Before we get to the Daytona 500 we
have three races and a qualifying unlike the rest.
First we have the Sprint Unlimited, next Saturday, February 16, at
8pm on Fox. This race will be broken up into three segments, but
the rest is basically up to you. A fan vote (vote here), that
will conclude Feb 13th, will determine a few things. You can vote
for how long the three segments will be, either 40/20/15, 35/30/10,
or 30/25/20. Also you can vote if there should be a required pit
stop after the first segment, and if it should be two tires or
four. And the last thing, that matters, that you can vote on is if
0, 2, 4 or 6 cars should be eliminated after the second segment.
However, there will be one final voting session, the day of the
race that will determine if the starting lineup will be set by 2012
owners points, practice speeds, or car number. It's nice to see
NASCAR trying something different and when it's a race at Daytona,
it can't fail.
That brings us to February 17th next Sunday, at 1pm on Fox, we have
what will look like your basic qualifying run. But instead of
locking the field in place, only the front row will be determined,
and even that isn't a lock. If either car on the front row has to
go to a backup car they will end up moving to the tail end of the
starting lineup. In other words this might not end up being as
meaningful as it should be, maybe that's why Jimmie Johnson, Kasey
Kahne, Aric Almirola, and Michael Waltrip will be running a half
marathon before their qualifying runs.
From there we move on to the Budweiser Duels on Thursday, the 21st
at 2pm and 3:30pm. The 150 mile races will take the top 35 in
owners points and split them up. The cars that finished in even
numbers spots in last years owners points will be in one race while
the odd finishers in the other. They will be joined by cars that
qualify on their Sunday speed that are outside the top 35. From
there the final finishing positions in those two races will
determine the rest of the starting order for the Daytona 500, with
the one race determining the odd number spots and the other the
even numbered spots.
It's a bit confusing, but it makes for a fun lead up to the regular
season starting with the Great American Race. We'll be back for a
preview of what's to come in that race after the Duels. For now go
vote for the Sprint Unlimited and get ready for some NASCAR action
next Saturday night!
mlz
Sunday, February 10, 2013
