NASCAR is considering changing its rules in the coming seasons to allow Cup Series drivers to participate more often in the lower-tier national series, per Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal. Currently, Cup drivers with more than three years of full-time Cup experience are limited to five races a season in the Xfinity Series and […]
NASCAR is considering changing its rules in the coming seasons to allow Cup Series drivers to participate more often in the lower-tier national series, per Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal. Currently, Cup drivers with more than three years of full-time Cup experience are limited to five races a season in the Xfinity Series and in the Truck Series.
Drivers who fall into that category can’t compete in the final eight races of the season — the regular season finale and the playoffs. With O’Reilly Auto Parts replacing Xfinity as title sponsor of the second-tier series, those rules are under review, NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell said.
“We’re going to look at who is able to race in the series in the future as well and maybe make some changes down the road, but there’s a lot of opportunities for us to work with The CW and O’Reilly Auto Parts to take it to the next level so you’re operating from a really good base, which is awesome, but I think we’ve got a lot of growth ahead of us,” O’Donnell said. “… You look at all of our series and we’ve had limits on, ‘Could a Cup driver compete?’ ‘How many races could they compete?’
“So, we’ve certainly had discussions with The CW and in the Truck Series as well [about], ‘Does that rule as it stands now make the most sense to continue as it is? Do we tweak it?’ So, we’re looking at a lot of things over the offseason and talking to a lot of the teams and drivers.”
NASCAR Xfinity Series has changed over time
NASCAR last altered the rule in 2020 when it limited Cup drivers to five races per season, down from seven, so that Xfinity drivers have a better chance of winning. It’s used to be common for a full-time Cup driver to also compete full-time in Xfinity, resulting in mismatched competitions. Kyle Busch, who holds the all-time wins record in Xfinity (102), broke a single season record in 2010 when he tallied 13 victories.
Those days are gone. Of the 23 Xfinity races this season, five have been won by full-time Cup drivers. Two of those wins belong to Kyle Larson, who previously expressed a strong opinion on the rules limiting participation in the lower-tier series.
“In Xfinity, I do get motivated, and this is going to come across like very cocky, but I want to embarrass them, honestly,” Larson said. “I want to embarrass NASCAR a little bit because they just don’t let Cup guys run anymore, and the kids probably think they’re in a good spot and they don’t know where the bar really is at.
“So, I like to go run those Xfinity races and just get 10-second leads to let them realize that they’ve got a lot of room to improve. I think that’s only better for our sport. When those young guys can compete with Cup guys, they’re better suited for the Cup Series once they get there. … I want to smash the field when I run Xfinity. That’s motivating to me, for sure.”
There’s some truth to Larson’s point. Ty Gibbs won 21 percent of his Xfinity starts before making the jump to Cup in 2023. He is still looking for his first Cup win. Cole Custer won the 2023 Xfinity championship. He is 34th in the Cup points standings.
Category: General Sports
