NASCAR will be increasing the starting field for the NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, set to take place in Mexico City, Mexico on June 14.
The starting grid, which is typically limited to 38 drivers for a NASCAR Xfinity Series event in 2025, will now be increased to 40 drivers, with the addition of the International Provisional.
An ‘International Provisional’ will allow for up to two additional spots in the NASCAR Xfinity Series field for the 39th and 40th-place qualifiers ahead of the series’ first trip to Mexico since 2008.
NASCAR confirmed the changes in a rules bulletin sent to teams and members of the media on Tuesday, May 27.
Similar to the Open Exemption Provisional (OEP), which was introduced earlier this season in the NASCAR Cup Series, any driver or team that decides to take advantage of it will not get the benefits of their finishing position.
Those benefits include any of the prize money (no matter where the car finishes), stage points, driver or team owner points, playoff points, or playoff-related benefits that are associated with a stage/race win.
Should a driver using an International Provisional finish inside the top-10 during one of the race’s first two stages, the points count will skip said driver and move onto the next driver in line.
The same will be done when the checkered flag flies, as drivers using an International Provisional will not be credited with race points. For example, should a driver finish second to someone using an International Provisional, they would receive first-place points, but not any of the benefits of the victory.
Example: If the vehicle utilizing an additional starting position finishes 3rd in the Race the vehicle that finishes 4th will receive 3rd place driver and Team Owner Points, the vehicle that finishes 5th will receive 4th place driver and Team Owner Points, etc. If the vehicle utilizing the additional starting position finishes 3rd in a Stage the vehicle that finishes 4th will receive 3rd place driver and Team Owner Stage Points, the vehicle that finishes 5th will receive 4th place Team Owner Stage Points, etc.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez will take place on Saturday, June 14 at 4:30 PM ET on The CW, Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
