Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...
Big riders had clunky starts to the Supercross season in Anaheim, but that did not mean notable names were not victorious. Chase Sexton won in the 450cc class and Jo Shimoda won in the 250cc class. Endurance race is back though it never really went anywhere. Prema made its big IndyCar unveiling. People are enjoying the honeymoon phase. Formula One announced the Belgian Grand Prix will rotate on and off the schedule starting in 2027. NASCAR made a number of unexpected announcements, most quite startling changes, and one we will see in affect come the Daytona 500. However, this was another case of doing too much and what no one was asking for.
NASCAR Cannot Keep It Simple
January announcements are nothing new for NASCAR. We usually find out of changes in the final month before the start of the season. Normally, they come with fair warning and a build up. Usually there is a press conference with key dignitaries and maybe even drivers on stage praising the changes before we have even seen them in action. This year, three changes flew in out of the blue on a Friday afternoon.
The Damaged Vehicle Policy is essentially gone. If a car drives to the garage or is towed to the garage for repairs, it will not be ruled out of a race. Teams will still have seven minutes (eight minutes at Atlanta) to make repairs on pit lane before being sent to the garage area where teams can continue repairs and still re-join the race.
Playoff waivers for non-medical reasons will carry significant consequences. If a driver is required a non-medical waiver for the playoffs, that driver will surrender all playoff points earned up to that point and that driver will not be allowed to earn any playoff points afterward. A driver will not be able to start with more 2,000 points at the start of the playoffs.
NASCAR also introduced the "Open Exemption Provisional." If a team enters a driver that has made a significant contribution to the world of motorsports outside of NASCAR, that entry will be locked into the race and it will become a 41st starter should the field be at the maximum capacity of 40 starters. All "OEP" entries must be made at least 90 days before the race and those drivers must be NASCAR approved.
All three of these rulebook revisions could come into play at some point during the 2025 season. The last one is guaranteed to factor into the first race of the season.
Three days prior to Friday's announcement, Trackhouse confirmed Hélio Castroneves would attempt the Daytona 500 in the team's Project 91 entry, which is meant for drivers coming from other series to attempt a Cup race. After it appeared Castroneves would face with having to qualify for NASCAR's biggest race against notable competitors that include two past Cup champions, Castroneves was confirmed to be locked into the Daytona 500.
While good for Castroneves, the introduction of the "Open Exemption Provisional" has unnecessarily been introduced and somewhat dampened the Brazilian's first attempt at the Daytona 500.
It is rather sad that Castroneves will be forever tied to this rule as the first "OEP" benefactor, because it looks like the rule was created for him, even though this was something the teams negotiated in the renewal of the charter system. This isn't NASCAR playing favorites with Castroneves, but it is NASCAR making it easier for outside talent to be a one-off entry.
Intrinsically, that isn't a bad thing. These teams spend a lot of money on off-off entries, especially when it is for a notable name from the world of motorsports. Hélio Castroneves and Kimi Räikkönen aren't rolling out of bed for peanuts. If that level of investment is being made for such a driver then in the eyes of the teams that driver better be in the race. Teams cannot afford to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars not to race. It cannot risk upsetting new partners with a car that did not make the race. In 2025, when NASCAR is constantly making changes to cut spending, it isn't going to want teams to lose money trying to bring great talent into the series.
But this does fix a problem that exists for only one race.
The NASCAR Cup Series has not had a car fail to qualify for a race that wasn't the Daytona 500 since Timmy Hill failed to qualify for the Texas race in autumn 2018. That is over six seasons ago. The "OEP" really only exists for the Daytona 500. Does it open the door for teams to pursue other notable names for races and guarantee they will start and not have to worry about wasting their time and losing money? It does, but NASCAR didn't have a problem with the guests missing races, and it doesn't seem like NASCAR is expecting an increase in full-time participants limiting these opportunities.
What has now been created is a subjective standard over who should be granted a guaranteed spot in a race and who should not. It works out this year with Castroneves. He is the only one that fits the criteria. But what would have happened if Fernando Alonso had entered? What if Toyota had decided it wanted Kamui Kobayashi to attempt the Daytona 500?
The rule says it is only one spot. A 42nd entry suddenly makes it a subjective decision over who gets the "OEP." Whose accomplishments are greater than another's is a matter of interpretation. Before Shane van Gisbergen came to Chicago in July 2023, he was a Supercars championship and had been successful in sports car racing, but would his accomplishments have been deemed enough to earn the "OEP" from the American-based NASCAR officials?
Jenson Button was also entered in that Chicago race. As was Andy Lally. There were only 37 entries that weekend, so nobody was at risk of missing the inaugural Chicago race, but if the J.J. Yeleys and Jeb Burtons and Landon Cassills and Timmy Hills of the world had been entered, NASCAR would have been faced with a decision over whether or not a World Drivers' Champion, Supercars champion or multi-time IMSA class champion should be locked into the race. We all know which way NASCAR would have gone. Button would have been locked in and van Gisbergen would have been faced of being on the wrong side of qualifying being rained out and not making the race.
In all likelihood, the OEP will come into play for the Daytona 500 only, but it has created an arbitrary standard over who should locked into a race. It is great when drivers attempt other forms of motorsports and take chances, but something is lost when they are granted an advantage the rest do not get.
Of no fault of his own, Castroneves' Daytona 500 attempt has lost a little meaning because he doesn't have to earn it. For as screwed up as the Daytona 500 qualifying rules are with 36 cars locked in and only four spots available for Open teams with only one spot being determined by finishing position in each qualifying race, it still means something to race your way in and earn it. Think about what it meant to Jacques Villeneuve and Conor Daly, two drivers who were expected to miss the race with unprepared teams, to make it via qualifying speed and racing their way in respectively.
In both cases, Villeneuve and Daly would have had an argument for an "OEP." Villeneuve would have definitely got it. The Canadian was an Indianapolis 500 winner and World Drivers' Champion. He definitely would have received it in 2022. Daly though... I guess we must ask what the floor is. Is being an IndyCar driver who has never finished better than 17th in the championship enough to earn an "OEP?" Would Travis Pastrana have been handed it? Daniil Kvyat had raced in Formula One and finished on the podium. Would Kvyat earned one? Mike Rockenfeller won the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall on top of success in sports car racing and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. Surely Rockenfeller fits, no?
There are clearly those who fit the criteria, but where do you draw the line in the sand? How much of it will come down to who is supporting these drivers? Would a Rick Hendrick-supported Rockenfeller in a Spire Motorsports entry receive it but a Team Hezeberg's run Kvyat be left without the provisional? It feels like we have created another political football in the NASCAR world, something the series needed like a hole in the head.
While the introduction of the "OEP" is understandable from a business standpoint for the teams, it does take a way the spirit of competition and puts a number of drivers on a pedestal above those who regularly compete in NASCAR. Those deemed worthy enough from the outside can now be slotted onto the grid without having to prove they are good enough to make a NASCAR Cup race. Castroneves is locked into the Daytona 500 thanks to his four Indianapolis 500 victories and three 24 Hours of Daytona victories, but seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson has to race his way in.
For the longest time, NASCAR took pride in how tough it was to make a Cup race, and successful drivers from elsewhere would not necessarily be one of the top 40 drivers to make a race.
No one was looking for NASCAR to make this change, not the fans nor the drivers this rule change is intended to benefit. The simple thing would be to let them compete for their spot as they likely wished to do in the first place. That is something NASCAR simply cannot do when given the opportunity.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Supercross, but did you know...
The #777 Al Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW of Dan Harper, Max Hesse, Darren Leung, Ben Tuck and Al Faisal Al Zubair won the Dubai 24 Hour.
Oliver Rowland won the Mexico City ePrix.
Through seven stages, here are the leaders of the Dakar Rally:
Bikes: Daniel Sanders leads Tosha Schareina by 15 minutes and 33 seconds.
Cars: Henk Lategan holds a 21-second advantage over Yazeed Al-Rajhi.
Challenge: Nicolás Cavigliasso is up by over a half-hour on Gonçalo Guerreiro.
SSV: American Brock Heger is over an hour and 35 minutes ahead of Xavier de Soultrait.
Trucks: Martin Macík is over two hours clear of Mitchel van den Brink.
Coming Up This Weekend
The conclusions of the Dakar Rally.
The 39th Chili Bowl.
Supercross will be in San Diego.
