NASCAR’s Latest Rule Change Draws Backlash From Fans

Although Carson Hocevar dazzled us in 2024, he was still in his first season. He soared above his Spire Motorsports teammates, beating both Corey LaJoie and Zane Smith in stats – clinching 6 top-tens and 1 top-five. However, Hocevar hasn’t been able to contain his signature aggression at times, like when he wrecked Harrison Burton out in Nashville. This is why those two yellow stripes on his rear bumper were crucial.

Yet NASCAR deems it to be no longer of any use. A massive storm of regulation changes has already hit us ahead of the 2025 season. Ranging from cracking down race manipulation to allotting an extra berth in the Daytona 500, there are many tweaks. But this one really got on fans’ nerves.

NASCAR’s bid to iron out the field

Well, a Cup Series race usually features an eclectic mix of drivers. Their levels of experience and prowess differ vastly. While it is not possible to demarcate them based on all the pointers, the basics have been followed. Rookie drivers starting their first season could be told apart by their rookie stripes – two yellow stickers slapped on their back bumper. This alerted the veterans or a bit more experienced drivers on the field that a newbie is on the loose, and to drive accordingly around them. This was crucial especially after NASCAR rolled out its Next-Gen car in 2022. However, as that race car had big safety loopholes, so did NASCAR’s new rule.

Beginning in 2025, the sanctioning body will strip the race field of any rookie stripe distinction. Ryan Williams, a designer for the Xfinity Series team JR Motorsports, first broke the news: “Rookie stripes are no longer a thing anymore.” Then seasoned NASCAR journalist Jeff Gluck confirmed this jaw-dropping news. “Following up on this post, NASCAR says the reason for no more rookie stripes is they’re unnecessary. There’s no need to signify a rookie driver given these are the highest levels of stock car racing, per NASCAR.” There is no specification about whether this will apply to all three NASCAR levels.

Well, this should come as a huge shock for the core NASCAR crowd. For starters, removing the rookie stripes marked a driver’s graduation into the highest level of stock car racing. All the legends did the same – Jeff Gordon proudly took them off after clinching a pole, 5 top-fives, and 11 top-tens in his 1993 rookie season. Then Tony Stewart did so after a trailblazer season in 1999, when he clinched three race victories. NASCAR also notes the number of times a driver has competed on a racetrack. Limited schedules also apply; in 2018, 1988 Cup Series champion Bill Elliott made an Xfinity Series one-off start at Road Atlanta. Officials then deemed it necessary to provide his car with the rookie stripes.

Axing this old tradition left fans baffled. Safety concerns and nostalgia both hit them hard.

The NASCAR community does not take it well

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Well, the sanctioning body’s recent regulation tweaks had a penchant for drumming up controversy. For instance, the Open Exemption Provisional guarantees a spot to an international driver while denying NASCAR’s own veterans the same. Similarly, removing the rookie stripes is not so popular. One fan pointed out that officials are taking away nostalgia from the sport, by denying the ceremonial coming-of-age rookie symbol. “Dang, I thought this was a cool way to display rookies for fans and was an honor to have it on your car to make your start in NASCAR and remove it the next year. That’s too bad.”

Then NASCAR has a bit of a spotty history when it comes to safety. The Next-Gen car’s introduction in 2022 was associated with several accidents, including Kurt Busch‘s career-crippling Pocono crash. Now, removing the rookie stripes may lead to unnecessary crashes as veterans would not be able to tell which rival is new to the sport. A fan pointed this out: “That makes no sense. If anything, the cars are so radically different than they’ve ever been vs. other stock cars, drivers with less experience in them need such labeling.” Sometimes, even non-rookies can spur wrecks – Corey LaJoie got into Kyle Busch during the 2025 Poconor race. So a fan opined: “If anything, some of the drivers should be forced to keep the stripes longer.”

A lack of sponsorship has also driven NASCAR to take drastic steps. For instance, the single-source parts of the Next-Gen car was meant to cut down costs, but on the contrary it ended up costing teams more. A fan referred to this cost-saving tendency in a sarcastic manner: “In other words, “We couldn’t find anyone to replace Sunoco to sponsor the “Rookie of the Year” award anymore.”’ We all know about the iconic Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight. Another fan made a hilarious link and suggested the Paul set his sights on NASCAR next. “Make your next fight against NASCAR’s leadership @jakepaul”

Clearly, NASCAR’s new rule tweak is not the most popular thing right now. Time will tell what kind of impact the lack of rookie stripes makes on the field.