NASCAR bans drivers from using hands to redirect air during qualifying

A NASCAR Rule Book update has outlawed drivers from being able to put their hands by the window net during qualifying.

“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 update is no coincidence, being a week before the season-opening Daytona 500. It had become common practice during superspeedway qualifying at Daytona International Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, and Talladega Superspeedway for a driver to put their hand on the window net or in the space between the window net and the A-post of the race car to redirect the air.

Team Penske took the practice to the extreme in 2024. Joey Logano was penalized $100,000 for violating safety protocols when it was discovered he had worn a webbed glove during qualifying at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was caught by the in-car cameras.