Helio Castroneves will be in the Daytona 500 field through the new Open Exemption Provisional in the NASCAR Rule Book.
NASCAR announced the rule Friday, explaining that it’s similar to a promoter’s provisional used in short track and dirt racing. It means that a world class driver of another racing discipline, in this case Castroneves, has a guaranteed starting position in a Cup Series race.
Castroneves will be entered in a fourth Trackhouse Racing car under the Project 91 banner. NASCAR will add a 41st driver into the starting field when a team is granted an Open Exemption Provisional, which means Castroneves will be in the field either having made it through traditional means (speed or a Duel race) or using the provisional.
NASCAR would recognize a race win by a team using an Open Exemption Provisional and it would give them All-Star Race eligibility. However, there are certain things the driver and car owner are not eligible for if they make the race using the provisional:
– Race points
– Postseason eligibility
– Prize money
– Any tiebreaker benefit of finishing position.
In other words, if Castroneves and Trackhouse Racing win the Daytona 500, they would be recognized as winners. Castroneves would then be one of three drivers who have won both the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500. He would also be eligible to compete in the All-Star Race, but that’s where the rewards stop.
The second-place finisher will receive first place points. However, they will not receive the benefits of the win such as playoff points and postseason eligibility.
NASCAR will consider each Open Exemption Provisional on a case-by-case basis. Castroneves is the latest highly regarded motorsports talent who will compete in a NASCAR race after Shane van Gisbergen burst onto the scene in 2023 by winning in his debut with Trackhouse Racing. Jenson Button made Cup Series starts over the last few seasons as has Kimi Raikkonen, Brodie Kostecki, Mike Rockenfeller and Kamui Kobayashi.
The addition of an Open Exemption Provisional was an unexpected move when announced. Other updates to the Rule Book came in the same release.
OEM penalties
NASCAR formally added language in order to penalize its manufacturers when deemed necessary. In the fallout from the fall Martinsville Speedway race in which several teams (Trackhouse Racing, 23XI Racing, and Richard Childress Racing) were penalized for manipulating the finish of the race to help teammates, NASCAR admitted there were no rules in place to penalize manufacturers but it would be addressed during the offseason.
Penalties can include the loss of manufacturer points, wind tunnel hours, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) runs.
Playoff waivers
NASCAR senior vice president of competition, Elton Sawyer, initially said in June there was nothing to be done at the moment to change the playoff waiver process. His comments were made after NASCAR granted Kyle Larson a playoff waiver when he missed the Coca-Cola 600 after opting to stay in Indianapolis to compete in the Indy 500. Sawyer, however, did admit another look will be taken after the season was over.
That has now happened. The wording was updated to read that all drivers and team owners must start and attempt to compete in all races to be postseason eligible. NASCAR then went on to clarify that:
– “If a driver does not start and attempt to complete a Race and wishes to remain eligible for the Playoffs, that driver must request a Playoff waiver via the Playoff Waiver Request. If a Playoff waiver is granted for anything other than a medical reason or age restriction, the driver will forfeit all current and future Playoff Points earned prior to the start of the Playoffs. NASCAR’s decision to grant or decline a Playoff waiver request and subsequent loss of Playoff Points is final and non-appealable.”