CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR announced changes to their rules regarding open entries for Cup races, effective Brickyard 400 race weekend.

Here are the new rules:

5.1.F. “NASCAR, at its sole discretion, may elect to limit the number of entries for a race to 40. In such instances, Open Teams will be determined based on the Team Owner Points standings.”

7.9.1.1.C. “Up to six Open Teams will be eligible for starting grid positions based on the highest ranked Team Owner Points standings.”

Six open teams will now qualify for each race based on where they are in owner points. Then, they will set the other open spots based on qualifying time.

Photo: Ryan Kemna/TRE

Photo: Rian Voyles/TRE

After a federal appeals court overturned an injunction giving charter rights to 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, the teams lost a guaranteed entry into each race for their six cars. If a race had more than 40 entries, one of their six could miss it if they didn’t qualify well enough.

The rule changes prevent that, as their teams are the only open teams that have run all 21 races.

If a race with 41 entries saw a team have an issue in qualifying and end up 41st, an open team high enough in owner points can fall back on their owner points to make the race. As of now, that includes the six from 23XI and FRM.

The lowest of the six – 23XI’s No. 35 team – is 35th in points, 162 points ahead of the LiveFast No. 78 team. The 78 team is the next closest open team in owner points.

23XI and FRM filed for a new injunction to keep the chartered rights ahead of a trial in December. They expressed concern as it meant they’d lose guaranteed entry into every race in crunch time for the playoffs.

MORE: 23XI and Front Row to compete as open NASCAR Cup teams

Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.

A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.

Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick’s final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen’s stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers’ stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.

Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com