My guess would be stretch holes, seen it before on the wife's Stratus on the panels. It's just that they're so round...?
The rust area above looks stretched also, metal around the holes is thick, not rust thin. I've found 5-6 places where they seemed to run out of metal, my trusted welder will add some.
Rocker panel is like new, and one of the straightest panels on the car.
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