DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR competition officials announced Wednesday that single-car qualifying will return for all three national series at all oval tracks, effective immediately.
In addition, multiple elimination rounds have also been dropped from the qualifying procedure. The changes take effect starting this weekend at Dover (Del.) Int’l Speedway.
Wednesday’s rules adjustment ends more than five years of group qualifying, which was brought into play prior to the start of the 2014 season.
At all tracks larger than 1.25 miles, teams will receive only one timed qualifying lap. Meanwhile, at all tracks that are 1.25 miles and shorter, the best of two timed qualifying laps will be used to set the starting field and determine the pole winner.
The changes came after multiple instances of teams trying to “game the system” this season, particularly in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, where the 2019 aerodynamic package placed a premium on the aerodynamic draft.
In March at Auto Club Speedway, all 12 drivers in the final round of qualifying failed to log a lap before time expired, while two weeks later another messy qualifying session at Texas Motor Speedway led officials to begin considering other options besides the group format.
“(Returning to single-car qualifying) was (a) unified (decision) between broadcasters, teams and NASCAR,” NASCAR senior VP of competition Scott Miller told NASCAR.com. “One of the other things to make a compelling program out of it is (that) we’ve seen the use of the ghost car (on television). That’s going to be a big element in presenting a quality show. I think fans are going to be able to see which drivers drive in deep, which drivers roll the middle faster and get off the corners faster and (it will) really give the talent in the booth something to talk about.
“Another interesting aspect is every team has a good shot of getting covered during the qualifying session,” Miller added. “We’re building in a few two-minute breaks to where TV can get some spots in and not break away from live action. That’s one of the goals in this, and I think with those designated spots and breaks, we will be able to present almost a whole qualifying session live without going away.”
The order for qualifying draw will be determined by the starting lineup from the previous week. In the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the top 20 starters from the most recent race will draw for positions in the second half of the line (21-40), while the bottom 20 starters from the previous event will pull for positions in the top half of the line (1-20).
The group qualifying system will remain in place for the road course events in the three national series.