NASCAR Cup Series: How can the qualifying problem be fixed?

NASCAR may look to change its qualifying format once again after reverting to a single-car qualifying format. How can the qualifying problem be fixed?

After the disaster of a final round of qualifying at Auto Club Speedway when none of the 12 drivers completed a timed lap, as they all just sat in the pits wanting to be the last one on the track, NASCAR has looked to change the format of Cup Series qualifying.

Since then, NASCAR has gone back to single-car qualifying on all oval tracks for the rest of the season. Depending on the track size, drivers will be granted either one timed lap or two timed laps in qualifying.

NASCAR had been using the timed session qualifying format since the 2014 season, but it looks like they may be done with it for good unless they are willing to make changes. If NASCAR ever wants to return to timed qualifying sessions, there are ways that they could make it work.

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First of all, they could force drivers to record a timed lap by a certain point in the session. Once the final round of qualifying has started, they could force drivers to begin a flying lap within the first two minutes of the round, and if the drivers fail to do this, they can’t post a time in the session.

This would guarantee that each driver records at least one lap in the final round of qualifying, and if drivers all want to come back in after their first lap to try to jockey to be the last car on track, so be it, as they all would have already completed at least one timed lap anyway.

Another alternative to single-car qualifying is group qualifying, which NASCAR has done in the past. They could send several drivers out on the track at a time in timed sessions with the groupings determined by practice times. Drivers could set as many flying laps as possible within the time allowed. The return of this format would allow NASCAR to keep the group aspect of qualifying while forcing drivers to record lap times.

Personally, I prefer single-car qualifying, as qualifying should be about recording the fastest lap time, not trying to play chicken with the rest of the field just to be the last driver to complete a lap. I understand that NASCAR wants qualifying to be a little more appealing that just one car going around the track at once, but it can be a challenge for fans to keep track of so many drivers completing laps in such a short amount of time.

I loved sitting up in the turn 10 grandstands at Watkins Glen International, with my stopwatch in hand, ready to time each individual driver as they made their one timed lap around the Glen. Additionally, the pressure of a single-lap qualifying session is much more than it is in these timed sessions.

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With NASCAR switching back to the old-school single-car qualifying runs for the time being, it gives them some time to come up with an alternative if they so choose. Don’t be surprised if they come up with something that is a little more appealing to watch than single-car qualifying.

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