A long-time tradition will be missing from the 2025 season across all three NASCAR series. Rookie stripes will no longer be mandated for competitors making their debut. The drivers can, of course, add the stripes on their cars if they wish to. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is in a conundrum now — torn between the left and right sides of his intellect. He understands the logic behind the move all too well. But he also hates seeing a tradition, with emotions and memories attached to it, getting discarded.
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The rookie stripes refer to the two yellow decals on the rear bumper of cars. They are stuck on both sides of where a license plate would have been on a production car. Dale Jr. couldn’t grasp why the stripes couldn’t exist, at least for the sake of tradition.
“It shook me up there for a second because it was such a cool tradition,” he said on The Dale Jr. Download.
“It’s kind of changed in terms of what purpose it served, but man, I hate to be that guy… But some traditions. What’s wrong with them, right? I mean, that was just a thing. It didn’t have to go away,” added Dale Jr.
He then yielded to his logical understanding of the matter and elaborated on why the stripes no longer serve their purpose.
Field sizes are smaller than they used to be, and it’s no longer tough to locate or identify rookies in the mix. Junior described the field of the Daytona 500 in the 1980s to illustrate this.
“When you went to the Daytona 500 [in the 1980s], there were probably 70 to 80 cars trying to qualify for the Daytona 500. 20-25 rookies, maybe. Lots of rookies, right? A dozen or more. That was when it was necessary,” he said
Back then, the rush of debutants made it necessary for them to be identified through stripes for the convenience of all present — be it drivers, officials, or fans. Not anymore.
NASCAR’s official reason for doing away with the stripes seems valid too. Veteran reporter Jeff Gluck wrote on X that the promotion considers them “unnecessary” since these are the highest levels of stock car racing.
Following up on this post, NASCAR says the reason for no more rookie stripes is they’re unnecessary. There’s no need to signify a rookie driver given these are the highest levels of stock car racing, per NASCAR. https://t.co/khgs17kOI3
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) January 21, 2025
The rookie stripes were also given to international drivers making their debut, regardless of their experience. Shane van Gisbergen, for instance, had them during his 2023 debut in Chicago.
In 2025, Van Gisbergen and 23XI Racing driver, Riley Herbst, would have been required to sport the stripes in the Cup Series. Now it is left up to them whether they want to or not.
