NASCAR: Qualifying rules tweaked for XFinity and Truck races

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Following the contentious qualifying session for the Sprint Cup cars at Daytona last Sunday, NASCAR has modified its qualifying procedures for the XFinity (formerly Nationwide) Series and Camping World Truck Series races at Daytona. Each group will have two minutes and 30 seconds – half the previous allotted time – to complete a lap. There will be a three-minute break between each of the four groups in Round 1 and then a 10-minute break between Rounds 1 and 2. The fastest 24 times advance to Round 2.

In Round 2, the 12 odd-ranked vehicles (fastest to slowest) in Round 1 will be in the first group, and the 12 even-ranked vehicles (fastest to slowest) in Round 1 will be in the second group. The staging process will be the same, and each group will have two minutes and 30 seconds to complete a lap with a three-minute break between groups. After a 10-minute break, the top 12 advance to Round 3. In Round 3, the top 12 vehicles will have two minutes and 30 seconds to complete a lap.

All other qualifying rules will apply with normal cooling procedures and the lineup set per the rule book.

The rules update came three days after Daytona 500 qualifying, which saw a wreck in Round 1 and drivers waiting until the last possible second to cross the start/finish line to complete a lap. On Sunday, Jeff Gordon, the last driver to cross the under the flagstand before the red and black flags waved in the final round, won the Coors Light Pole for the event (pictured).

NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O'Donnell said the sanctioning body will continue to review the qualifying format for future superspeedway events.

Source: NASCAR.com