NASCAR amends controversial rule after Katherine Legge's Cup Series debut

NASCAR has amended its controversial rule after Katherine Legge's Cup Series debut at the Phoenix Raceway. The Open Exemption Provisional, which was scrutinized for letting Helio Castroneves compete in the Daytona 500, has now been tweaked.

Legge, a British motorsports driver, registered her NASCAR Cup Series debut with Live Fast Motorsports. However, her eligibility raised concerns from many veterans, owing to her lack of experience in piloting a Cup car.

While the sanctioning body didn't overhaul its selection process, two major adjustments to the OEP rule will take effect moving forward.

First, if 40 or more cars make it to the main race, OEP will be applied irrespective of the provisional NextGen ride's qualifying position. However, if 40 or fewer machines make the race, then OEP won't come into play, enabling the provisional driver to reap the benefits of a regular Cup Series driver, like points, prize money, and more.

Second, NASCAR will hold the discretion to deem selected events ineligible for OEP. The decision possibly stemmed from the IndyCar legend's involvement in the Daytona 500 crash and Katherine Legge's disastrous Phoenix debut.

It's worth mentioning that the ineligibility could potentially apply to the high-stakes races of the season, such as the regular season finale, crown jewel races, season finale, and more.

Bubba Wallace's spotter slams NASCAR for letting Katherine Legge race in the Shriners Children's 500

Though Katherine Legge boasts experience in IndyCar, NASCAR Xfinity Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship, and more, she lacked it in the Cup Series, the pinnacle of stock car racing, which proved troublesome in the race.

The #78 Chevrolet driver lost control of her NextGen machine on Lap 5, spinning off Turn 2 and prompting a caution. Though she escaped without damage, her next misjudgment in the same corner invited trouble. She spun again on Lap 216 and got slammed at high speed by Daniel Suarez's #99 Trackhouse Racing Chevy.

Her inexperience invited scrutiny from many in the community regarding the approval process. Among them is Bubba Wallace's spotter, Freddie Kraft, who called out the sanctioning body for the controversial decision.

"Katherine made her mistakes, whatever it is, I'm not going to harp on her because I feel like they put her in a position where she wasn't going to succeed you know, they set her up for failure because she should have never been approved to run this race," Kraft said via Door Bumper Clear (42:40 onwards).

Before Kraft, Suarez spoke along the same lines. The #99 Chevy driver expressed that he is open to seeing women compete in NASCAR but pressed that he didn't appreciate letting Katherine Legge race in Phoenix.