NASCAR Updates Driver Participation Guidelines for 2017
New Guidelines Further Elevate Next
Generation of Stars; Strengthen Series Identity
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (October 26, 2016)
– In an announcement
that will put an even brighter spotlight on the next generation of
stars and bolster the identity of all three of its national series,
NASCAR announced on Wednesday driver participation guidelines for the
2017 season. The new guidelines limit the number of
events a premier series driver can race in the NASCAR XFINITY Series
and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Starting
next season, premier series drivers with more than five years of
full-time experience will be eligible to compete in a maximum of 10
races in the XFINITY Series and seven
races in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Additionally,
drivers with more than five years of full-time premier series
experience will be ineligible to compete in the final eight races in
each series, as well as the Dash
4 Cash races in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. The final eight races are
comprised of the regular season finale and the entirety of the Chase in
each series.
Drivers
earning premier series points in 2017 also are not eligible to compete
in the 2017 NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Championship Races at Homestead-Miami
Speedway.
“The
updated guidelines will elevate the stature of our future stars, while
also providing them the opportunity to compete against the best in
professional motorsports,” said Jim
Cassidy, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations. “These
updated guidelines are the result of a collaborative effort involving
the entire industry, and will ultimately better showcase the emerging
stars of NASCAR.”
Drivers
with more than five years of full-time experience in the premier series
still can run for an XFINITY Series or Camping World Truck Series
championship, provided they have
declared for championship points in the respective series.
Wednesday’s
announcement signals the next step in NASCAR’s driver participation
guideline evolution. Prior to the 2016 season, NASCAR announced that
members of the 2015 Chase for
the NASCAR Sprint Cup field would be ineligible to compete in the 2016
Championship Race in both the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping
World Truck Series. In 2011, NASCAR implemented a rule requiring drivers
to select one of the three national series
in which to collect championship points.
