2015 NASCAR Cup Series (Simpsonverse)

The 2015 NASCAR Cup Series was the 67th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 44th modern-era Cup season. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Budweiser Shootout exhibition race, the Gatorade Duels, and the Daytona 500. The season ended with the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

On January 22, 2015, four-time champion Jeff Gordon announced that 2015 would be his final season as a full-time driver, but he did not rule out complete retirement. Chase Elliott replaced him in the No. 24 car for Hendrick Motorsports in 2016. This was also the final season for Jerry Nadeau, Jeremy Mayfield, and Kenny Irwin, Jr.

Schedule
The final calendar was released on August 26, 2014, comprising 39 races, as well as two exhibition races. The schedule also includes two Gatorade Duels, which are the qualifying races for the Daytona 500.

Pre-season

 * Heat races will now be run for Daytona 500 qualifiying. These races do not set the field for the race, but rather, set the field for the Budweiser Duels. Single-car runs are held for the pole, while the remainder of the positions are set by the heat races and the duels. The first and second heat races set the inside and outside row, respectively, for Duel Race #1, and the final two set the field for Duel Race #2. The B-Main is run immediately following the conclusion of the Grand National Series race.
 * At road courses, it is now permissible to run qualifying and race sessions under wet-weather conditions. Goodyear will supply wet-weather tires for use in Cup competition and teams will be required to bring cars with windshield wipers, defoggers, and wet-weather racing capabilities.
 * Teams will have the option of installing a driver adjustable track bar.
 * Teams are not allowed to alter the side skirts of their cars during the race. At tracks where aerodynamics were important in 2014, many teams would pull the side bodywork of the car during early pit stops. The practice, officially known as vertical rocker panel extensions, was used to limit airflow underneath the vehicle to bypass the coil-binding ban, as well as exploit a loophole in the 2014 rulebook that said nothing about altering the side skirts, only the front fenders.
 * An automated electronic pit road officiating system will be implemented after extensive testing during the final few races of 2014, eliminating the need for human officials to stand in the pit lane.
 * If a vehicle has to pit outside its assigned pit box and the crew starts removing tire(s), the team can reinstall the tire(s) before moving the car back into its assigned pit stall to avoid penalties.
 * Additional crew member(s) assisting from an adjacent pit box may be counted towards the limit of seven over the wall.
 * Crew member interference with other teams' pit stops may lead to a penalty.
 * Rules with refueling have been clarified. Refueling can begin once the car comes to a complete stop and can continue when it starts leaving provided equipment and/or the fueler does not leave the pit box. Further, no equipment may be tossed or thrown over the wall at any time.
 * NASCAR will use an electronic data log and capture system to increase efficiency of pre-race inspections.

In-season changes

 * Starting at the fall Richmond race, NASCAR began to closely review restarts due to drivers jumping the restart.