Go or go-home drivers to qualify at end of session

CONCORD, N.C. -- In an attempt to level the playing field among the cars that must make the fields for races based on speed, NASCAR has made a fundamental change to the qualifying procedure for its top three series: Sprint Cup, the Nationwide Series and the Craftsman Truck Series.

NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton announced Monday at the sanctioning body's research and development center that all cars not locked into the field by virtue of owner points will qualify as a group at the end of each session. In Sprint Cup, the top 35 cars do not have to qualify on time; in Nationwide and Craftsman, the top 30 are locked in.

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That move accomplishes a dual purpose in both minimizing the possible effect of changing track conditions on qualifying speeds and in allowing "go or go-home" cars in need of repairs because of accidents or mechanical problems more time to get ready for their qualifying runs.

Because of the unique qualifying format for the Daytona 500 -- with the top two positions being established on pole day and with two 150-mile qualifying races helping to set the order of the field behind the front row -- the change in procedure won't go into effect in the Cup Series until time trials at California on Feb. 22.

The Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series will institute the change for their first races of the year, at Daytona.

Pemberton said NASCAR debated whether to qualify all of the go or go-home cars at the beginning or the end of the session but decided the end of the session would be most beneficial.

The most important factor in that decision was NASCAR's desire to ameliorate the potential negative effect of unforeseen circumstances -- a wreck, an engine failure or other mechanical problems -- that would prevent the cars from qualifying in their group.

At most racetracks, a later draw is a better draw, because the asphalt cools as the sun goes down. Last season, it also was not uncommon for teams locked into the field to qualify in race trim, while those required to qualify on time focused on their qualifying packages. This had a greater impact on go or go-home cars in impound races -- races in which cars could not be worked on after qualifying.

"If there's a group that needs some help from NASCAR, whether it be more time to prepare or any of the other of those little things, I think everybody can agree that it should be the guys outside the top 35, because they still have yet to make the starting lineup," Cup Series director John Darby said.

NASCAR announced the change on the opening day of the annual Media Tour presented by Lowe's Motor Speedway. During the news conference at the R&D center, NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France gave an overview of the state of the sport, indicating that Sprint Cup racing would not see major changes on the competition side this season, after the expansion of the Chase for the Sprint Cup from 10 to 12 drivers last year. (read more)

France announced one important change, however, in the distribution of fines collected for rules infractions or actions detrimental to the sport. Henceforth, fines will go to support the charitable work of the NASCAR Foundation. Last year, NASCAR collected nearly $1 million in fines, with the average over the past 10 years coming to more than $200,000. The money previously went into the season-ending points fund and was distributed to drivers. (read more)