Repairs to Injured Racecars in the NASCAR National Series’ Must Now be Completed Within a Five Minute Window.
Story By: REID SPENCER / NASCAR WIRE SERVICE
Photos By: GETTY IMAGES / NASCAR
CONCORD, N.C. — February 9, 2017- Seriously damaged race cars will no longer be allowed to continue in races in the three NASCAR national series (Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series).
NASCAR officials debuted a Damaged Vehicle Policy that will see the sanctioning body more tightly police the repairs that are made to crashed race cars.
While teams will no longer be permitted to replace damaged body parts (such as fenders) as they have in the past, sheet metal repairs can still be made. But they must be completed within a five-minute time limit starting when the car in question enters pit lane.
If the car has to go behind pit wall to exact repairs, it will not be allowed to return to the track. As well, if a car cannot be repaired within five minutes it cannot return to competition.
If repairs are made within the five-minute window, the car will still be required to maintain minimum speed expectations on the track.
These changes are the latest made by the sanctioning body, which in January announced a new racing format for all three national series, which includes events being run in segments and the addition of bonus points.
In a sense this new rule is an attempt to reduce the number of yellow flags during races.
“We have a lot of cars that are going back on the track that end up in 38th position, for instance, that probably don’t need to be out there from a safety and competition aspect,” Scott Miller, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, told NASCAR.com,
However, being involved in a wreck does not mean teams cannot repair cars.
“There will be many circumstances and many things happen and you will continue to see it where cars are in wrecks and never go to the garage area,” Miller told NASCAR.com. “They come down pit road, they work on things … and they go back out and make minimum speed. They continue to work on the car as the race goes on. That will still completely be in play.”
The new policy, however, will only apply to crashed cars. Teams with cars suffering mechanical failures will not be subject to the five-minute clock in order to make repairs.
“We’re not going to tell a guy who breaks his transmission at Watkins Glen or Pocono, for instance, and coasts into the garage area that he’s out,” Miller explained. “Because that doesn’t create an unsafe situation; that is a mechanical failure.
“It’s more about crashed vehicles and all that is involved with that, from the crew guys to the drivers to dropping more debris on the track, which always happens.”
“So there are exceptions for mechanical failures, those things can be rectified in the garage. That’s going to be up to the series director’s discretion to make those calls, but it’s not going to be that difficult.”
Two new pit lane rules will also be implemented. Drivers caught speeding on pit lane will lose 15 seconds from the five-minute clock, and teams sending too many crew members over the wall to repair damage, will not be allowed to return to competition.
