A provisional is a rulebook-granted starting spot in the feature for a driver who did not race their way in, awarded on criteria such as series points standings and almost always starting at the tail of the field.
There is no single provisional rule — there is a family of them. Points provisionals are the common one: World of Outlaws late model racing gives the two highest-ranked drivers in series points who fail to qualify a spot at the rear of the feature. Promoter’s or track provisionals let the track add a local driver; the Short Track Super Series has run both at once, adding its top two regional points drivers on half green money plus a speedway-points driver who gives up green money. Membership tiers matter too, with Super DIRTcar capping platinum and gold provisionals at four per feature and requiring a team to have attempted a preliminary event. The pattern holds: you tag the tail and you usually give up money.
A provisional puts your car and your sponsor's decals in the show, but it typically costs you start money and always costs you track position, so read exactly what your rulebook grants before you plan on one.