NASCAR to require more frequent weigh-ins to prevent manipulation of minimum weight requirement

Add routine weigh-ins to the NASCAR procedures going forward, following a recent rule change by the governing body. Body weight has always been a factor in meeting minimum weight, but now there will be more controlled procedures for it.

According to a snippet from the updated rule book shared by FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, NASCAR will have driver weight measured at the beginning of the season to establish a driver baseline. That baseline will put the driver into a weight bracket that will be used to determine overall acceptable vehicle weight.

The rule change — more frequent weigh-ins — is an attempt to dissuade any drivers from intentionally adding body weight during the season to create an advantage against the vehicle minimums. The procedure is outlined as follows.

“A driver’s weight will be rounded to one digit to the right of the decimal and then rounded to the nearest whole number to establish their driver weight bracket,” the NASCAR rulebook reads. “A driver will be allotted +/- 3% of their baseline weight during reweighs.

“This tolerance will be calculated using the same rounding technique as used for their weight bracket. If a driver’s weight falls outside of this tolerance and changes their baseline weight bracket, a new baseline driver weight bracket will be established.”

Essentially, you can’t just pack on the pounds anymore to meet minimum weight and thereby create an advantage. Whether that was a significant issue or not is anyone’s guess; NASCAR obviously felt compelled to update the rulebook on the procedure, so it’s at least noteworthy.

It’s not uncommon in other sports for weigh-ins to be routine process. Wrestling, for one, is strict about weigh-ins in an effort to maintain competitive balance.

And while most people probably wouldn’t assume there’s a significant enough advantage to require a staunch ruling from NASCAR, the potential for a few extra pounds were obviously enough to merit consideration. So another potential loophole disappears, even if it means a little more work for the drivers pre-race.

You can view the weight brackets below. Pockrass provided them.

Driver Weight Bracket (lbs.)	Minimum Vehicle Weight w/o Driver (lbs.)
> 240	3385
230-239	3395
220-229	3405
210-219	3415
200-209	3425
190-199	3435
180-189	3445
170-179	3455
160-169	3465
150-159	3475
140-149	3485
130-139	3495
120-129	3505
110-119	3515
100-109	3525
90-99	3535
< 89	3545