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NASCAR makes significant change to Open Exemption Provisional rule after reaction

FaceProfileby:Thomas Goldkamp•about 22 hours
Michael McDowell Phoenix NASCAR
Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

NASCAR will be making a change to its controversial Open Exemption Provisional rule, according to multiple reports. The rule was put into place ahead of the 2025 season.

In essence, the open exemption provisional was a way to create a path to competition for famous drivers, including those who are not in NASCAR. With the OEP, drivers could secure a spot in a field at a particular event.

Previously, drivers would have to qualify to make the field, but the OEP granted an exemption to that. So what is the new change?

If an open exemption provisional is granted to a driver, the field will now be set at 41 cars. Whether the driver in question qualifies into the field will no longer be a factor in whether the field is set at 40 or 41 cars.

The OEP itself was met with controversy when it was announced. Jeff Gluck of The Athletic was one critical party.

“Now imagine if Kyle Larson had said, ‘Hey, I’m thinking of running the Indy 500, Roger Penske and IndyCar goes, Kyle Larson, he wants to run the Indy 500? Let’s do whatever we can to get him over here, he’s in, he’s in. We’re going to make a spot for the Indy 500.’ Can you imagine?” Gluck asked his cohost Jordan Bianchi on The Teardown podcast. “Can you imagine IndyCar and Indy 500 fans? The absolute meltdown. Because they don’t want, the new charter system that’s coming in, they don’t want ANYBODY to have a guaranteed starting spot, ANYBODY. Let alone, a celebrity famous driver from another series who has never turned a lap in their series.

“All because they say, ‘Oh, we want to come do this.’ ‘You do?! You want to come hang out with us?! Oh, this is cool, let’s make sure you’re in!’ That’s crazy, come on now. That makes you look less than. That’s, I don’t think that’s good for NASCAR. It’s screaming to Lewis [Hamilton] to Max [Verstappen] to Daniel Ricciardo, please come, please come give us attention from the F1 fans.”

The new change to the open exemption provisional at least provides a more standardized set of rules for drivers taking advantage of it. Whether that will please current NASCAR drivers remains to be seen.