Motorsports Influencer explains why NASCAR hasn't made its rulebook public

Motorsports influencer Taylor Kitchen explained why NASCAR has not made its rulebook public, as is the case with other sports. The sport's rulebook is published exclusively for members of the sport and cannot be accessed by fans and is not available on the Internet as an open resource.

This strikes quite odd, considering most sports have editions of their rulebooks published for fans. This helps them understand the sport better and recheck certain moves executed by the authorities. Although NASCAR fans know some of the basic rules, there can be a gray area where they are left clueless after the sport's governing body makes a decision.

Taylor Kitchen explained in an Instagram video that one of the main reasons for NASCAR to not publicize its rulebook is because of the constant changing of rules that goes on throughout the season. Taking the example of the NFL and the MLB, she explained that those sports typically only witness regulation changes during the off-season and hence it is easy for them to maintain a rulebook that remains unchanged.

"One is the frequency of rule changes typically for those types of sports and NFL, MLB, etc. You're not seeing a lot of rule changes happening during the season, if any at all, a lot of them happening during the off season. And therefore, it's easy to have a blanket document that you put out to your fans each year that never changes. Therefore, you're not having to constantly update things to the masses."

She then explained that the interpretation of these rules can be different in stock racing. Kitchen mentioned that a lot of rules in the sport are up for interpretation.

"A lot of times in NASCAR, you see rules that are up for interpretation. There's a lot of gray areas with these rules. Yes, there are rules that are more black and white, like safety features and parks on the car, etc. But there are a lot of things that are left up for interpretation."

---

A lot of material in the NASCAR rulebook "doesn't concern the fans" - Taylor Kitchen

The NASCAR rulebook is not as simple a document as one might expect it to be. Taylor Kitchen explained that a lot of material in the book does not concern the fans as they are meant for the teams and the drivers and are related to their safety among other things.

"There's also a lot in the NASCAR rule book that doesn't concern the fans and it's more specifically geared towards the drivers, the teams, etc. For instance, the safety here that the drivers have to have us knowing that information is not going to make it or break our ability to enjoy the sport. It's not something that is essential to us to enjoy and watch the sport. Therefore, we don't really need to know that information."

Despite this, many of the basic rules such as race restart regulations, caution flag procedures, etc, are known by the public which helps for a better understanding of the sport.