NASCAR issued a massive rules update to teams across all three national divisions on Friday — not unusual for this time of the year.
The most noteworthy addition is that the Sanctioning Body will allow drivers to wear biometric devices like Fitbits while inside the car. NASCAR will mandate the devices to operate under its own internal power and not have telematics capability — in other words real-time capability to transmit car data.
Biometric Devices
Additionally NASCAR will not allow any data acquired by such a device to be downloaded during qualifying or a race. For the device to be eligible, it must be either listed on the approved device list or be similar in functionality to one.
NASCAR may approve additional biometric devices to be allowed if required by a physician. The following devices have been listed below.
Garmin — Forerunner 735XT, Forerunner 235, Forerunner 15, Vivoactive HR
Misfit — Flash Link, Ray, Shine
Polar — A360
Samsung — Gear Fit2
Tom Tom — Spark Cardio
Jawbone — Up2
Rear Spoiler Height
For the Cup Series, the rear spoiler height has been adjusted from 3.5 inches to 2.35 inches. What was then the Sprint Cup Series ran tests during races at Michigan and Kentucky as 2.5 inches.
Roof Hatch
For both the Cup and Xfinity Series, a roof hatch is now mandatory at both Daytona and Talladega. It remains optional for all other venues.
Restrictor Plates at Daytona, Talladega
The size of the holes in restrictor plates used at Daytona and Talladega will now be 7/8ths of an inch from 57/64ths of an inch.
Toe Board Energy Absorbing Material
Lastly, NASCAR is now requiring Cup and Xfinity teams to use toe board energy absorbing material at the two restrictor plate tracks to strengthen the driver foot box. This was a response to the 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series crash at Daytona that sidelined Kyle Busch for 11 races when he broke a foot and a leg respectively.
The material adds 20 pounds to the cars’ overall weight and NASCAR has raised the minimum weight of the cars by that amount to encourage them to use the material in all events.
The complete tire allocations for the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series can be viewed below.
An example of the new mandatory roof hatch in the Monster Energy Cup and Xfinity Series cars.
