Post-race celebrations can be pretty iconic, and it’s a chance for a driver to let loose. Think of Shane van Gisbergen booting a rugby ball into the crowd. Or Carl Edwards’ famous backflip off the roof of his car. Or even the late Kyle Busch’s signature bow with the checkered flag in his hand. Unfortunately, NASCAR has decided to add a new rule to the party, and the fans are not having it.

Now, they’re not saying that drivers are not allowed to celebrate winning a race. However, they are frowning upon certain types of post-race celebrations.

“NASCAR reminded crew chiefs this week to tell their drivers that their vehicle is not permitted to make contact with the wall during the winner’s post-race celebration. This is not a new directive as NASCAR has said this previously, just a reminder,” as per Jordan Bianchi’s X post.

On the surface, this seems like a confusing rule because it seems NASCAR is trying to dictate how winning drivers can celebrate. However, there is a method to the madness. The important thing is that there is a post-race inspection, which includes the winner’s car.

Putting the car in the wall during a celebration would definitely cause some parts to get dented. This, in turn, could compromise post-race inspections because any kind of damage could hide illegal modifications. Still, this does not mean that NASCAR fans are particularly thrilled about it.

NASCAR fans famously dubbed the celebration the ‘Chad Knaus rule’

Aside from the outrage, NASCAR fans couldn’t help but think about why the celebration is so controversial.

One fan grumbled, “Chad Knaus rule back in play”, as this was apparently a tactic employed by Hendrick Motorsports.

Other fans began joking around, saying, “But Chad Knaus told me to.”

There was also a reference to a sneaky message from the 2011 Talladega race.

‘“Crack the back” Jimmie'” one fan joked.

This was a reference to Knaus’ instruction to Jimmie Johnson. The idea was for him to scrape the wall hard enough to avoid inspection issues.

Amid the jokes, there was a general sense of unhappiness that NASCAR decided to enforce the rule.

Fans wrote on X, “Blame Chad Knaus”, “lame af.” and “BOOOOOOOOOOO”

NASCAR has had the rule on the books for years. Teams know it. Drivers know it. But enforcement has been another story.

That changed before. In 2025, NASCAR cracked down on drivers climbing onto their cars’ roofs during post-race celebrations. Now, another familiar victory ritual could be next on the chopping block.

Once again, it was all in the name of safety, and we have Connor Zilisch to consider. After his infamous wipeout at Watkins Glen, which saw him injured, NASCAR outlawed the celebration. It is interesting to note that when Carson Hocevar won at Talladega this year and celebrated, his celebration was arguably just as dangerous.

Sure, it went viral and the #77 driver turned into an overnight star. However, the fact that he drove a victory lap around the track, with his body half sticking out of the car, was also fairly dangerous.

Now it remains to be seen how NASCAR and the teams react to the new rule, going forward. The first test of this will definitely be the upcoming Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas. In light of this, the onus will be on the officials to try and police things properly.