Experienced Cup drivers limited to 17 Xfinity and Truck Series races a year starting in 2017

Kyle Busch will only be able to make 10 Xfinity Series starts in 2017. (Getty)

A rule limiting Sprint Cup drivers in NASCAR’s No. 2 and No. 3 series is official.

NASCAR said Wednesday that Cup drivers with five years full-time experience in the series will be limited to 10 Xfinity races and seven Camping World Truck Series races a season starting in 2017. Cup drivers are also barred from competing in the Chase races in each series.

It’s a compromise that allows sponsors the opportunity to sponsor Cup drivers at a discount in the Xfinity and Truck Series while also turning the championship focus to the drivers who compete in the series full time.

When NASCAR instituted eight-race Chase formats in the Xfinity and Truck Series before the 2016 season, it said Cup drivers were barred from competing in the winner-take-all finales at Homestead-Miami Speedway. That ban is still in place.

Cup drivers are also now prevented from competing in the four Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash races. Those races — Bristol, Richmond, Dover and Indianapolis — are given more importance on the Xfinity Series schedule with extra cash given to the highest-finishing Xfinity Series driver. Xfinity regular Erik Jones won two of those races in 2016 while Cup drivers won two.

NASCAR vice president Steve O’Donnell said last week the series was taking a “hard look” at potentially limiting Cup drivers from dominating lower series. Kyle Busch has won nine races in 16 starts in 2016. At that rate, he would have five wins if he started 10 races.

The rule will also slow Busch’s run to tying Richard Petty’s NASCAR mark of 200 wins. Busch has 169 wins in NASCAR’s top three series and will undoubtedly reach Petty’s 200 (which came all in one series) later than he would if there was no limit to his Truck and Xfinity starts in the future.

“The updated guidelines will elevate the stature of our future stars, while also providing them the opportunity to compete against the best in professional motorsports,” NASCAR vice president Jim Cassidy said in a statement. “These updated guidelines are the result of a collaborative effort involving the entire industry, and will ultimately better showcase the emerging stars of NASCAR.”

Busch is one of the few Cup drivers who is affected by the rule as well. Busch, Matt DiBenedetto and Austin Dillon each have 16 Xfinity starts so far while Kyle Larson has 14 and Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano each have 13. DiBenedetto, Dillon and Larson are all initially unaffected by the rule because they will have less than five years experience in the Cup Series in 2017.

A former Cup driver with five years experience is eligible to compete full-time in either series (or for more races over the maximum) as long as he declares for points in either the Xfinity or Truck Series. Drivers are allowed to pick only one series to earn points in. Despite his Xfinity-leading nine wins, Busch has not accrued a single point in the series in 2016.