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NASCAR just announced sweeping rules changes that will have a huge effect on 2019 races. This has been the biggest rules changes in years that will directly affect every single race expect for the 2019 Daytona 500.

The total effect of the smaller spacer, larger spoilers and splitters, plus aero ducts is expected to reduce horsepower and increase drag; this is extremely promising for NASCAR fans because NASCAR is attempting to make the races more competitive and have more opportunities for passes. NASCAR wanted to implement the rules changes for all of the Monster Energy Series races this upcoming 2019 season but it was too late to change the rules for the 2019 Daytona race.

“We wanted to keep the Daytona 500 as-is,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer. “There was a lot of engine inventory already out there. Teams had already begun preparing for the 500, so we wanted to hold the line there for 2019. And then as we started the season again from a superspeedway standpoint at Talladega, going to that 550 (horsepower) tapered spacer, we think will produce exactly what we’ve seen in the past, the side-by-side racing that fans love. So certainly we’ll learn some things along the way, but believe you’ll see very similar styles of racing at those tracks.”

Generally, it takes teams months and months to prepare for new rules changes and make the appropriate adjustments for rules changes. It could take teams a while to adjust to the new rules and find their footing. It will be interesting to see how drivers will race now that there will likely be a lot more passing during races; the rules should shake up the competitive landscape and allow teams with less money a better chance to compete for big titles.

Taking the engines from 750 horsepower to 550 horsepower is going to be a big change that many of the teams and drivers will have to adjust to. But, the reaction from drivers has been very positive so far. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest names in racing to see what they had to say about the new rules package.

“It is gonna intensify things for a big way for these drivers,” said Jeff Gordon on SiriusXM’s NASCAR radio on Tuesday. NASCAR is trying to make the races more competitive and they want to make the racers the main focus of the races once again.

“Nascar announced some rule changes for next season. Quite optimistic that this will be very entertaining, but mainly because of the drivers we have on the track today. The talented stars and personalities will always carry and elevate the sport, no matter the vehicle.” said Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Twitter.

“We want to run fast, I think any racer wants to, but I do want what’s best for the sport and the fans. You’re going to get a lot of different opinions no matter what you do, but that’s why you have the leaders of the sport. They make it fair for everyone and then we go race. I just care about winning.” said Bubba Wallace who just finished up his rookie season.

Marcus Smith, president of Speedway Motosports Inc, had this to say about the new rules, “Racing is all about entertaining the fans. The 2019 rules package is designed to create more side-by-side racing than ever before. NASCAR, the race teams and the manufacturers deserve a big thank-you for all of the hard work they’ve put into this process.”

These rules changes are great if you are a fan and at the end of the day that is who NASCAR needs to please. If they do not have any fans then there is no sport and no money. These are aggressive rules changes to attract younger and more fans to the sport and to try and make NASCAR even more entertaining. There will be some criticism but these changes needed to happen if NASCAR wants to continue to be one of the world’s premier racing sports.

You can check out a great infographic of the new rules below:

NASCAR is constantly evolving and innovating and changing all of the rules and regulations. How can we expect to keep up with all the changes that happen every single season and the new rules packages? We are here to explain all of the details so you can enjoy the Daytona 500 and understand how everything works.

How NASCAR Works

It took NASCAR many years to figure out the best way to run their races and season. They now incorporate stages, playoff points, a knockout championship format and overtime. We will go into detail on how they all work.

How Individual Races Work

There are three different series that NASCAR has, the Camping World Truck Series, Xfinity Series, and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. These are the stages that NASCAR now has and they have a points system to go along with it.

In most of the races there are three stages, the first two stages generally are about a quarter of its length and the final stage generally is the last half of the race. A certain amount of points are awarded to each driver depending on where they finish in each stage of the race. You can see how the stages are broken up for all of the different racing series here

At the end of each stage length, a caution flag is brought out to bring the race back together since the stage has just ended. It is NASCAR’s way to make sure that the end of the race is more exciting by making the last stage shorter and giving everyone a chance to compete for the title. Casual fans might be confused by this but now that you know you can easily explain it to them and show them why NASCAR does this. NASCAR has gotten a lot of flake for their stage system but for now, it does not look like they have any plans to change it.

The Points And Playoffs System In NASCAR

NASCAR’s system has been changed and tweaked so many times that it can be difficult for even the most seasoned NASCAR fans to keep up. We’re going to explain it so that anyone can walk away feeling like they have a good grasp on how to keep track of everything.

How many races in a season: The Cup series has 26 regular season races and 10 playoff races/  The Xfinity Series has 26 regular season races and seven in the playoffs. The Truck Series has 16 regular season races and seven playoff races.

Postseason Qualifiers: Any driver that wins a race automatically qualifies for the playoffs. After the winners of the regular season events, the top 8 Truck series drivers qualify, the top 12 Xfinity Series drivers qualify, and the top 16 Cup Series drivers qualify. There are four rounds in the Cup Series playoffs and three rounds in the other two series.

First playoff round: There are three races for each of the series and then the field is cut down again after this round. For the Cup series the field goes from 16 to 12, the Xfinity Series goes from 12 to eight, and the Truck Series goes from eight to six. The points are completely reset after this round.

Second playoff round: There are three races for each of the series again and then the field is cut down again after this round. For the Cup series the field goes from 12 to 8, the Xfinity Series goes from 8 to 6, and the Truck Series goes from 6 to 4. The points are completely reset after this round.

Third playoff round: There is only one more race for the Race Series and Xfinity series and the final drivers race for the season title in one final race at the end of the season. Meanwhile, the Cup series has three more races and after that, the number of drivers is cut down from 8 to 4.

Final Playoff Round: The final Cup Series race takes place at Homestead-Miami and they all race for the season championship and the winner of the race is crowned the season champion.

Individual Race Points

After each stage in a regular season and postseason race a driver is awarded a certain number of points based on where they finish and how prestigious the race is. For a race like the Daytona 500, the highest number of points would be awarded during that race. You can check out NASCAR’s website to get the full breakdown on each race’s points to get an understanding of which races are the most important.

Flag Meanings

There are many different flags in NASCAR and it can be confusing to new fans what flag means what. Let’s go over the basic flags so that you know what means what.

Green flag: This is the most obvious flag, this is the flag that starts or restarts the race.

Yellow flag: A yellow flag means that the officials have cautioned the drivers because either a stage has ended or there is some other danger to the drivers. When this happens the drivers must slow down and get behind a pace car until the green flag is waved again.

Red flag: This obviously means stop! There is imminent danger to the drivers and they cannot continue the race.  Drivers must stop on the track — in a designated area — when they see the flagman wave a red flag. It means it isn’t safe for drivers to circle the track because of inclement weather or poor track conditions.

Black flag: This flag is waved at a specific driver, they must get off of the track because the driver did something illegal or the car is not fit to be on the track.

Blue flag with diagonal yellow stripe: This flag alerts a driver that a lead-lap cap is about to pass their car and they must yield to the car.

White flag: This classic flag lets everyone know that there is one lap left in the race.

Checkered flag: The most iconic flag! Everyone knows that this is the flag that is waving when the leader crosses the finish line and signals the end of the race.

Read also: Fans can vote on the 2019 Daytona 500 Oval Design

For the past three years, the organizers at the Daytona 500 have let fans pick from three different field designs that the grounds team have decided on. It is a great feature to let fans have the choice on what they want part of the track to look like. If you decide to vote you can win a pair of free tickets to the Daytona 500 by entering the contest that goes along with the voting. The grounds crew has to plant the seed for the design at the beginning of November so that is why Daytona International Speedway has the vote in the month of October. The voting ends on October 31st at 5 PM EST so make sure that your voice is heard before then!

The voting is already neck and neck according to the Daytona International Speedway Reddit account DISupdates, “Don’t be so sure. The voting is actually quite close.” Your vote could make the difference between your favorite design and one that you hate becoming reality on February 19th of next year. The voting adds an extra layer of customization to the event and lets fans interact with the track in a way they never could before.

The start of the extensive designs of the oval at the Daytona 500 began way back in 2000 when during the running of the Rolex 24, one of the cars spun off of the track and destroyed a big portion of the turf. This was the beginning of the year and the turf crew had to act fast so that they could repair the grass in time for the rest of the year’s events.

“Our groundskeeper at the time, Sam Newpher, had thrown down some seed that he still had in the barn and it came up and it was a different color,” Gurtis recalled. “If we had down annual rye, this was perennial rye, and with that we got two tones and knew at that point that we could do a two-tone pattern.” Andrew Gurtis is now the VP of operations at Daytona International Speedway.

Ever since that day, the crew realized that they could be a lot more creative with their designs and then it became a challenge to create the most innovative and eye-catching designs each and every year. The crew works incredibly hard throughout the year to make sure that they are prepared and ready for the big racing events that take place throughout the year at Daytona International Speedway.

The Daytona 500 takes great pride in their presentation of the Oval design and their crew works year-round to make sure that the grass is in prime condition come February. Daytona International Speedway partners with TruGreen to implement a lot of their field designs and they also work with Missouri Turf and Paint to implement many of the logos on the forefront of the grass.

There is a lot of timing and coordination that goes into making sure that the turf is in pristine condition when the racing season begins in January and they have their first big racing event. The team has to aerate the field usually in the second week of November and then fertilizer and fungicide treatment are applied typically two weeks after the field is aerated.

“There’s an enormous amount of effort that goes into executing the creativity, and that’s where Jason and the Ops team at Daytona really are the best in the business,” Gurtis says. “That shows up if you get down close on the ball field, you can see the care. That doesn’t just happen — not only the level of detail, but then the color behind it. The color enhances how it shows up on television, the color enhances how it shows up in still photography, and it’s an amazing job that they’ve done executing on the creativity. It doesn’t just happen.”

Next time you are watching any sporting event with a turf field, baseball, NASCAR, football, even horse racing, pay special attention to the incredible turf designs that are created by these hard working teams all across the United States and the world. Make your voice known this October so that you can see your favorite design come to life for the 2019 Daytona 500.