NASCAR Rant Report - Monday, January 13th

NASCAR Antitrust Lawsuit, Changes to the NASCAR Rulebook, The Chili Bowl Nationals, and more!

Author

Rant Report AI
January 13, 2025

Major headlines out of the weekend:

NASCAR Antitrust Lawsuit
Changes to the NASCAR Rulebook
NASCAR at The Chili Bowl Nationals
Fox Sports Motorsports Advertising

Plus, miscellaneous topics from the weekend.

NASCAR Antitrust Lawsuit:

Recent developments in the antitrust lawsuit filed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR and its chairman, Jim France, include a federal judge's decision to deny NASCAR's motions to dismiss the case and to require the teams to post a bond. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell ruled that the teams had sufficiently alleged plausible antitrust claims, which need to be resolved through discovery and trial. The court had previously granted a preliminary injunction allowing the teams to compete with chartered status for the 2025 season, despite not signing the new charter agreement. NASCAR is appealing this preliminary injunction. The trial is scheduled to begin on December 1, 2025.

Check out our Source Materials Page for more on this topic.

Changes to the NASCAR Rulebook:

NASCAR has announced several significant rule changes for the 2025 season, addressing various aspects of competition and eligibility:

Playoff Waivers: Drivers granted a playoff waiver for missing a race (except for medical reasons, birth of a child, family emergencies, or age restrictions) will forfeit all current and future playoff points, starting the playoffs with a maximum of 2,000 points.

Damaged Vehicle Policy (DVP): Cars can now be towed to the garage for repairs and return to the race. The seven-minute repair clock on pit road remains, but there is no time limit for repairs in the garage.

Open Exemption Provisional (OEP): A new provisional starting spot for "world-class drivers" entering a Cup Series race, guaranteeing a spot in the field but excluding eligibility for race points, playoff points, prize money, or tiebreaker benefits. Helio Castroneves will use this provisional for the Daytona 500.

Manufacturer Penalties: New penalties for manufacturers include loss of points, wind tunnel hours, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) runs for violations of vehicle testing policies, wind tunnel limits, event roster protocols, and code of conduct.

Performance Obligation: The 100% rule has been updated to focus on preventing manipulation of race outcomes or championships.

Practice and Qualifying: Group practice sessions extended to 25 minutes, single-round qualifying at most tracks, and starting positions determined solely by qualifying results.

Suspension Deferral: Technical penalty suspensions can be deferred without appeal for the next race, while other suspensions remain effective immediately.

These changes aim to enhance fairness, competition, and clarity in NASCAR's rules and regulations.

Check out our Source Materials Page for more on this topic.

NASCAR at The Chili Bowl Nationals:

The 2025 Chili Bowl Nationals will feature several NASCAR drivers, including Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ty Gibbs, J.J. Yeley, and Josh Bilicki. Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell are past winners, with Larson winning in 2020-21 and Bell in 2017-19, while Kyle Busch is making his debut. Josh Bilicki is seeking redemption after a disappointing performance in 2024. Additionally, four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon will serve as the Grand Marshal for the 39th Annual Chili Bowl Nationals. All races will be broadcast live on FloRacing.

Check out our Source Materials Page for more on this topic.

Fox Sports Motorsports Advertising:

NASCAR fans are perceiving favoritism of Fox Sports towards IndyCar. Despite the upcoming NASCAR season, fans have noticed a lack of promotional material compared to that for IndyCar, which Fox Sports recently acquired the rights to broadcast. The new NASCAR television deal left Fox with fewer NASCAR races to cover in 2025. By contrast, Fox Sports will exclusively broadcast the entire IndyCar Series, starting in 2025. Fox has begun a significant marketing campaign for IndyCar, featuring sports stars Josef Newgarden and Tom Brady. Some NASCAR fans are frustrated, but the imbalance of the advertising is most likely due to the partnership between Fox and IndyCar being brand new for 2025. Fox Sports has also expressed interest in increasing their motorsports broadcasting through conversations with MotoGP as it negotiates new broadcasting contracts.

Check out our Source Materials Page for more on this topic.

Miscellaneous Topics from the Weekend:

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Dirty Mo Media announced changes to their podcasts for 2025. A cast change for "Door, Bumper, Clear" (DBC) sees Freddie Kraft continuing as host, joined by new co-hosts Tommy Baldwin and Karsyn Elledge. Brett Griffin and T.J. Majors will not return, with Majors joining "The Dale Jr. Download."

JR Motorsports revealed its crew chief lineup for the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season: Cory Shea (#1), Jim Pohlman (#7), Phillip Bell (#8), Andrew Overstreet (#9), and Mardy Lindley.

NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano and NBA star Paolo Banchero exchanged jerseys at an Orlando Magic game, highlighting a crossover between sports.

RFK Racing and Fastenal are celebrating their 15th season of partnership in 2025. Fastenal will continue as a primary partner for Chris Buescher's No. 17 Ford, with an expanded presence for the Body Guard® brand on all three RFK Racing entries.

Check out our Source Materials Page for more on these topics.

This newsletter is constructed by AI and reviewed by our editorial team.

Check out our Source Materials Page for more.

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