Can NASCAR drivers talk to each other during a race?

NASCAR, an American motorsport, is known for its high-speed and adrenaline-filled racing action. Drivers fight smart and hard to beat their racing rivals, finish first, and lift the winner's trophy every race Sunday.

When the drivers are racing at an average speed of 160-180 mph, they have to be extremely focused and attentive to their driving and race strategies, as any loss of focus or attention could result in a catastrophic outcome that could end their race.

Hence, NASCAR drivers only communicate with their team strategist and spotter in order to exploit their car's potential and maximize race strategies.

Are NASCAR drivers allowed to communicate with each other during races?

Though it is banned these days (as of May 2024) to communicate with rival drivers during ongoing races, it was allowed until the 2011 Daytona 500.

When communication was allowed, drivers from the same teams used to communicate to strategize how to defend and overtake drivers from rival teams.

The major use of communication between teammates was during a maneuver called tandem drafting, in which the trailing car would push the lead car to increase the speed of both cars, as the trailing car would also benefit from the slipstream effect.

The maneuver required extreme precision. Hence, teammates used to communicate with each other to perform this move.

Why was communication between drivers during the race banned?

The communication between drivers was banned because they complained about not being able to focus on their strategies and losing concentration during races.

Due to this reason, a consensus was reached among all stakeholders in NASCAR to ban inter-driver communication on the grounds of driver safety.