NASCAR Has Decided To Make Its ‘Choose Rule’ Permanent

Regional and short tracks across the country already implement the “choose rule” and now, NASCAR has announced that it will use it for the remainder of the 2020 season after testing it at the All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The rule lets drivers pick which lane they want to use on restarts, instead of all drivers alternating sides behind the race leader. This means drivers can opt for the preferred groove or make a bid for track position in the non-preferred lane.

“It will essentially look the same,” said Scott Miller, NASCAR senior vice president of competition. “There will be a few subtle differences to handle wave-arounds and free passes and a full field of cars, which we didn’t have at the All-Star event. But it will look very much the same. It will be exactly the same up front, but just some subtleties to handle wave-around, free pass and things like that.”

The rules will be in effect for all the remaining events except for the road courses/rovals and Daytona and Talladega due to aerodynamics.