If there has been one dominant theme in NASCAR in recent times, it ought to be ‘change.’ With updated charters, a new points system, and the re-entry of Ram to the scene, there has been no shortage of changes in NASCAR. Along with these, the governing body recently announced one crucial alteration.
As NASCAR changed the age bar for racing in the sport, it received mixed responses from the community. Among these was NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr., who highlighted the repercussions that the decision could breed.
The New Eligibility Criteria in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series
After assessing the eligibility criteria for the fastest lap in a race and the age bar for drivers to run in NASCAR for a while, on Friday, the governing body finally decided to give an update on it.
Unlike last year, for the fastest lap, cars that re-enter the field following repairs in the garage will be ineligible for the quickest lap contention and the bonus point it attracts. Along with this, the governing body also updated several rules regarding lug nuts in the Tier 2 and 3 series and updated the OEM provisionals in the Truck Series for Ram’s re-entry.
Another major change was in the eligibility criteria for drivers in the Tier 2 series. NASCAR, which previously had an age limit of 18 for Cup drivers and 16 for Trucks, lowered it to 17Â for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
However, the governing body did not change that number entirely; the new eligibility criteria will only apply to 1.25-mile and shorter tracks. While announcing the decision, Mike Forde, the sport’s managing director of communications, said:
“We look at the truck and the O’Reilly Auto Parts series as ladders to get to the Cup series, so it felt from a consistency’s sake kind of like a literal ladder. Plus, we did get some team feedback that there were a couple of young drivers that had the talent to be in the O’Reilly Auto Parts but just couldn’t because of the age restriction. So some teams came to us and asked if this would be something that we’d look at, and it made sense to go 16, 17, 18. So it felt like the right time to do it.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Response to the Decision
When Earnhardt heard about this announcement, it did not sit right with the NASCAR Hall of Famer. The 51-year-old pointed out the challenges that might arise with the decisions and the downsides of them. Earnhardt tweeted:
“Hurts local short tracks. These kids aren’t ready at 17. Why the rush?”
Responding to Earnhardt’s tweet, a fan cited three-time Cup champion Joey Logano, who was running in the sport’s highest division at 18. They wrote, “Joey was in Cup by 18.”
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Earnhardt held his stance and argued that, though Logano debuted early, he believed the young driver was not ready at the time. He replied, “And he wasn’t ready.”
While Earnhardt might be right to point out that drivers sometimes need more time to develop and mature before they can compete at the highest level, it remains to be seen how NASCAR’s new rules play out in the sport.
