By Jerry Jordan, Editor
LAS VEGAS– Reaction to the group qualifying format with NASCAR’s new competition package at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was a mixed bag with some drivers embracing it and others, like Ryan Newman, rebuking it.
“I am not a fan of it personally,” Newman said. “I always loved qualifying, single-car going out, doing your own thing, racing the racetrack and that was qualifying. That’s the way every other series does it across the United States, to my knowledge. I am just not a fan of it. You’ve got manufacturers manipulating manufacturers and teams manipulating teams and that is not the way qualifying is supposed to be.
“I still feel like I still can win a pole, there is no doubt about that. It is not a matter of that. It is just that it’s not for the competitors, it’s for TV. I am not happy with our performance but I don’t like the direction of what we are doing here. Atlanta was marginal, this here is not how we should be qualifying in my opinion. That’s just my opinion.”
Asked if he agreed with a few other drivers, who intimated the format took out raw speed from the qualifying equation and instead substituted gamesmanship and a different strategy, Newman said the current format is “not racing.”
“I think our car will be fine, but we just didn’t get things lined up right,” he said. “You shouldn’t have to line up things to qualify. I mean, that’s the direction our sport has gone but I just don’t believe in it. That’s my personal opinion. That’s not racing, if you want to do that go play shuffleboard.”
Newman wasn’t the only person unhappy with the qualifying format, Kyle Busch said he wasn’t a fan.
“No, not really, but whatever,” Busch said, before strapping in his No. 51 Toyota Tundra for the Strat 200 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Trucks Series race.
Kyle Larson, who will start seventh on Sunday in the Pennzoil 400, is predicting chaos will ensure at some point if the series sticks with qualifying and good cars will get destroyed. Although there were no crashes in Friday night’s qualifying session, Larson said it’s hard to stay out of trouble and feels like it is only a matter of time before someone ends up in a backup car.
“It’s crazy. I got to do a little bit of it, that style, in Xfinity a few of years ago. We did it in Xfinity until we started crashing and then NASCAR made it single-car qualifying at a lot of those track,” Larson said, recalling the evolution of group qualifying in the sport’s lower tier series. “I don’t know what to think about it. I am glad it worked out for us. It is definitely crazy.
“That’s why trucks single-car qualify everywhere, it seems, because they had crashes. And then Xfinity, when I did it, there were times where we got in crashes. So, yeah, for sure, there is definitely going to be moments where teams are going to backup cars.”
But the sentiments of Larson, Newman and Busch aren’t shared by every driver and some think the new pack qualifying is not only fun but good for the sport. Their focus is on the fans and while there is a difference in how NASCAR used to do things, it doesn’t mean the current format is wrong. In fact, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion, Jimmie Johnson, was upbeat and said the excitement level is definitely ramped up compared to single-car qualifying runs.
“It’s exciting for the fans and I hope they enjoyed the show,” Johnson said. “For us, it’s a bit stressful, especially with your car that you are expecting to race on Sunday but all-in-all, I think it is good for everybody.
“If the fans like it, then I am into it. We are here to put on a show and entertain the fans and represent our sponsors. It is difficult with this rules package in general. It’s kind of different than the way we all grew up wanting more power and to go faster and faster. So, I mean, sure there is some of this that isn’t what we expect to see at the Cup level but it doesn’t take away the challenge. It doesn’t take away the hard work that goes into it. And they still pass out a trophy at the end of the day, so I am down for whatever and if the fans buy into it and the fans like it then that is what I am going to race.”
Those sentiments were shared by defending series champion, Joey Logano, who said he has no issues and embraces it. For him racing is racing – there are guys going fast in cars and they are trying to beat each other. If someone tears something up that is just part of the sport.
“I don’t know if it is more fun or less fun. It is just very, very different from what we used to do,” Logano said. “It is different than what we used to do and something we all have to get used to. As far as tearing stuff up, yeah, we are going to tear stuff up but that’s part of it. Just be ready for it. It’s going to happen. We are eventually going to crash doing this stuff and it is what it is when it happens.”
In the end, it was Kevin Harvick sitting atop the pylon and he will lead the field to the green flag on Sunday. Asked about the qualifying format, he said, “It’s definitely different. It’s one of those situations where you don’t really know where you need to be. I had never drafted, really, in these cars. They’re a lot faster than they were in the All-Star Race (last year), and the close-up rate was so fast.
“I’ll leave that up to you guys on how to wrap your arms around it.”
Jimmie summed it up nicely. It’s advertising and entertainment. But it’s supposed to be racing which will be entertaining and provide sponsors exposure.
Obviously Logano doesn’t have to repair wrecked race cars otherwise the ah wouldn’t have the attitude that wrecking race cars is just part of the game.