The special pitstop rules for standalone Portland Xfinity race

On most race weekends, there isn’t much different between the three national divisions in terms of pit road rules. However, that changes dramatically on a standalone race weekend like this one.

While the NASCAR Cup and Trucks are competing at Darlington, the Xfinity Series is at the other end of the country at the Portland road course. Many of these crew members cross between the three national divisions, but Xfinity is obviously on its own here.

In order to reduce costs and level the playing field a bit, NASCAR uses non-competitive pit stops for events like this Portland race.

What changes?

So, when the caution flies or the stage ends, the field is frozen in their current running positions. Between the stages, there will be a three-minute break, which begins after every vehicle pulls into their stall. No crew members are allowed onto pit road until then, and they shouldn’t be in a hurry either.

That’s because positions will not change. NASCAR will line the cars up exactly as they were at the time of caution.

Additionally, teams cannot add tires and fuel at the same time. They must be done separately. If any team chooses to make a green-flag pit stop for tires, then it cannot be faster than the minimum allotted time — 63 seconds between entering and exiting the pits. No fuel can be added outside of stage breaks, which really simplifies the strategy as well.

The only exception to the minimum allotted time rule is in a situation where a tire is clearly flat and it is an unscheduled pit stop. The team is not subject to the 63-second rule in this case.