What are the basic rules of NASCAR? Understanding the foundation of the sport

NASCAR, or the National Association for Stock Car Racing, began in 1947 after Bill France Sr. brought together stakeholders of the stock car racing events that were happening individually in America. The resultant association has since organized stock car racing across the country. The first official NASCAR race was held at Daytona Beach in February 1948.

The rules of the sport have changed a lot over the years, including safety measures, race calendars, points systems, and technological advancements. Foundationally, these basic rules and procedures make NASCAR what it is today.

The 2025 season will see thirty-six races being run, thirty oval races, five road course races, and one street track race. The tracks that drivers and teams will visit over the course of the year include the Daytona International Speedway, Phoenix Raceway, Watkins Glen, and for the first time in Mexico, the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Looking at the calendar, the first twenty-six races of the year make up the regular season, after which come the ten races of the playoff season. At the end of the twenty-six races, the driver who has scored the most regular season points in the first part of the season will become the regular season champion of the year.

The playoffs will see the top 16 drivers in the standings compete for the championship. Drivers can qualify for the playoffs by winning playoff points through the regular season. They can score points by winning stages, winning races, or winning the regular season championship.

A stage win is worth one point, a race win is worth five points, and the championship win is worth fifteen points, with the top 10 drivers in every race scoring points in descending order. Winning a race usually confirms a place in the playoffs, however, since there are drivers who win multiple races, drivers who score enough points can also make it into the Top 16.

Once drivers make it into the Top 16, their points are reset to zero and they then compete in a series of rounds, each consisting of three races. At the end of each set of three races, the bottom four drivers are eliminated from the championship contention, until only four remain. To keep progressing through the rounds, drivers have to win races or score points via stages. After each round, the points are made zero again. The last four drivers that come through this process of elimination become the "Championship Four" and compete in the final race in Phoenix that determines the Cup Series Champion.

Every race has certain procedures that are followed, like qualifying. Qualifying usually has two rounds. The first round sees all the drivers do one timed lap around the track and the top ten progress to round two. In round two, the top ten drivers drive one more timed lap to determine the starting order for the race.

NASCAR also has a flag system, consisting of several flags. Green flags are waved at the beginning of the race, and also for race restarts. Yellow flags are caution flags, used to indicate a hazard, accident, or poor weather. If a red flag is waved, it means that the race is being stopped.

White flags let the drivers know there is only one lap remaining in the race, while black flags are used to let the driver know to pit immediately, in case they break any rules or create a dangerous situation for other drivers. A green-and-white checkered flag indicates the end of a race stage. Lastly, a black-and-white checkered flag indicates the end of a race.

Drivers also receive penalties, either in-race, pre-race, or post-race. These penalties are on two levels, with each level having a different consequence. Level 1 penalties require drivers to pay a fine of anywhere between $25,000 to $75,000, levy a 10- to 40-point deduction, and a single pit crew suspension lasting three races. Level 2 penalties come with a $100,000 to 200,000 fine, along with up to 75 points deducted, and a six-race pit crew suspension.

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NASCAR announces updated rules for 2025

Aerial overall view of the Kansas Speedway NASCAR track - Source: Imagn

With every new season, comes an update in NASCAR's regulations. The upcoming 2025 season will see an update in the format of practice and qualifying sessions for the new season.

In the first change, the group practice sessions, which are split into Groups 1 and 2, will now be 25 minutes long, as compared to last year's 20-minute sessions. Secondly, other than superspeedways, the tracks will now only do one round of qualifying to set up for the race.

The last change comes in how the qualifying results equate to the starting positions for the race. While starting positions last season were decided on a row-by-row designation according to drivers' qualifying group, moving forward they will be based only on the lap time results.

The NASCAR 2025 season will begin with the first non-points race, the NASCAR Clash at Bowman Gray, in North Carolina.