NASCAR makes subtle rule change during summer break

NASCAR has made a small rule change during the ongoing summer break, adding a caveat to a restriction that has been around for quite some time.

NASCAR is in the midst of a “summer break” from actual competition due to the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan and the correlating NBC/NBC Sports Network broadcast schedule.

But that has not kept officials from making a slight alteration to one of the longtime rules in the rule book during this three-week hiatus.

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This small update, which adds just five words to a rule that has been in place for many years, eases a restriction having to do with window nets.

Window nets are now allowed to be a color other than black, provided NASCAR makes the authorization for such a change.

According to Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass, the update includes the addition of the words “unless otherwise authorized by NASCAR”.

NASCAR has updated a rule on colors for window nets (my guess is some teams might want to use something other than black) ... rule was "Driver's window nets must be black" ... now it is "Driver's window nets must be black, unless otherwise authorized by NASCAR."
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 30, 2021

Window nets haven’t always been required to be black, so this change has sparked some interest among fans regarding what it could mean for the future.

Some have suggested matching window nets with the sponsors/paint schemes of the cars, although the simple idea of needing NASCAR to authorize such a change would seem a little bit odd to include in a rule update considering the fact that this is largely left up to the teams. The update does say “authorized”, not simply “approved”, by NASCAR.