Concord, NC (My Sportsbook) - NASCAR announced during its annual media tour presentation on Thursday it will ease up some on-track rules to make racing more competitive and enjoyable for fans.

The rule changes -- revealed at NASCAR's Research and Development Center in Concord, NC -- begin with next month's season-opening races at Daytona International Speedway.

"Over the past 10 years, we've dramatically increased safety and that mission continues," NASCAR chairman Brian France said. "However, it's time for us to allow the drivers to drive. We don't want the rules and regulations to get in the way of great racing and fantastic finishes.

"NASCAR is a contact sport - our history is based on banging fenders."

Bump-drafting rules at Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway have been eliminated. NASCAR aggressively policed bump-drafting last November at Talladega by assessing penalties to anyone caught bumping in the turns. Drivers responded in way that made for boring racing, as they ran single-file for a majority of the 500-mile event.

"We will put it back in the hands of the drivers, and we will say boys, have at it and have a good time," NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said of the revised bump-drafting rule.

NASCAR also will use a bigger restrictor plate at Daytona to allow drivers to have more horsepower. The size of the plate holes will be increased to 63/64ths of an inch, making it the largest restrictor plate since the 1989 Daytona 500. NASCAR's rule that makes it illegal for a driver to advance his position below the yellow-line, or "out-of-bounds" line, will remain for Daytona and Talladega races.

Pemberton said keeping the yellow-line rule was the general consensus among competitors during off-season conversations.

The transition from the rear wing to the spoiler will occur during the season. The wing has been on the current Sprint Cup car -- the Car of Tomorrow -- since its debut in March 2007. NASCAR held a test session with the spoiler on the cars earlier this week at Texas Motor Speedway. A full-field test is scheduled for March 23-24 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. NASCAR will then ask for teams' input before making their decision on when to add the spoiler.

NASCAR confirmed current Sprint Cup Series director John Darby has been promoted to managing director of competition. All national series and touring series directors will report to Darby. NASCAR is now conducting a search for its new Cup director.