NASCAR makes slight rule change for Daytona 500
By Asher Fair
NASCAR has made a slight modification to the Daytona 500 qualifying format ahead of this year’s season opener at Daytona International Speedway.
The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season is scheduled to get underway with the 64th annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 20 (2:30 p.m. ET, Fox).
But first, the 40-car field is slated to be determined by a single-car qualifying session on Wednesday, February 16 (8:00 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1) and then the two Bluegreen Vacations Duels on Thursday, February 17 (7:00 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1).
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The single-car qualifying session is only designed to solidify the top two starting positions in the Daytona 500. It is set to determine the starting lineups for the Duels, which will determine the remainder of the field, including which of the non-chartered entries qualify and which ones don’t.
None of this has changed. However, one step has been added to determining the Daytona 500 front row and the Bluegreen Vacations Duels starting lineups.
Now the top 10 drivers from the single-car qualifying session are set to make another qualifying run in the second round, and it will be the fastest two of those 10 drivers who lock up front row starting spots for the “Great American Race”.
The results of this second round, in addition to results of the first round from 11th place and behind, are set to determine the starting lineups for the Duels.
This same format is set to be used for the two races at Talladega Superspeedway and the summer race at Daytona International Speedway, though for these races, it is slated to determine the full starting lineups; there are no Duels for these events.
NASCAR updated its rulebook today to show Daytona single-car qualifying on Wednesday will be two rounds with top-10 going to second round (now the procedure for regular Daytona/Talladega races). Top-10 in qualifying results determined by 2nd round; rest by 1st round.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 9, 2022
This change effectively reverts things back to the way they were before the 2020 season, though with the top 10 drivers advancing as opposed to the top 12, like had been the case.
In 2020 and 2021, each driver simply got one qualifying attempt for the Daytona 500 during the single-car qualifying session. There were no qualifying sessions for the other superspeedway races during these two seasons.
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Be sure not to miss the single-car qualifying session or the Bluegreen Vacations Duels, and don’t miss the Daytona 500 itself. If you have not yet begun your free trial of FuboTV, now would be a great time to do so!