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In 2020, NASCAR decided that it had seen enough. After years of Cup Series stars poaching victories from up-and-coming prospects in both the Trucks and Xfinity Series’, it was time to draw a line in the sand.
And so it did. The sport’s governing body limited Cup Series drivers with more than three years of experience to only five Xfinity Series and Truck Series appearances. Those appearances cannot come in the playoffs or the final race of the regular season, so that they do not alter the outcome of the championship.
The decision had the desired effects. More Xfinity and Truck Series regulars won races, and the championship was more reflective of what happened between those drivers.
NASCAR Considers Walking Back Rule Limiting Cup Series Drivers
But it also had some unintended consequences. As it turns out, brands liked having established stars drive in races and cars that they paid to sponsor. And fans liked going to support series races in order to watch those drivers compete.
As a result of the rule change, attendance fell for those races, and certain sponsors disappeared. Which is why NASCAR is considering an about-face.
.@NASCAR is considering changing its rules in the coming seasons to allow Cup drivers to compete in Xfinity and Truck races more often. https://t.co/d4rrEmyNcW
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) August 19, 2025
“We’re going to look at who is able to race in the series in the future as well and maybe make some changes down the road, but there’s a lot of opportunities for us to work with The CW and O’Reilly Auto Parts to take it to the next level so you’re operating from a really good base, which is awesome. But I think we’ve got a lot of growth ahead of us,” NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell said at a press conference announcing a new title sponsor for the second-tier series.
“…You look at all of our series and we’ve had limits on, ‘Could a Cup driver compete?’ ‘How many races could they compete?’ So we’ve certainly had discussions with The CW and in the Truck Series as well (about), ‘Does that rule as it stands now make the most sense to continue as it is? Do we tweak it?’ So we’re looking at a lot of things over the offseason and talking to a lot of the teams and drivers.”
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (soon to be O’Reilly Auto Parts Series) moved to The CW this season and has experienced a boost in ratings. Couple that with the new title sponsor, and it’s easy to see how this decision may have come about.
Will it be beneficial for NASCAR in the long term? Only time will tell. But it’s hard to argue the value to both the TV network and the new sponsor.