Jeff Gordon wants a more exciting qualifying procedure for Talladega

Talladega, Ala. -- Jeff Gordon wants to go faster at Talladega.

He’s not referring to plate racing where speeds reached over 200 mph but rather on Saturdays during qualifying where speeds were the lowest they have been at Talladega since the track opened in 1969.

“Qualifying was just a snoozer,” said Gordon, who won the pole for Sunday’s Aarons 499 with a 53.723 (178.248 mph)

“Anyone could drive that car at this speed,” Gordon continued. ” So let’s make it more interesting. I don’t see why we can’t get up there into the 200 mph-range. I’d like to see us qualify faster just to make it more entertaining for the fans as well as the drivers.

“It would be fun to go to Talladega and have the driver play more of a role because we’re just not doing anything right now.”

Gordon added that the current car is so much safer than any they have ever used and that the SAFER barriers have added years to his career.

“In this day and age, it’s crazy that we’re not able to run faster than this,” Gordon said. “I know the reason. It’s because they want us to run this during the race.

In an effort to limit dangers to drivers and fans, NASCAR placed restrictor plates on the engines to decrease horsepower and speed. Speeds were routinely over 200 mph before the plate was added in 1985.

If NASCAR wants to bring just one size plate to Daytona and Talladega, Gordon would like to see a more entertaining process to qualify drivers. He suggested using Daytona’s Gatorade Duel format or heat racing used most prominently as seen in grassroots short track racing.

“We’ve got to compromise what we look at as racers or engineers [in lieu] of what we give the fans,” Gordon added. “I’m glad to have won the pole but we’ve got to make qualifying more interesting.”

Gordon’s pole is the 70th of his career, moving him past Cale Yarbrough into third place all-time in NASCAR history. Driver introductions for the Aaron’s 499 are scheduled for 11:30 a.m. CST Sunday. The green flag for the 188-lap race is scheduled for approximately 12:15.