NASCAR will no longer use group qualifying to determine the starting lineup for races at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.
No more group qualifying at Daytona, Talladega
NASCAR is going back to single-car qualifying runs on restrictor-plate tracks.
Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
Beginning with the May Talladega weekend, NASCAR will revert to single-car qualifying runs -- albeit slightly modified. Drivers are to be released onto the track in timed intervals and given one lap to post a speed. The fastest 12 drivers will advance to the final round.
NASCAR reserves the right to have multiple cars on the track qualifying at once.
Introduced last year, the format has proven successful with the exception of races at Daytona and Talladega, where engine horsepower is limited and cars tend to congregate in large packs to increase speed.
In time trials for February’s Daytona 500, drivers were very critical of the procedures and the gamesmanship that unfolded. Clint Bowyer called the format “idiotic” following a crash involving him and several others.
NASCAR modified the rules later in the week for the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series races, but those moves proved controversial as well.
The Daytona 500 qualifying procedures will be announced at a later date. The format unveiled Monday is for the May and October Talladega races and the July Daytona race.
See More:
