Drivers upset with 500 qualifying format that led to 'mayhem'
For the first time in the 57-year history of the Daytona 500, NASCAR did away with the single-car qualifying runs on Sunday.
In its place at Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR implemented a knockout-style qualifying session with three five-minute rounds, with drivers eliminated after the first and second rounds.
Instead of trying to go out and run the fastest lap of the session on your own, drivers and teams strategized to time their runs just right, hoping to work with other cars to catch the draft at the precise time and record a quick lap.
As if setting the 43-car field was not confusing enough, this made things much more complicated for everyone involved.
The end result, in driver Denny Hamlin's words, was "mayhem."
"We're a lot of smart people here," added Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kurt Busch. "There's drivers, owners, NASCAR. We got to find a better system. We should just take the cars as we build them in the offseason, unload, pass tech, then go qualify one car at a time, four-lap average. That would really give a sense of pride to putting effort toward building a car to qualify for the Daytona 500 instead of shaking up bingo balls."
The problems started right from the start of the first session Sunday, as teams scrambled to get off pit road to make their qualifying attempt. The mad dash onto the track caused a logjam in the field, with Clint Bowyer getting into the back of Reed Sorenson.
With only a handful of moments left later in the session, Bowyer tried to make a pass under Sorenson on the track. Sorenson appeared to attempt to block him, which triggered a massive wreck.
After the incident, Bowyer did not mince words about his displeasure with NASCAR's new qualifying format.
"It's NASCAR's fault for putting us out in the middle of this crap for nothing," said Bowyer. "We used to come down here and worry about who would set on the front pole in the biggest race of the year. Now all we do is come down here and worry about how a startâandâpark like this out of desperation is going to knock us out of the Daytona 500.
"We've been in meetings for 45 minutes just trying to figure out what in the hell everybody is going to do just so we can make the race. It's stupid. There's no sense in doing this."
Bowyer was certainly not alone in his frustrations with the new format.
"Mayhem. There's no other word to describe it," said Joe Gibbs Racing's Hamlin.
"The frustrating part is dealing with this whole system which makes no sense whatsoever," added Ryan Newman, who drives for Richard Childress Racing. "It's hard to stand behind NASCAR when everybody I talk to up and down pit road doesn't understand why we're doing this. Maybe I need to be sat down and educated a little bit."
Three-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart, who also is co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, expressed his displeasure on his Twitter account.
Today use to be about showcasing the hard work from the teams over the winter. Now it a complete embarrassment for our series. #NASCAR
— Tony Stewart (@TonyStewart) February 15, 2015
@Kenny_Wallace that's not a show, it's a joke and you know it
— Tony Stewart (@TonyStewart) February 15, 2015
The often-opinionated Brad Keselowski initially said he was going to stay away from the topic, but the Team Penske driver took to his Twitter account to explain his thoughts.
Today is one of those days where it Doesn't matter what I think. #HappyToBeHere
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) February 15, 2015
Lots of people upset about new #DAYTONA500 qualifying procedures, but it's hard for me to be upset w/o having a better idea.
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) February 15, 2015
Qualifying on the outside of the front row, six-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports believes NASCAR needs to look at the benefits of group qualifying and weigh it against the risks and complaints.
"I guess maybe we should look at viewership numbers and attendance numbers to see if this format supports the risks that the teams are taking, drivers are taking in the cars," said Johnson, who indicated he is in favor of anything that is better for the sport.
"That's why I go back to stats," he said. "I'm not trying to take a soft way out. At some point in time in order to grow the sport, somebody has to be unhappy. I don't know where that falls. Hopefully we can look at facts and stats and say, yes, this is better and it is worth the five cars we lost. If it didn't move the needle, then we should try to rethink things and the five cars we lost wouldn't be worth it."
After the qualifying session, which was won by Hendrick Motorsports' Jeff Gordon, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O'Donnell indicated none of the drivers criticizing the format would be fined for their comments.
O'Donnell was clear that NASCAR does not "want to see wrecks of any kind," and will "evaluate what took place" Sunday while asking for feedback from the industry and competitors.
"When you hear from Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart, that's passion. This is the biggest race of the year. They want to make the race. We understand that," said O'Donnell. "I think as we look at that, if there are ways we can make adjustments, we will. Not everyone's going to be happy. That's part of this. Cars have always historically gone home from Daytona. That's tough. We know how big this race is."
Looking for imput from across the industry, O'Donnell indicating altering the format and trying to please everyone is a moving target.
"Was it more exciting? Were there more people talking about qualifying? Hopefully so," he said. "What does that result in at the end of the day? We'll talk to Joie Chitwood (Daytona International Speedway president), the folks at FOX, we'll balance that with everybody in the garage to make sure we're doing what's best for the entire sport.
"We can't rely on one driver, one owner, the track," he said. "We have to balance that and see what's in the best interest of the entire sport."
