NASCAR: Daytona 500 qualifying isn’t actually all that complicated

Daytona 500 qualifying is often seen as a confusing way to open up the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. But one detail proves it’s really not that complicated, even compared to the traditional single-car qualifying sessions that are set to make their 2020 debut this afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

As the NASCAR Cup Series moves to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the first intermediate track race of the season, Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube, it will mark the 2020 season’s first appearance of the traditional single-car qualifying session, which was brought back during the 2019 season after a controversial qualifying session at Auto Club Speedway.

Each driver will complete one timed lap around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) oval in Las Vegas, Nevada, and their speeds will determine the starting lineup for the 267-lap race.

Simple enough, especially following Daytona 500 qualifying, which is by far the most complex qualifying format of the season.

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But all in all, the qualifying format for the “Great American Race” at Daytona International Speedway really isn’t all that complicated.

It starts off just like any other single-car qualifying session, with each driver making one timed lap around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked superspeedway oval in Daytona Beach, Florida. But only the top two drivers lock into their starting positions. Additionally, the top two drivers of non-chartered cars lock themselves into the field, just not into any specific position. They join the 36 drivers of chartered entries in doing so.

That session leads into the two Bluegreen Vacations Duels. The results from the single-car qualifying session determine how drivers line up in each one of the Duels, and the results of the Duels determine the starting lineup for the Daytona 500.

Here’s where it gets complicated, but not actually complicated.

There are effectively two spots remaining for non-chartered cars in the main event entering the Duels, with one spot being secured after each Duel.

To make things seem simple, NASCAR could simply award the spots to each Duel’s highest finisher among the drivers who haven’t yet locked themselves into the field.

That isn’t the case, making things seem complicated.

It almost ends up looking like an NFL playoff scenario, i.e. Driver A is in if he/she beats Driver B OR if Driver C beats Driver B, but Driver B must beat both Driver A and Driver C to get in.

This is because the prioritized sessions are effectively reversed.

The drivers who race their way in are prioritized in the starting order over the drivers who time their way in. But the two drivers who time their way into the field via the single-car qualifying session can still race their way into the field instead by finishing their Duel (there is guaranteed to be one in each Duel) as the highest among the drivers of non-chartered cars.

This would mean that one of the other drivers of non-chartered cars in that Duel would end up timing his/her way in, even though it would not happen until four days after the actual single-car qualifying session.

If one of the drivers who has already timed his/her way in races his/her way in, the spot awarded from that Duel would come down to time.

Here’s a scenario (looking at just one Duel).

Driver A locks in on time and is in the same Duel as Driver B and Driver C. Driver B didn’t lock in on time, but he/she did beat Driver C in the single-car qualifying session.

If Driver A finishes the Duel as the highest of the three, Driver B will get in on time, even if Driver C finishes ahead of him/her in the Duel, as Driver A will have raced his/her way in, freeing up a time-based spot, which Driver B would secure.

Driver B can also race his/her way in by beating both of the other two, in which case Driver A, who is already locked into the field, would officially be in on time.

Driver C can only get in by beating both Driver A and Driver B. Driver C would have raced his/her way in, and Driver A, again, already locked into the field, would officially be in on time.

Here’s a quick breakdown.

Driver A

• Into the field regardless
• Races his/her way in by: beating Driver B and Driver C
• Times his/her way in by: getting beat by Driver B and/or Driver C

Driver B

• Races his/her way in by: beating Driver A and Driver C
• Times his/her way in by: Driver A beating both Driver B and Driver C

Driver C

• Races his/her way in by: beating Driver A and Driver B
• Cannot time his/her way in

In a case where there are more than three non-chartered entries in a Duel, the same logic applies, but with both Driver C and Driver D being unable to time their way in.

It sounds complicated.

It’s not; keep this in your notes for next year while you enjoy the simplicity of this weekend’s format.

It’s really this simple: a total of 36 drivers are already in, with the front row determined by the single-car qualifying session and the rest of the field set by the finishing orders of the Duels. The two highest finishers, one in each Duel, among the drivers of non-chartered cars also qualify. The remaining two spots are set by time.

It just doesn’t appear this simple because the single-car qualifying session takes place before the Duels, so even though two drivers can time their way in via this session, they may not end up being the drivers who officially time their way in.

That’s where the whole scenario comes into play.

Is it as simple as the single-car qualifying sessions that are about to start taking place beginning this afternoon throughout the remainder of the season? Absolutely not; otherwise we wouldn’t be having this discussion.

But it’s certainly not as complicated as it appears on paper, and that’s why you should keep it in your notes for next year and beyond.

Tune in to Fox Sports 1 at 2:30 p.m. ET this afternoon for the live broadcast of the single-car qualifying session for tomorrow’s Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race itself, the second of 36 races on the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, is set to be broadcast live from beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET tomorrow afternoon.