NASCAR chief explains late ban ahead of Daytona 500

NASCAR Managing Director of Communications Mike Forde has explained the series' decision to implement a driver-related ban ahead of the Daytona 500.

Last week, NASCAR made a tweak to its rule book ahead of this week's action at Daytona International Speedway, banning drivers from using their hands to obstruct or block airflow into their cars during qualifying.

Previously, some drivers elected to do this as an aerodynamic aid at big tracks such as Daytona, with Joey Logano even going so far as to use a webbed glove at Atlanta in 2024, for which he was fined $100,000.

The new ban applies to drivers in all three of the Cup, O'Reilly Auto Parts and Truck Series and comes under Section 8.3.2, addendum K of the rule book.

"As determined by NASCAR, once a vehicle exits pit road during a qualifying attempt, the driver's hands may not be used to redirect air in any manner, including but not limited to, touching the window net, blocking air from entering the cockpit, redirecting air from the window, etc. Non-compliance will result in loss of qualifying time," the addendum read.

Why has NASCAR banned drivers using their hands to block air?

Speaking on the Hauler Talk Podcast this week, NASCAR's new rule was one of the many topics that Forde discussed, explaining why the series had now decided to take action.

“That’s where we saw it,” Forde explained. “When you see a driver sticking their hand out the window or blocking air just to help get those thousandths of a second advantage. We just want to see both hands on the steering wheel.

"Obviously, they’re going at high speeds, and it doesn’t feel right that they’re doing that.”

NASCAR is taking the rule change seriously and is set to use in-car cameras to ensure that drivers are complying.

“It might be a little bit tougher to police there," Forde admitted.

"But they [the drivers] know that there are going to be ways to suss that out, so we’ll see how it goes."