When NASCAR Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series teams hit the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway for qualifying Saturday, fans won’t see packs of cars jostling for position, trailing cars laying back trying to catch the air and possibly ride the draft to a front-row starting spot.
 
They also won’t see multi-car crashes similar to the one that unfolded at Daytona when the format was put into play for this year’s season-opening race.
 
Instead, teams will go it solo with one driver’s qualifying attempt coming to a close as the next begins.
 
“I feel really good about what it has evolved into,” Harvick said Friday at Talladega, site of Sunday’s GEICO 500 (FOX, 1 p.m. ET). “I think all the competitors feel that way. We were tearing up a lot of cars in qualifying.”
 
According to NASCAR officials, each driver will complete three laps – the first to get up to speed, the second which will be the official qualifying lap, and a third as he or she returns to pit road.
 
Approximately halfway through the qualifying lap, the next driver in line will head out for his or her attempt.
 
The qualifying order in each series will be based on a random draw for the first of two rounds.
 
In the final round, the order will be based on first-round times, from slowest to fastest.
 
Each session is expected to take less than one hour to complete.
 
Patrick’s only pole in the Sprint Cup Series came in the Daytona 500 two years ago, under the single-car qualifying format.
 
“It just was, I feel, like a very unnecessary stress for everybody,” Patrick said of the group qualifying format at Daytona and Talladega. “The amount of conversations and meeting with drivers … I felt like I was on ‘Survivor’ … trying to make alliances and finding out the best thing to do was not have any and just be the one that tags onto the group. Because nobody really cared if it was just one car.
 
“But when a group of five saw you, you’re like ‘oh, I can’t have all five of those going faster.’”
 
The speed and closing rate of a car, or cars, catching a group in front often meant the pole winner wasn’t the first to cross the line.
 
Friday’s two practice sessions saw plenty of pack drafting but no significant contact. Roush Fenway Ford driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (200.780 mph) led the opening practice while teammate Greg Biffle (197.929 mph) topped the leaderboard in the second.
 
Biffle, who has one restrictor plate pole and one win, says he’s pleased with the change to the qualifying format “because it’s the speed of the car.”
 
“It’s not who got the lucky lane or who got a draft or who laid back so far and got sucked up on a big run,” Biffle, 45, said. “… I feel (this is) the right way to do it.”
 
Group qualifying will continue to be used to set the starting lineup at tracks other than Talladega and Daytona. Such a format works well at those shorter tracks, Harvick said.
 
“I think there have been a lot of things that have changed, but … our qualifying change has been week-in and week-out probably one of the better changes that we have had in our sport in a while.
 
“I think when you look a the adjustment and the time everybody has put in, I hope it evolves into that … this weekend as well.”

With the announcement that GoDaddy, the Internet web service provider, will not return as primary sponsor after the 2015 season, officials at Stewart-Haas Racing now must find funding to continue to support the 33-year-old and her No. 10 SHR team.
 
Funding that was said to run between $18 million and $20 million for an entire season not that long ago has escalated. Today, those on the high end of the scale seek anywhere from $22 million to $25 million.
 
That increase has led to fewer sponsors willing or able to fund teams for an entire season. The result for the fortunate few has been multiple primaries scattered throughout the year.
 
Companies such as TaxACT and Aspen Dental have provided associate support, and have served as primary sponsors on occasion for Patrick and the No. 10 team. But GoDaddy has funded the bulk of the group’s efforts, as well as Patrick’s, since she made the move to NASCAR from the open-wheel ranks.
 
"It was good that GoDaddy gave us, as a team, time to find someone else for that (sponsorship) role," Patrick said Friday at Talladega Superspeedway, site of Sunday’s GEICO 500 (FOX, 1 p.m. ET). "Either someone new or one of my great partners that already exists and wants to step up. …
 
"They have been an enormous supporter through every transition. They supported me when I just wanted to run (XFINITY) to get experience. So they’ve been great. But it is a new scenario and we’re going to have to figure it out and it’s a challenge, no doubt. Finding primary sponsors is a challenge. But I feel confident that in all the people to find sponsors, I believe in my agent and my team. And we’ll figure it out."

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Patrick, who has 91 career starts, enters this weekend’s race 16th in points and has two top-10 finishes this season. Her ninth-place run at Bristol was her sixth career top 10, the most ever by a female driver in NASCAR.
 
In addition to Patrick, Stewart-Haas Racing fields Sprint Cup Series teams for defending series champion Kevin Harvick, co-owner/driver Tony Stewart and 2004 Sprint Cup champ Kurt Busch.
 
Patrick said she expects to maintain her personal relationship with GoDaddy but that "it’s just going to look a little bit different from an overall standpoint.
 
"I think we’re going to continue on, obviously, with the things that I have been doing for them as of late," she said, "more smaller events and more specific events for them as opposed as just trying to get their name out there."
 
GoDaddy’s recognition as a brand is huge — officials tout 81 percent brand awareness "so the program worked," Patrick said.
 
"It worked so well that they’ve evolved. But I’m glad to still be with them, and I’m glad that they gave us time to find someone else for that position."
 
As for her future, Patrick said she is happy at SHR. "and they’re working hard … to find someone for the new primary position.
 
"My team is working to find someone for the new primary position. So, I think at this point in time, we’re moving forward with all those intentions.
 
"But I guess it is on some level open season in a lot of areas. So, I don’t think you can ever say never, of course; but I am happy where I’m at right now."