NASCAR Bans Race Tactic for Being Unsafe

NASCAR just made a rule change that fans might not like. The league recently announced that the “wall-ride” maneuver is now a violation of rule 10.5.2.6.A, which states: “Safety is a top priority for NASCAR and NEM (NASCAR Event Management). Therefore, any violations deemed to compromise the safety of an Event or otherwise pose a dangerous risk to the safety of Competitors, Officials, spectators, or others are treated with the highest degree of seriousness. Safety violations will be handled on a case-by-case basis.” This move was made after Ross Chastain used the move in a playoff race in October to reach the Championship 4 race. 

Officials said they will issue a time penalty to any vehicle that attempts the move. “Basically, if there’s an act that we feel that compromises the safety of our competitors, officials, spectators,” Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition said, “we’re going to take that seriously. And we will penalize for that act going forward. Basically, what it would be is a lap or time penalty at the end of the race, so that move at Martinsville would be a penalty.”

PopCulture.com spoke to Chastian about the move. “We weren’t doing burnouts in the front stretch, partly because my car wouldn’t even do burnouts, if I tried, it was destroyed,” Chastain exclusively told PopCulture. “But I was in the car and I don’t really have any interest in doing that again. It was a rough ride. There was a lot happening inside the car. It was violent and that was at our slowest and shortest track. I really couldn’t imagine doing it on purpose anywhere else. So no, no plans, no plans for Phoenix and I didn’t practice it before then. When I say I did it on a video game, I’m talking when I was 12 years old, way back, before I ever even raced at the local level, my very first real race in a race car. So no, it goes against everything that you know as a driver and glad it worked out but I still don’t really know why.”

The NASCAR drivers are getting ready for the 2023 Cup Series season. Things kick off on Sunday, Feb. 5 when the drivers compete in the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The season officially starts on Feb. 19 when they compete in the Daytona 500.