NHRA QUALIFYING FORMAT 101
Sun, 2008-02-10 16:04
There’s been considerable confusion
regarding the new qualifying procedure which some believe “locks in”
the quickest 12 cars in each pro category at the conclusion of Friday’s
second session. Many at the Winternationals were under the mistaken
impression that those 12 cars couldn’t be bumped from their respective
fields regardless of how they performed on Saturday, and this is not
the case.
The new procedure was really put into effect for races later in the season, when an under-ideal-running-conditions-Friday evening followed by a 20 degrees and 15 humidity percentage points higher Saturday could effectively end all hopes of outsiders making the field.
Unquestionably this has been a major problem. We can recall more than one U.S. Nationals when there was but a single night session on Friday, and if you didn’t make it into the show then you would be making useless “demonstration runs” for the remainder of the weekend. The same situation has occurred at other venues, with this new plan designed to enhance qualifying prospects for the competitors while at the same time insuring the spectators of a better show. There’s been considerable confusion regarding the new qualifying procedure which some believe “locks in” the quickest 12 cars in each pro category at the conclusion of Friday’s second session. Many at the Winternationals were under the mistaken impression that those 12 cars couldn’t be bumped from their respective fields regardless of how they performed on Saturday, and this is not the case.
The new procedure was really put into effect for races later in the season, when an under-ideal-running-conditions-Friday evening followed by a 20 degrees and 15 humidity percentage points higher Saturday could effectively end all hopes of outsiders making the field.
Unquestionably this has been a major problem. We can recall more than one U.S. Nationals when there was but a single night session on Friday, and if you didn’t make it into the show then you would be making useless “demonstration runs” for the remainder of the weekend. The same situation has occurred at other venues, with this new plan designed to enhance qualifying prospects for the competitors while at the same time insuring the spectators of a better show.
While only 12 times are advanced forward after Friday qualifying, there are no protected positions. Everything’s still up for grabs. In theory, at least, if the field is deep enough (Pro Stock is the only category in which this is even remotely probable), it’s possible that Friday’s Number 1 provisional qualifier could become a DNQ by the end of Saturday. Unlikely, of course, but remotely possible. There are no guaranteed starting spots after Friday. Only those 12 best elapsed times remain on the board.
As NHRA Sr. VP Graham Light explained, “One of the Chicago races is the best example I can use to explain this. After Friday night the bump in Top Fuel was a ‘fifty-nine. On Saturday it warmed up, and we know what happens. I had a conversation with Tim Richards (crew chief for Brandon Bernstein), who wasn’t in the show. He said, We’re in a no win situation. With these conditions we can’t run better than a 4.61. It’s too hot, we’re going to smoke the tires if I set it up any quicker than that, but we can’t qualify with a ‘sixty-one. I have to come up here with a ‘fifty-five tune-up, but the track’s not going to hold a ‘fifty-five tune-up, and it didn’t.
“Not a single car qualified on Saturday, and most of the cars smoked the tires. Well, that wasn’t fair to the fans or the racers because they had missed it on that one (Friday night) session. Now, on to this scenario. There’s at least four open positions on Saturday, so even if it was so good Friday night that that Number 1 to 12 is secure, that nobody can run that good on Saturday, at least now that ‘sixty-one we were talking about would get you into the show. At least there are some spots available for those last two runs on Saturday.
“It’s the same as if we’d only run 12 cars on Friday and it had rained out the rest of the session. When we go to Saturday it’s still the quickest 16 cars that are going to race on Sunday.”
The reality is that this plan is a heck of a lot simpler than it may sound. It provides the racers with a Saturday opportunity regardless of how much hotter or humid it is than it was the night before, and it also insures that the fans will see exciting racing, because if the field is deep enough, and that Friday night session was a barn-burner, you could see eight or 10 cars really battling it out for those last four spots. Their elapsed times might be slower than Friday evening’s, but the show will still be excellent.
The new procedure was really put into effect for races later in the season, when an under-ideal-running-conditions-Friday evening followed by a 20 degrees and 15 humidity percentage points higher Saturday could effectively end all hopes of outsiders making the field.
Unquestionably this has been a major problem. We can recall more than one U.S. Nationals when there was but a single night session on Friday, and if you didn’t make it into the show then you would be making useless “demonstration runs” for the remainder of the weekend. The same situation has occurred at other venues, with this new plan designed to enhance qualifying prospects for the competitors while at the same time insuring the spectators of a better show. There’s been considerable confusion regarding the new qualifying procedure which some believe “locks in” the quickest 12 cars in each pro category at the conclusion of Friday’s second session. Many at the Winternationals were under the mistaken impression that those 12 cars couldn’t be bumped from their respective fields regardless of how they performed on Saturday, and this is not the case.
The new procedure was really put into effect for races later in the season, when an under-ideal-running-conditions-Friday evening followed by a 20 degrees and 15 humidity percentage points higher Saturday could effectively end all hopes of outsiders making the field.
Unquestionably this has been a major problem. We can recall more than one U.S. Nationals when there was but a single night session on Friday, and if you didn’t make it into the show then you would be making useless “demonstration runs” for the remainder of the weekend. The same situation has occurred at other venues, with this new plan designed to enhance qualifying prospects for the competitors while at the same time insuring the spectators of a better show.
While only 12 times are advanced forward after Friday qualifying, there are no protected positions. Everything’s still up for grabs. In theory, at least, if the field is deep enough (Pro Stock is the only category in which this is even remotely probable), it’s possible that Friday’s Number 1 provisional qualifier could become a DNQ by the end of Saturday. Unlikely, of course, but remotely possible. There are no guaranteed starting spots after Friday. Only those 12 best elapsed times remain on the board.
As NHRA Sr. VP Graham Light explained, “One of the Chicago races is the best example I can use to explain this. After Friday night the bump in Top Fuel was a ‘fifty-nine. On Saturday it warmed up, and we know what happens. I had a conversation with Tim Richards (crew chief for Brandon Bernstein), who wasn’t in the show. He said, We’re in a no win situation. With these conditions we can’t run better than a 4.61. It’s too hot, we’re going to smoke the tires if I set it up any quicker than that, but we can’t qualify with a ‘sixty-one. I have to come up here with a ‘fifty-five tune-up, but the track’s not going to hold a ‘fifty-five tune-up, and it didn’t.
“Not a single car qualified on Saturday, and most of the cars smoked the tires. Well, that wasn’t fair to the fans or the racers because they had missed it on that one (Friday night) session. Now, on to this scenario. There’s at least four open positions on Saturday, so even if it was so good Friday night that that Number 1 to 12 is secure, that nobody can run that good on Saturday, at least now that ‘sixty-one we were talking about would get you into the show. At least there are some spots available for those last two runs on Saturday.
“It’s the same as if we’d only run 12 cars on Friday and it had rained out the rest of the session. When we go to Saturday it’s still the quickest 16 cars that are going to race on Sunday.”
The reality is that this plan is a heck of a lot simpler than it may sound. It provides the racers with a Saturday opportunity regardless of how much hotter or humid it is than it was the night before, and it also insures that the fans will see exciting racing, because if the field is deep enough, and that Friday night session was a barn-burner, you could see eight or 10 cars really battling it out for those last four spots. Their elapsed times might be slower than Friday evening’s, but the show will still be excellent.
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