NASCAR has updated the competition rules for Darlington Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway as the teams prepare to hit the track for the first time since March 8 at Phoenix Raceway.
The races will be run with no fans in attendance due to the Covid-19 pandemic with heightened rules for the safety of the teams and other personnel in attendance.
NASCAR will also expand the Xfinity Series and Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series teams to a field of 40 participants for the upcoming May races at Darlington and Charlotte which will allow more teams to participate.
There will be modified competition pit stops which will allow the teams extra time to make any adjustments needed.
The field will be frozen at the time of the competition caution and line up behind the pace car. The wave around rule will not be in effect. Pit road will first open to the top 20 and the drivers must beat the pace car off pit road to retain their position. Pit road will then open to the next 20 cars. The pit cycle will repeat allowing each team to pit twice.
Drivers cannot beat the pace car off pit road. Doing so will result in the loss of a lap and the driver will have to start at the rear of the field. If a driver pits more than twice or out of sequence they will have to restart at the rear of the field.
The competition cautions will occur at or around the following laps:
May 17: Cup Series, Darlington: Lap 30
May 19: Xfinity Series, Darlington: Lap 15
May 20: Cup Series, Darlington: TBD
May 24: Cup Series, Charlotte: TBD
May 25: Xfinity Series, Charlotte: TBD
May 26: Gander Trucks, Charlotte: TBD
May 27: Cup Series, Charlotte: TBD
There will be no practice or qualifying except for the Coca-Cola 600 race on May 24 and all races will be run over the course of one day. NASCAR has also provided new guidelines for the starting lineups with random drawings and position inversions playing a role as specified below for each race.
Darlington Raceway May 17 Cup Series Starting Lineup:
Positions 1-12 will be determined by a random draw from charter teams in those positions in team owner points.
Positions 13-24: Random draw among charter teams in those positions in owner points.
Positions 25-36: Random draw among charter teams in those positions in owner points.
Positions 37-40 will be filled out by open, non-chartered teams in order of owner points.
Pit Selection:
Pit selection is based on charter team owner points followed by open team owner points. Pit stalls will be picked in advance, pit boxes will be in the stalls when the teams arrive.
Darlington Raceway May 19 Xfinity Series Starting Lineup:
Starting positions 1-12 among teams in those positions in owner points will be determined by a random draw.
Starting positions 12-24 among teams in those positions in owner points will be determined by a random draw.
Starting positions 25-36 among teams in those positions in owner points will be determined by a random draw.
Starting positions 37-40 among teams in those positions in owner points will be assigned starting positions based on their order of eligibility.
Pit Selection:
Order based on Phoenix qualifying.
Darlington Raceway May 20 Cup Series Starting Lineup:
Positions 1-20: The top 20 finishers from the May 17 event will be inverted for the start of the May 20 race.
Positions 21-40: The bottom 20 finishers from the May 17 event will be inverted for the start of the May 20 race; any new entries will be placed at the rear of the field.
Pit Selection:
Pit selection will be determined by the finishing order of the May 17 race. Pit stalls will be picked in advance, pit boxes will be in the stalls when the teams arrive.
Charlotte Motor Speedway May 24 Cup Series Starting Lineup:
Order set by same-day qualifying for the Coca-Cola 600.
Pit Selection:
Pit selection based on finishing position from the May 20 race at Darlington, followed by new entries in order of points. Pit stalls will be picked in advance, pit boxes will be in the stalls when the teams arrive.
Charlotte Motor Speedway May 25 Xfinity Series Starting Lineup:
Starting positions 12-24 among teams in those positions in owner points will be determined by a random draw.
Starting positions 25-36 among teams in those positions in owner points will be determined by a random draw.
Starting positions 37-40 among teams in those positions in owner points will be assigned starting positions based on their order of eligibility.
Pit Selection:
Pit Selection based on finishing position from the May 19 race at Darlington, followed by new entries in order of points.
Charlotte Motor Speedway Truck Series May 26 Starting Lineup (Teams will draw for starting position based on groups in team owner points)
Starting positions 1-10 among teams in those positions in owner points
Starting positions 11-21 among teams in those positions in owner points
Starting positions 22-32 among teams in those positions in owner points
Starting positions 33-40 among teams in those positions in owner points, followed by a draw among new teams without owner points
Pit Selection:
Pit selection based on Las Vegas qualifying.
Charlotte Motor Speedway May 27 Cup Series Starting Lineup:
Positions 1-20: Invert the top 20 from the May 24 race at Charlotte.
Positions 21-40: In finishing order from the May 24th race at Charlotte, followed by new entries.
Pit Selection:
Pit selection based on qualifying for the May 24 race at Charlotte, followed by new entries in order of points. If qualifying is rained out, pit selection will be determined by finishing order on May 24.
Darlington & Charlotte Stage Lengths:
Darlington:
May 17 – NASCAR Cup Series): 90 / 185 / 293 laps
May 19 – NASCAR Xfinity Series): 45 / 90 / 147 laps
May 20 – NASCAR Cup Series): 60 / 125 / 228 laps
Charlotte:
May 24 – NASCAR Cup Series: 100 / 200 / 300 / 400 laps
May 25 – NASCAR Xfinity Series: 45 / 90 / 200 laps
May 26 – NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: 30 / 60 / 134 laps
May 27 – NASCAR Cup Series: 55 / 115 / 208 laps
Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.
