NASCAR has updated its rule book to potentially limit the prospective entry list for a NASCAR Cup Series race to 40 cars, it announced in a July 21 change.
“NASCAR, at its sole discretion, may elect to limit the number of entries for a race to 40,” the update reads. “In such instances, open teams will be determined based on the team owner points standings.”
The rule effectively means that during 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports’ ongoing antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR, the teams’ entries, which have now been deemed open cars after a court revoked its injunction allowing the organizations to operate with charters while the lawsuit was pending, will be able to make the field as long as they remain higher than any other open cars in points — a likely scenario, given that the affected teams have competed in every race this season.
Should more than 40 cars enter a race, NASCAR can decide to limit the list and not allow extra cars beyond the points cutoff to attempt to qualify.
Currently, 23XI fields full-time entries for Bubba Wallace, Riley Herbst and Tyler Reddick, while FRM has full-time cars driven by Noah Gragson, Todd Gilliland and Zane Smith.
The trial date between the parties is currently set for Dec. 1.
Kevin Rutherford is the executive editor of Frontstretch, a position he gained in 2025 after being the managing editor since 2015, and serving on the editing staff since 2013.
At his day job, he's a journalist covering music and rock charts at Billboard. He lives in New York City, but his heart is in Ohio -- you know, like that Hawthorne Heights song.