by: PattyKay Lilley
Good day gentle readers, and welcome to RacersReunion, a site we know is read by folks that matter. Good day also to the NASCAR representative reading this edition of “A Voice For The Fans.” We kept you busy last week, didn’t we? The purpose of these columns is to discuss with the fans things they feel deserve the attention of NASCAR. In short, to make their voices heard, and it is my distinct pleasure to assist toward that end.
We had much… and I use that word cautiously… discussion last week about the Chase… for No Sponsorship. We tried, but unfortunately did not succeed in talking it to death. This week our topic du jur will be the guaranteed spot in any given race for the top 35 in owner points. I confess right up front that I was not a fan of this move eight years ago, and it makes far less sense today than it did then.
While I “understand”, not to be confused with “agree with”, the reasoning behind this gimmick… yes Mr. France, it is indeed a gimmick, one of many… I would say its time was over before it began. By offering this guarantee, NASCAR hoped to placate the fears of some of the remaining larger sponsors that their rolling billboards might miss a Sunday here or there. We used to have a provisional system that offered that protection, but with a limit placed on how many times a team could use a provisional spot to participate in a race. It worked well for many years and was still working well when replaced in 2004 (that year again) by the new all-inclusive “guarantee.”
Now gentle readers, we are not stupid, you and I, and we are well aware of which cars and drivers are likely to be a factor in a race on any given Sunday. Sadly, there are not nearly enough of those high probability teams to fill anything like the top 35 in points. Please allow me to point out here a short list of ten teams that at present occupy positions 35 – 26, counting toward the top of the list from the bottom:
35. #36 Allan Heinke J.J. Yeley
34. #32 Frank Stoddard Jr. T.J. Bell
33. #10 Tommy Baldwin Danica Patrick
32. #83 Thomas Ueberall Landon Cassill
31. #34 Bob Jenkins David Ragan
30. #13 Bob Germain Casey Mears
29. #38 Brad Jenkins David Gilliland
28. #93 Thomas Ueberall Travis Kvapil
27. #51 James Finch Kurt Busch
26. #47 Tad Geschickter Bobby Labonte
That list gives position in points, car#, listed car owner and driver as of New Hampshire. Maybe it’s just me, but of the ten, I see only one car/driver combination that “might” or “could”, with a large amount of luck and a like amount of survival on the Monster Mile, be a possible winner on Sunday, and even that is extremely doubtful. Yet each of them enjoys a guarantee that he… and she… will race on Sunday, no matter what.
Here’s one part of this scenario that I find particularly offensive. Directly behind the #36 supposedly now owned by Allan Heinke, whose name is totally unfamiliar to me (Has been Bob Jenkins’ car for several years) is a team familiar to every race fan; the Wood Brothers, with driver and Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne at the wheel. This is a team that is honest. They cannot afford, at today’s prices, to go racing every week, so they run when there is funding, aka sponsorship. They do NOT start and park for extra funds. That would be so far beneath these good men that one would never find bottom. For that, they are punished and run every race as what we’ve come to know as “go or go homers.”
Allow me, if you will, to share another fact about the Wood Brothers’ team. Though they are 119 points behind that #36 team, they have run only 11 races to the 28 run by the start and park bunch that holds a guaranteed spot. Moreover, they are well ahead of nine other teams, all of which have more starts to their credit, and all of whom engage regularly in pitting and quitting. Think about it! One spot away from a guarantee, having run only 11 races! That paints a very accurate picture of the quality of race teams we have competing (?) today.
I don’t think I have to explain to anyone reading this that there is a real shortage of competitive cars at the Cup level today. Some weeks, we are lucky to see even enough to fill NASCAR’s arbitrary number of 43 cars in the field. (I have my suspicions about that as well, but we’ll talk of that another day) Right now though, I’d like to address a companion subject to the guaranteed top 35, and that is qualifying. I actually like the way qualifying is being done now, with qualifying order set by practice speeds rather than by luck of the draw. Works for me, and seems much fairer to all concerned.
However…
What good is it? Why, in a time when it costs a small fortune just to start the engine in one of those big ol’ cars, are we running full qualifications in order to set only the eight cars at the rear of the field? Sure, I guess it can be argued that it’s part of the “show”, a word I’ve come to detest mightily… but is it? When they qualify on Saturday, take a good look at how many fannies are seated in that grandstand at Dover… and remember, there is a Nationwide race there later on that same day. If it’s like every other race I’ve watched this year, almost no one will show up to watch quals. Why? Because they don’t mean anything anymore! We already know the names, faces and paint schemes of those we’ll be giving a damn about come Sunday. Might as well take in some of the countryside or local amenities rather than go and watch qualifying for last place.
Oh, and did I mention that the top 35 in points are also the only cars of some 59 possibles listed on nascar.com that have run all 28 races to date? I know some of the teams are trying to make it on a shoestring… teams like Frankie Stoddard’s, the Wood Bros. and a few others, but I also know that many are not. They come, they park and they cash a check.
NASCAR, would it be too much to ask that they not be guaranteed that check before the race begins? If racing cannot be made more accessible to the poor (Poor as compared to Rick Hendrick, Jack Roush, Joe Gibbs and Richard Childress), couldn’t we at least have qualifying mean something? Bring back the provisional starts that worked for so long, and let’s lose this meaningless game of guaranteeing start and park teams a spot in every race. Let them earn those spots just as their predecessors did.
All right race fans, I expect we’ll be having some conversation about this one, just as we did last week about another segment of the changes from 2004. I’ve started out with things I’ve heard many of you discussing and questioning. Come on in and join the conversation. This is your chance to speak and be heard… or at least be read, and I promise you, they are reading every word.
Be well gentle readers, and remember to keep smiling. It looks so good on you!
~PattyKay
Email: nas3car@etcmail.com
Twitter: @MamaPKL
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Bring back the “Hooligan races” on Saturday or Sunday mornings. let the non-qualifiers actually qualify for the races. Those races were more fun than “The big show” and you raced your way into the field. Think of the TV market that race would garner. All of the local shows I can remember over the years had the first and second place winners of the semi-feature start in back of the regular field and some did pretty well. A lot of the fans rooted for these guys and wanted to see them race. As a young lad, I went to Sportsman Park in Bedford, OH and the field of cars sometimes numbered over 100. This was a 2/4 mile dirt track with stands that held 10,000 fans and the normal fields were close to that. Sportsman was a must on the NASCAR Sportsman circuit and later the old MARC (now ARCA) Sportsman circuit. They paid well, and usually had enough cars for the feature, semi-feature, consi, and non-money winners races. Too bad we will never see a local track like that again, but how’d you like to see a semi-feature in Cup?
Denny, the Hooligan races were fun and I would have no objection to going back to that, though with the cost of cars today, a lot of the car owners might feel differently. But qualifying isn’t the problem. The problem is that the top-35 guarantee has made qualifying of any sort worthless. Honestly, does anyone really care who runs last? We already know 35 positions are set. Let ‘em draw straws or ping-pong balls for the last 8 positions. YAWN
Ha ha! I had written something just like this for a blog site in early August!! I too understood the idea behind it back in the day but now? Not only don’t I like it, I don’t understand it.
I dream of a world where NASCAR gets rid of the gimmicks, stops worrying about what the damn NFL is doing & gets back to racing. Care to join me?
Join you? Hon, I’m leading the way. Hold my hand!
Too damned much math for my liking !! I say have a couple of qualifying races and let them have at it !!
I’m for any way they want to get it done as long as this foolish guarantee gimmick isn’t part of it. Couldn’t we just go racing… the simple way… that worked? Look around! All the fans have left the building! Doesn’t that tell anyone anything?
I will join you and Judy, Patty Kay. Let’s get back to racing!
I hate the chase and I dislike the way they have the top 35 ‘locked in’. It is well noted each time they are only qualifying for pit stalls so it would seem they should see how it is screwing with some of the teams and owners (like the Wood Bros) but in my opinion, they just don’t care. They like the fake drama and the biased announcers and hope they can condition the new casual fan to like it too. They seem to focus on everything but what really got them to where they are. The stands are so empty during quals but then they are also partially empty on race/show day also. And trust me, it ain’t the economy. I have reached the point I never watch the quals if they are on and during the last 10 shows of the season, I dvr and may or may not even watch the show. I never watch any of the other race shows either anymore. Even if there is real racing, tv chooses not to show it to us. But back to the qualifying…Denny called for Hooligan Races and that sounds good. Or have 4 heats rather than quals and then set the starting field by finishing positions. Qualifying has become a big waste of time for 35 teams and a big hope for the others. If they must, then just qualify everyone out of the top 35 instead of taking all the time and spending all that money for the guaranteed starters.
Sorry if I ranted and got off subject. Thanks for listening.
Never apologize. This is the place where rants are more than welcome. Sadly, we’re all starting to sound alike. We are the few that have hung in there and tried to make sense out of it all. The rest are long gone to somewhere else. It’s their seats we see empty on race day and their number increases by the race.
This generation hasn’t a clue what got him here was his Daddy’s and Granddaddy’s hard work. All he knows is, he was born rich and about the rest, he doesn’t care… and it’s obvious. Join hands. We might have quite a parade by tomorrow.
I offer my hand. Let the parade begin!
You are more than welcome to join our parade Devin. Grab a hand and hang on Hon!
PattyKay, why you are not sitting in THE office in Daytona is beyond me! Oh,I know, you make too much sense!
K, I am quite sure they wouldn’t be ready for me sitting in that chair, nor would I want to do so. What they would get with me though, is someone that would listen to common sense and someone with the ability to understand that if it’s not working, it’s OK to change it. It’s even OK to say “Oops” and back off a bad idea now and then. Now, that’s change you can appreciate.
Hmmmmm…. I will admit I’m right on the line with this one! For the teams..big and small..who attempt to qualify every week..it seems logical they should have a starting spot. But, in the true spirit of “racing”… the fastest qualifiers should be in the race. So… I have a problem with teams “selecting” a few races to enter..getting in…leaving out teams who work hard every race to qualify but don’t always make it. It seems alittle lopsided…reasoning would say if you enter only 10 races a year you may be able to put more effort into each race as opposed to trying all 36 races and spreading your resources and manpower extremely thin. Every season we hear over and over that teams want to make it into the “top 20″..so maybe that would be a much better number to work with. If a team can’t grab one if the 23 remaining spots…well they can’t say they weren’t given a fair shot at it! I have an even bigger problem with the start and park cars…but I guess that’s for another day!
Good morning Erin. Always nice to hear from you. Funny you should mention top 20. At the time this “guarantee” became the law of the land, I was willing to give a guarantee a chance to work, but suggested then (in 2004) that 35 would be far too many. Twenty was the optimum number to my mind and the one I strongly suggested, as at that time, the point fund only paid the top 20 in points. I confess that I have no idea if that holds true today.
Beyond that, I further suggested that point themselves be cut off well before 43rd place. Somewhere circa 30th position would be a good cut-off spot. That would eliminate a lot of the start and park nonsense, since a quick exit would gain nothing.
Again, I’ll point out that there was really nothing wrong with the old provisional start policy, which would make sure that a good team suffering misfortune (Like a crash in Quals) would indeed race on Sunday, but each team had a limited number of provisionals… and could earn another by attempting to qualify for a given number of races. (I think it was 4) It just makes no earthly sense to be guaranteeing spots in a race to teams that very obviously are not there to race.
Patty, I hate to feed you a new topic, but, why not have SCCA Styled Runoffs for the National Title? It would easily, and I mean easily supplant the Chase, and give the element of surprise we are badly missing now a days.
Tony, I always appreciate your comments, but do me a favor and drop me a note on that topic? We might do that for another day, but I have a feeling this one is going to keep me a bit busy today.
Good morning Patty Kay. I’ll bet that if NASCAR was to suddenly eliminate all the idiotic gimmicks they might just find a real racing show hiding under it all. The fastest 43 get to run the race, period. No provisionals other than maybe the current champ being guaranteed the 43rd spot if his speed doesn’t get him in. Put the KISS system in place.
Maybe if the tracks would go back to letting fans in free for qualifying more would show up. I made many trips that were over 120 miles round trip to watch qualifying at the old Richmond fairground track. The Sawyers never used to charge for that. Alas, guess those days are gone forever. But then to, qualifying meant something.
Also, make it mandatory that any CEO of NASCAR must be present before the green is thrown. Not in an air conditioned hide away, but, out in the heat and dirt with his competitors, they can hold the money counting until the show was over. He would be allowed to have a glass dashboard installed on his golf cart should he so desire.
Well good morning Walt. Always so nice to see you here. As you’ve learned, I am pretty much a fan of the KISS principle, but not so much in this case. Yes, it sounds good to say let the fastest 43 race, but in reality I believe that if a good car, say Tony Stewart just as a for instance, has a serious problem in qualifying, I don’t believe that he should sit out an entire race, especially since we are in the “Chase” and he is one of the chasers. (Not going there… that was last week)
I try hard with these discussions, never to go off half-cocked and fire without aiming. Common sense is my Bible and I read it daily. Check out what I just said to Erin and you’ll have a better idea of how I think it should work. Now… if they would just ask me!
That’s a lovely daydream you’re having, but two words that are forever gone from NASCAR’s dictionary are “free” and “dirt.” Both were fun and both contributed to success at one time; sadly, that time is also gone, and we cannot get it back. I’m old, like so many others, but I am content with memories of the good ol’ days, if only we could have something that made sense today and NOT a bunch of gimmicks and tricks that add nothing and take away fans.
So let me just get this straight, you want more competitive teams but you want to make it harder on those who are in the building the stages of their team? I don’t think any of these teams dream of just staying in the back of the pack. I’m pretty sure most of them are trying to build a competitive operation.
Look at the #93 team for example. A brand new team this season, no notebook for race setups, very much still learning. Four times they’ve qualified 40th or worse and yet finished in the top 20. If they weren’t guaranteed a spot they may have missed the race. If that happens they get no winnings, no opportunity to learn about how to set up their car, no experience for crew guys, and a smaller chance of a sponsor wanting to help fund them. But with that guaranteed spot they were able to go out there and be competitive. It allows them to keep building that team with the hopes of someday being a top 20 team in points, then top 15, then the chase. It’s a long term process, you don’t just come on the scene and compete for a championship your first year.
Well S, I will do my best to see that you indeed “get it straight” because your assumption is nothing close to what I want or what I said. Since you picked the Ueberall cars, let’s stick with them. That two-car team is what’s left of the Red Bull team of the past few years, after they locked the doors and went back to F1, an admission that stock car racing is not as easy as it looks. I am not acquainted with Mr. Ueberall or anyone on the new version of an old team, but the term “Brand new” does not exactly apply there… in my opinion.
Be that as it may, you say they have qualified 40th or worse four times. Qualifying goes as far back as 42nd place, with 43rd place awarded to that worthless “Championship provisional” that has become nothing more than a ride for sale, especially early in the year when last year’s points still count. For most races this year, those attempting to make a race usually run around 45-46 cars on average. That means that only 2 or 3 cars will be going home on a given week. I’d say it is perfectly fair to expect those cars to be the 2 or 3 slowest of the field. What in Heaven’s name would you find unfair about that?
You selected a team that has not engaged in start and park tactics, and that is commendable in a time when far too many do. But merely showing up should not be a guarantee to race That is never the way it has worked in any racing venue, save for a couple of times when some promoter opened a race to all comers, sometime with disastrous results. Please see Bobby Williamson’s article running today as a companion piece to this one.
http://racersreunion.com/sam-ard-as-good-as-there-ever-was-by-bobby-williamson/
He gives a great description of one of those “all comers” disasters.
The rules should be made for everyone, not just a few, no matter which end of the field we’re discussing. It’s a fact that if more than 43 show up, someone is going home. If you’ve been reading the comments, you’ll understand by now that my wish is for provisionals, just not the guarantee of any set number, or worst case scenario, a much lower number.
Oh…I wanted to comment on some ideas concerning having a “qualifying race” for positions similar to the Daytona Duels or other forms of racing. Besides the obvious costs involved..the chance of being involved in a wreck and losing a primary car is quite high due to the intensity of the short “in it to win it” mentality seen during sprint races. It doesn’t seem quite right a driver is wrecked through no fault of his own and misses the main race. Qualifying is supposed to be based on speed…a sprint race is about speed, tenacity, team orders (at times), and lots of luck. And, would NASCAR be prepared..(repaired and through inspection wise) to have the wrecked…but still made the race… cars ready and back on track for the start if the race??? To many variables when you’re dealing with big $$$, over 43 teams, exact inspections, weather, and broadcast timing!
Erin, I touched on that a bit when answering someone else’s suggestion of qual races. The car owners have to be thrilled NOT to have to run those anymore, for the exact reason you mention. Those cars cost a lot of money to take them out and chance wrecking instead of running.
The Daytona Qualifiers are one of my favorite topics, and fall right alongside what we are discussing today. Once upon a time, they were used to set a large part of the field. Today, we run two races to set FOUR places at the rear of the field. Worth it? Oh, not just no but… well… you know the rest. So much has gotten so weird, and things are done without seeming rhyme or reason. Makes one scratch her head in wonder, doesn’t it?
Hey, are you joining our so far all-gal parade on Daytona Beach?
a couple of years ago i was watching drag racing and John Force missed the show,had to load up and go home.the world didnt end,CASTROL didnt drop him,the NHRA didnt go bankrupt….in fact nothing happened except Force didnt race
i would also like to see a 2 team per owner limit. with strict policing on wives,uncles sisters etc…owning teams run out of the same shops.
John, all I can say to that is AMEN! NHRA has always operated that way. It works for them because they are a head to head competition. I don’t see that working as well when the competition is 42 cars and not a single one, but yet again I’ll point out that for most of its existence, NASCAR solved that quite well with a couple of provisional starts per team.
I fear I’m becoming repetitive here, but I can make absolutely no sense of guaranteeing spots to 35 out of 43 cars. They are still qualifying only 8 spots, no matter how I count it, and it’s still a waste of time.
Team limits another day. One topic a day is all this writer can handle. LOL
In my opinion the Top 35 rule has one purpose, and one purpose only.
It in effect gives the megateams all the benefits of “franchising” while at the same time preventing nascar from any liability for restraint of trade.
Remember the purpose of “franching”? It was to ensure that the established teams had a salable commodity. And now, presto! the only way you will see a viable new team is if someone purchases one of the megateams from its current owner. This stuff building a team is a pipedream, isn’t going to happen.
Good morning Russ. I agree, it does accomplish franchising, but does it in such a way as to cost NASCAR nothing. Wonder how that came to be?
As for the “megateams”, I’m quite sure we’ll be having a serious discussion on that one very soon. If you missed it, please make time to read Matt McLaughlin’s piece from earlier this week on “The First Super Team.”
http://racersreunion.com/the-first-super-team-by-matt-mclaughlin/
It’s great reading and there is an underlying message that many folks are beginning to “get.” Therefore, we will be talking about it. Just not today.
I could be wrong but hasn’t John Force missed a race
or two because of DNQ? NHRA has it right, fastest 43 should get in period. yes some big names may miss a race here or there, but doesn’t that give a newer team
a chance to do something. my opinion is if i’m a new
team and one of the top ten teams miss a race this is my day to proove something rather than park.
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts Bob. Someone earlier already mentioned Force as an example of living through having to pack it up and go home. In NHRA, it happens to the best of them, obviously, since John is (in my opinion) the best that’s ever been.
Your comment about the start and park deal is exactly why I and many others find this guarantee so wrong. We have so many non-competitive teams today, it’s pure folly to guarantee them the right to park. That, as they say, “ain’t racin’.
I, too, am not a fan of the Top 35 rule. I’m all for letting the fastest 43 race. However, if there is to be any sort of ‘locking-in’ of cars, I propose the top 15 in points, along with the top 15 positions from the prior race, be locked-in. Everyone else races their way in. No past champion’s provisional, no other guaranteed starts.
This will reward the teams that are doing well (the top 15 in points) as well as teams that had a good run the prior race but aren’t in the top 15. At worst, this system would lock-in 30 drivers, leaving 15 spots for those racing in.
That would make it a bit more palatable Michael, but only a bit. We’re talking about a race. Isn’t the idea of “race” to see who is the fastest? In a perfect world, you cannot do that unless the fastest are part of the competition. Still, as NASCAR is not head to head like NHRA, I can see the value in a provisional system, but only limited provisionals. If it happens that four teams totally mess up in qualifying and there are only three provisionals available, I believe the proper word is “tough!” Stuff happens. Seeya next week.
I bet you can tell I’m not a big fan of not “offending” someone or “destroying their self esteem” either. Life is what happens. Learn to deal with it.
Patty Kay,
Thanks for the article.
I cannot remember the exact way qualifying was years ago but was something like the following…
They had 2 sessions. The top 20 was determined in the first and the remaining in the second session.
Again, I’m not sure exactly what it was.
To me, the fact that there are a few “start and parks” at every race these days makes me wonder what the point is to the 35 rule.
Also is it the “car” or the “driver” that qualifies. I’ve seen drivers qualify and wreck the car but start the race with another car. I’ve seen subsititute drivers qualify. So which is it, the car or the driver?
Is qualifying just for “air time”? So we can here DW babble? I honestly do not know.
I’m not a fan of the 35 rule but I know that the current NASCAR leadership will NOT ever go back to anything from the past.
Jules, qualifying did used to be a two day process, as you described, with the top 20 set on Friday (usually) and the rest of the field set on Saturday.(Usually) Back before that system, there were indeed “Hooligan” races and other methods of qualifying tried out. The two-day system was done away with in one of NASCAR’s ever famous “cost-cutting” moves. It didn’t cut a thing, as teams are there anyway, but it was good for “show.”
The old provisional system that I keep referring to allowed a set number of cars into each race on a provisional start. That number I think was either 3 or 4, and I honestly cannot remember which. Might have been both, at different times. Each team was allowed a limited number of provisional starts. Again, I’m not positive, but I think it was 4 on the year. However, if a team had used up its 4, that team could earn another by qualifying or attempting to qualify for the next 4 races. Perhaps a bit complicated for a regime that now does the point system by onesies, but it seemed to work just fine.
The number of teams starting and parking is exactly why I and many others are so much against the top 35 guarantee. Once again I’ll stress the point that it makes absolutely no sense to guarantee a spot to a car that has no plans to race anyway. If they want in the race, earn your spot. Simple!
I love your question about the car or the driver qualifying. To the best of my knowledge, it is the car that qualifies. Drivers can change cars though, and teams can change sponsors, with will confuse the daylights out of many fans.
Example: Say Joe Nemechek has a sponsor for Sunday’s race at Dover. (Wonder Bread will do nicely) Say Joe fails to qualify, but Reed Sorenson qualifies without a sponsor. Wonder Bread might approach Reed’s car owner and pay to have that car rewrapped with Wonder Bread sponsorship.
There are many situations where a driver might be changed between qualifying and racing. The team is penalized by making a last place start on the field for a driver change in that event. On occasion, a combination of the two and those dang points from last year will enter into it and make it so confusing NO ONE can understand it. That usually involves buying points, which is supposedly strictly against NASCAR rules (wink, wink; nudge, nudge)
That last point is one more place where I wish they’d just employ the KISS principle! Enough to drive a sane man crazy… or maybe the other way around.
One other thing… in an attempt to dissuade start & parking (or pitting & quitting), I would pro-rate the winnings by finishing position divided by number of laps run. To get a full payment for your finish, you need to finish on the lead lap. Finish a few hundred laps down, and you’ll see your paycheck smaller by a large percentage.
Sure, this will cost some legitimate (non start & park) teams some money, but that’s part of racing. Want all the dough, don’t wreck!
I have an easier solution Michael. Any team that
shows up without a crew doesn’t buy tires and gas
and has an empty war wagon goes home.
Even easier – Right on!!
See? You guys don’t need me. I was able to run out to the market and you took good care of things while I was gone. I still like my way; finish lower than 30th, sorry about that. No pay beyond that point. Come back and try again next week. But Bob’s point is excellent. Show up obviously not prepared to race, you don’t even get to qualify. I think they call that “tough love”, but it works.
haaa that’s what we will call it Patty, the tough love rule.
Bob, I love that idea! Sure hope someone on the Beach reads on Saturdays!
My idea for qualifying is pretty simple. I think they should have qualifying the way they have it now, except remove the top 35 rule. It seems simple enough. And one other thing, I would not allow S&P cars to compete. They can do a Wood Brother’s type deal, in which they run races when they can afford to run the whole thing. Realistically, I do not think qualifying races would work, although they would be fun to see. Great article!
Jason, I agree with you completely. Way back in the beginning I said that I actually like the way we qualify now… except that the top-35 guarantee makes it useless except for the last 8 positions. I think it’s fair and gets the job done.
As to starting and parking… well, one more time… THAT AIN’T RACIN’!
I wish had seen your wonderful article earlier! Yes, I do have some comments about Qualifying, Provisionals, and even Testing!
Want to save time and $$$ on all this Monday – Tuesday – Wednesday testing? Hark back to the “Old Days” and spend more time at the track for “Race Week.” A typical Superspeedway schedule “way back then” would be: Wednesday — Practice; Thursday — Practice, followed by qualifying (fastest 15 earn positions 1 thru 15), practice; Friday — Practice, followed by qualifying (fastest 15 earn positions 16 thru 30), practice; Saturday — Practice, followed by qualifying (fastest 10 earn positions 31 thru 40), practice. Sunday — WE RACE!!
Provisionals — just THREE available (and, the driver must actually attempt to qualify and meet the minimum speed to be eligible). 1) — CURRENT Champion (I see no problem with rewarding the Champion a “guaranteed start” each race the following season). 2) — Most Recent Race Winner (more incentive to win!). 3) — Current Points Leader (heck, why not?).
This one may be stretching it a bit, but the schedule for the 1968 FIRECRACKER 400 at Daytona (race was on Thursday, July 4 that year) was as follows: Saturday — practice; Sunday — Practice, followed by qualifying (fastest 2 earn positions 1 thru 2), practice; Monday — Practice, followed by qualifying (fastest 6 earn positions 3 thru 8), practice; Tuesday — Practice, followed by qualifying (fastest 6 earn positions 9 thru 14), practice; Wednesday — Practice, followed by qualifying (fastest 6 earn positions 15 thru 20), followed by a 10-lap qualifying race (top 10 finishers earn positions 21 thru 40), practice. Thursday — THEY RACED!! WHEW!!!
Seriously, I believe a schedule that would be practice (testing!) on Thursday … practice and qualifying on Friday (fastest 20 earn positions 1 thru 20) … practice and qualifying on Saturday (fastest 20 earn positions 21 thru 40) and race on Sunday.