NASCAR fixes Daytona group qualifying rules

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Following a controversy-filled group qualifying session for the Daytona 500, NASCAR is amending the format for drivers who will qualify for the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series races at Daytona International Speedway.

Instead of drivers being separated into two groups for the first round, NASCAR will divide the field into four groups. In each group, cars will be lined nose-to-tail with drivers no longer permitted to pull out and maneuver along pit road. Going forward, if a driver pulls out of line they must proceed onto the track. The time for each round has been cut to two-and-a-half minutes from five.

The fastest 24 cars will advance to the second round, also divided into two groups, with the 12 fastest reaching the final session.

The change applies only to Xfinity and Truck Series qualifying at Daytona. Standard group qualifying procedures are still in place for all other tracks. Any violation could result in NASCAR disallowing a recorded time. A reevaluation will be made prior to the May race at Talladega Superspeedway.

“We continue to work in collaboration with the industry to implement the most exciting and competitive qualifying format, especially as it relates to superspeedways,” NASCAR executive vice president Steve O’Donnell said. “As a result, we have made a few adjustments to the format for the events later this week at Daytona.”

The revision comes just days after drivers spoke out about group qualifying being used for races at Daytona and Talladega, the two restrictor-plate tracks where cars frequently run in tight packs.

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Qualifying for Sunday’s Daytona 500 featured numerous moments of gamesmanship with drivers starting and stopping on pit road and attempting to block one another on the track. The format contributed to a multi-car crash and prompted several drivers, including Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer, to speak out.

“There’s no reason to be out here,” Bowyer said. “It’s NASCAR’s fault for putting us out in the middle of this crap for nothing.

“We used to come down here and worry about who would sit on the pole in the biggest race of the year. Now all we do is come down here and worry about a [small team] out of desperation is going to knock us out of the Daytona 500.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. expressed support of the revised system.

“I’m glad that they’re open to making moves, making changes and trying to learn from those changes,” Earnhardt said. “We definitely want to have something exciting, and we went away from single-car runs for several different reasons. I understand we more than likely will never go back to single-car runs. If that’s the case, we’ll be proactive. I’m looking forward to seeing how this works.”