NASCAR announced today that the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will
implement the group-based road course qualifying procedure used in NASCAR
Nationwide and NASCAR Touring Series competition during its road-course events
at Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International. Under the new procedure, cars
will qualify in groups instead of the traditional single-car qualifying runs
held on oval race tracks.
“The change will add an exciting element to road-course
qualifying,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. “Fans
will be treated to new strategy and increased competition with several cars on
track at once.”
The new qualifying rules for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at road
courses are as follows:
·
Cars attempting to qualify will be divided
into groups. The number of groups, and amount of cars in each, will depend on
the number of cars that practice for the event.
·
Group assignments will be based on final
practice times.
·
Each qualifying group will be on-track for a
set period of time, determined by the Series Director.
·
A car’s best lap time during the group
session will be the qualifying lap time of record.
·
A group’s time begins when the first car
receives the green flag at the start/finish line.
“This is going to be a terrific new format for our NASCAR
weekend,” said Steve Page, president and general manager of Sonoma Raceway. “It
will intensify the action, with multiple cars on the track at the same time.
It’s a very positive development for our fans.”
“The new format of qualifying at Watkins Glen International
enhances the fan experience which is our top priority,” said Michael Printup,
president of Watkins Glen. “Qualifying on Saturday for our Cheez-It 355 at The
Glen is even more of a not-to-be missed aspect of a weekend of high-quality
racing.”
The new format will
debut with the Toyota Save-Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 23 and will
return at Watkins Glen for the Cheez-It 355 at the Glen on August 11.
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