NASCAR Ends a Longtime Rookie Tradition

What’s Happening?

The symbolic Rookie Stripe will no longer be on the back of NASCAR race cars in 2025. These stripes have long been an iconic part of the look of a Rookie driver’s race car and will not return for the new season.

• Rookie stripes refer to two yellow stickers on the rear bumper of cars. These stickers sat to the left and right of where a license plate would be on a traditional production car. NASCAR utilized rookie stripes to symbolize a rookie on track in all three NASCAR National Series.
• NASCAR told Jeff Gluck of the Athletic that they deem the stripes “unnecessary.” This claim comes from NASCAR’s status as the highest level of stock car racing. It is unclear whether or not rookie stripes will disappear from the Truck and Xfinity Series as well.
• NASCAR did not necessarily award these to just Rookie of the Year candidates. They also accounted for recent experience in the car or at the track when assigning rookie stripes. Rookie Stripes also applies to international drivers, no matter their experience, such as Shane van Gisbergen in Chicago in 2023.

In 2018, 1988 NASCAR Cup Series Champion and Hall of Fame member Bill Elliott made a one-off start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Road Atlanta. NASCAR deemed that the career 44 race winner required rookie stripes on his No. 23.

Those who would have worn rookie stripes in the NASCAR Cup Series this year would have been Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen and 23XI Racing’s Riley Herbst.

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