep it official
What’s happening?
Each of NASCAR’s three national series will have dedicated, series-specific officials to conduct inspections beginning in 2019.
According to NASCAR vice president of officiating and technical inspection Elton Sawyer, the Cup Series will have 12 dedicated officials for inspection. The Xfinity Series will carry 10, with the Truck Series dropping the number down to eight.
What does it mean?
Competitors on each of NASCAR’s top tours should have a consistent presence from officials in the garage area next year. In having the same people to fill their roles each week, each series should also be able to operate more efficiently through the inspection process and elsewhere.
This move should help the sport avoid any confusion surrounding inspection, and minimize any missed calls that would come with it.
“We felt like when we sat down and we looked at this and we put this model together that the efficiencies are going to come with the fact that those highly skilled inspectors are going to be in those individual garages and living in those garages,” Sawyer told NASCAR.com. “The scrutineering of the vehicles, whether it be trucks or cars, those are the things our inspectors will be living with all weekend. That’s not to say they won’t work in other garages, but 95 percent of the time, they’ll be right there in that garage and working with the teams and trying to correct any issues they may have.”
Other Notes:
- Ben Kennedy, a former Truck Series competitor and the son of Lesa France Kennedy, is set to take on a deeper role within the sanctioning body. Kennedy has been named NASCAR’s managing director of racing operations & international development, meaning the great-grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France will work alongside Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s executive vice president and chief racing development officer, to expand the sport’s reach both in the United States and abroad.
- Teams will be allowed to install tow straps on the front or rear of their cars beginning in 2019. This will allow drivers to stay in their cars and be towed out should they get trapped in the grass or a gravel trap, instead of climbing out and being eliminated from the race.
- Longtime NASCAR race director David Hoots will call his last race in the Daytona 500. Tim Burman and Jusan Hamilton will take over the role beginning with the second week of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
- The eligibility rules for Cup Series drivers competing in Xfinity and Truck Series races remains largely unchanged. Cup drivers may compete in seven Xfinity races and five Truck events in 2019. They’re ineligible to compete in playoff races, the regular season finale and events during the Dash 4 Cash and Triple Truck Challenge. Xfinity Series regulars are also forbidden from competing in the Triple Truck Challenge or Truck Series championship race.
- NASCAR and the drivers have reportedly agreed to alter the way media availability is handled each week. This is a move that won’t likely affect fans, but may assist the remaining media and lead to more accurate and effective storytelling within the industry.
