NASCAR introduces rule banning drivers from manipulating airflow during qualifying laps

NASCAR has just implemented a rule that makes it illegal for drivers to use their hands to affect airflow during qualifying laps. According to the latest competition bulletin, the change fixes a loophole that several teams had been exploiting to gain marginal aerodynamic advantages. The rule, they say, is meant to keep qualifying fair while accounting for possible safety issues at super-speedway tracks.

The revised verbiage specifies that once a car makes a timed run through pit road, the driver must keep their hands in the cockpit and out of areas that affect airflow. Now, if drivers attempt to adjust the airflow with their hands, they will incur an automatic penalty. Qualifying time will be lost for violations, NASCAR previously confirmed.

What the new NASCAR rule says and how it will be enforced

The exact wording added to the NASCAR rulebook leaves little room for interpretation. According to the new bulletin, “As determined by NASCAR, once a vehicle exits pit road during a Qualifying attempt, the driver’s hands may not be used to redirect air in any manner including but not limited to, touching the window net, blocking air from entering the cockpit, redirecting air from the window, etc. Non-compliance will result in loss of Qualifying time.”


That comment essentially nixes an under-the-radar tactic that had been added to the superspeedway-qualifying strategy. Drivers had tried in recent seasons to position a hand at or in the area of the driver-side window opening or window net to influence air around the car. Any reduction in drag counts when qualifying speeds can come within thousands of a second of each other in over-the-top efforts to find the perfect balance of speed and power.

As part of the new rule, NASCAR officials will use onboard cameras and video review to monitor drivers' hand placement during qualifying laps. There will be no exceptions for such infractions, where a driver is seen handling the window net or trying to block or redirect air, his or her lap disallowed. Because the inherent confusion will be avoided, the enforcement process will be simple, and officials will know exactly which standard to apply without legalism.

Why NASCAR decided to make the change now

This rule's introduction comes at the end of years of increasing concern about clever aerodynamic parlor tricks being employed in qualifying. Although the hand-manipulation strategy never gave a significant boost, it led to an asymmetrical battle between teams eager to take advantage of the loophole and those flying a more conventional flag, one that merely covered the hand and arm.

Safety was also a major factor in the update. Laps at places like Daytona and Talladega in qualifying are run at such high speeds that sticking an arm into open air at those rates of speed is obviously dangerous. The idea, NASCAR believes, is to keep the driver focused on driving and out of unnecessary movement inside the cockpit.


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