Drivers no longer required to compete in each race to make Chase
NASCAR issued rulebook changes for the Sprint Cup Series on Wednesday morning pertaining to eligibility to compete in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Gone is the requirement that drivers and car owners must compete in every race to be eligible for the Chase.
That language, in section 17.6.2.1 of the rulebook has been replaced by the following:
“.a Unless otherwise authorized by NASCAR, driver(s) and car owner(s) must start all Championship Events of the current season to be eligible for The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. If a starting position was not earned, then the driver(s) and car owners(s) must have attempted to Qualify for the Race.”
NASCAR also added the following:
“.b Race finishes must be unencumbered by violation(s) of the NASCAR Rules or other action(s) detrimental to stock car auto racing or NASCAR as determined in the sole discretion of NASCAR.”
The change in the language over Chase eligibility could help Brian Vickers, who will miss the first two races of the season while he recovers from offseason heart surgery.
Last year, NASCAR granted Tony Stewart a Chase exemption for the three races he missed after being involved in a fatal sprint car crash in New York in August. The exemption turned out to be moot, as Stewart did not qualify for the Chase.
