At tracks measuring 1.25 miles in length or
larger, qualifying for the Coors Light Pole Award will consist of three rounds,
the first qualifying elimination
round will be 25 minutes in duration and includes all cars/trucks. The 24 fastest
qualifiers will advance to the second round, with those who fail to advance earning
spots on the main event starting grid based on their qualifying times, in
descending order.
The second qualifying elimination round will be 10 minutes in duration and
the 12 cars/trucks that post the fastest single lap time will advance to the
third and final round. Cars/trucks that fail to advance will earn positions 13
through 24 on the main event starting grid, in descending order.
The third and final qualifying round will be five minutes in duration and
the fastest single lap time will determine positions one through 12, in
descending order. There will be a five-minute break between each qualifying
round.
At tracks measuring less than 1.25 miles, qualifying for
the Coors Light Pole Award
will consist of two rounds.
The first elimination round will be 30 minutes in duration and include all
cars/trucks. The 12 fastest qualifiers will advance to the second and final
round, with those who fail to advance earning spots on the main event starting
grid based on their qualifying times, in descending order.
The second and final qualifying round will be 10 minutes in duration and
the fastest single lap time posted will determine positions one through 12 on
the main event starting grid, in descending order.
The new qualifying format does not apply to the Daytona 500, which will
preserve its traditional qualifying format. Additionally, it does not apply to
non-points NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events or the NASCAR Camping World Truck
Series event at Eldora Speedway.
"We believe the timing is right for
a new qualifying format across our three national series,” said Robin
Pemberton, vice president for competition and racing development. “This style
of group qualifying has all the makings of being highly competitive and more
engaging to our fans in the stands and those watching on television and online.
For the drivers and teams, we believe this new qualifying will fuel even
greater competition leading into the events. Additionally, it provides our
tracks, broadcasters and other key partners with a greater opportunity to
develop more entertaining content for our race weekends.”
I can see the crashfest coming yes I can and it is going to go right back to the way it used to be
ReplyDeleteIn principle, I'm lovin' this. In order for me to totally buy in, I need more details regarding wrecks, owners points and, among other things, what can be done in the pits during the breaks. Didn't think I could get this excited about qualifying, but that I am! One last thing, I hope that it's not carried on FOX 2, cuz NOBODY gets FOX 2.
ReplyDeleteI have fox 2 on directv its channel 618 if u have directv check it out
DeleteSo, qualifying is now a cross between the Sprint Unlimited and the All Star Race? Just asking!
ReplyDeleteI'm seeing the crashfest as well. What are they going to do when several major teams are in it with no time to haul out the back-up cars. i didn't see anything that would support or make provisions for such a scenario. Especially with the qualifying sessions back to back to back. HELLO may as well run qualifiers. If you want to bring back or bolster you television audience that would do it. It would do it for me, as of now I will stick to the local short track high atop Quarry Hill thanks.
ReplyDeleteNo time to haul out backup cars? It's not like they are doing it the morning of the race. The weekend will go just like usual except qualifying will be different. There will be practice, there will be qualifying, there will be happy hour, there will be a race. As for back to back sessions, how would it be any different than someone wrecking during their qualifying lap now? It wouldn't except blaming someone else would be easier. If you wreck in the first session, then you get a bad qualifying spot (UNLESS you managed to put down a fast lap in that session). Same with the second or third. In fact, here's a neat thing. A driver could actually put down a pole lap in the last session, then wreck. He's still earn the pole, but have to go to the back if they needed to pull out the backup. Pit selection would play huge into race day strategy if that happened.
DeleteI am hopping this is on FOX 1 I relay would like to see this.
ReplyDeleteFew comments/questions:
ReplyDelete1) Is the top 35 still in play? I know Robin said that provisionals are still in effect. Is top 35 considered part of that?
2) I'm not sure how the 5 minute finale will work on tracks like Talladega, Daytona, and road courses. Drivers will only get a few laps in. And isn't the first one typically wasted (especially at the speedways) as it takes a lap or two for cars to come up to full speed?
1) Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the top 35 get eliminated in Cup a couple of years ago. Basically back to the old system. Basically the method Moody had been begging for for years.
Delete2) That will be interesting. They'd have 3-5 laps to get it done. Honestly, that's plenty. Gives them time to get up to speed, and with only 12 cars, time to jockey. And you can see some interesting drafting with cars working together to get the 1-2 spot on the grid.
The new qualifying system is no good because: How can someone sit there and watch it and be able to comprehend what is going on? Who is "winning" qualifying? Yeah, if you watch it on TV you'll have a commentator, and graphs, charts, etc... to help you know who is winning. But sitting at the track? It will be just a bunch of cars going around in circles! How boring is that? Dave you said time trial qualifying is boring. This will be worse! At least with time trials you can keep track of who is where at all times. And for everyone who thinks this will "even up" things because you have removed the "weather" issue, well what about the "crash" issue? Or guys screwing with other guys to mess up their times? If NASCAR really wants to make qualifying "exciting" get rid of all the provisionals. Go back to heats, like in the old days. THAT is REAL racing. 3 heats with like 15-18 cars in each one, maybe 10 miles in length. Then run a consi! It will be REAL exciting to watch, and if you screw up, well that's too bad. Just like Sabates said last night, "if you crash during this new way of qualifying, well too bad!"
ReplyDeleteHow will people comprehend what's going on? Simple. Every track on the circuit has (A) a multi-positional video scoreboard that gives the same "scrolling results" as you see at the top of your TV screen and (B) a public address announcer to update the fans on where their favorite driver stands.
DeleteI still like real heats better!
DeleteThanks for taking the time to respond Dave!
Wait? You're gonna act like this would be confusing when you can figure out "real" heat racing. Sounds like you're being disgruntled just for the sake of being disgruntled.
DeleteI didn't like the idea when it started coming across my Twitter stream. Then I saw the NASCAR infographic explaining it and read a little closer and I'm actually fine with this.
I like the idea of the new qualifying rules, but I have a scenario that I haven't heard mention of: tire wear and speed falloff. Here goes: the whole field takes to the track to run the first 30 minutes. Everyone is doing their best to turn in fast lap times. Say things go real well, similar to single car qualifying, and the speeds are only separated by 3 or 4 seconds from first to last. Now they take their 5 minute break, and get ready to run session two. The car that finished 25th, is the fastest of the first cuts. After round 2 is done, lap times are a little slower because of tire wear. Look at the times, and the 25th place car is now posting a faster lap time than the guy running 18th. Another 5 minute break, and the last session is run. Now the 25th place car is also showing a faster lap time than the 6th place car. Does this sound like something that could happen? I know in the past, some tracks have lap times that fall off rather quickly. In these sessions, they can't jack the cars up to change tires during the breaks, so I see lap times slowing down enough that someone in the first round of cuts is sure to be faster than some of the cars in the second and third round.
ReplyDeleteExpect it to happen. If I understand it correctly, the previous session times don't mean anything once the final session starts. It's an easy fix. You just adjust the record books so that they contain entries for fastest qualifying time and speed and pole time and speed. For all years up to 2014, they will have the same entry. From 2014 forward, pole speed/pole time would usually be different than fastest qualifying speed/time.
DeleteThat would be the easy fix.