2001 WINSTON CUP CHAMPION PROVISIONAL RULES and STATUS
Updated 11-26-2001
CHAMP PROVISIONALS - THE RULES
The 43rd and last starting position is the seventh provisional and will be available to a car owner who has a former NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion as his driver, if he has not otherwise qualified or if he does not make the field any other way. If no past champion has failed to qualify for the race then the 43rd spot goes to the next team in the owner points.(or NASCAR's decretion) If no former champion needs the spot, the 43rd position will be set using criteria from the event's entry blank, such as the next car owner in points who has not made the race as long as they have not used their allotment of provisionals.
The former champions provisional will be awarded in a manner that is similar to regular car owners provisionals. That is to say that each team with the current or former champion in the car will be issued four provisionals when they attempt to qualify for the Daytona 500. Then, with every eighth qualifying attempt, the team with the current or former champion will be awarded one additional champion’s provisional. This would limit a team to a total of eight former champion’s provisionals. A team that features either the current champion or former champion will be limited to a total of eight provisionals in a single season. Any team, regardless of driver status, will be allowed to start a race with a provisional starting spot and not have the provisional "charged" to the team if they are in the top-25 in series points standings.
There is only one former champion's provisional per race. It goes to the most recent champion when two champions fail to qualify. NASCAR sets the field by issuing the first six provisionals, then checks to see if a past Cup champion needs to use a past Champ Provisional. If there are two past champs at that point, the most recent past champ gets the spot. If no past champ needs to use the provisional, it goes to the next team in the Owners Points.
Former NASCAR Winston Cup Champions still active on the circuit are(most recent): Bobby Labonte; Dale Jarrett; Jeff Gordon; Terry Labonte; Rusty Wallace; and Bill Elliott.
NO Previous Champion Provisionals used in 2001
CHAMPION PROVISIONAL STATUS
Standing
Driver
Team
Year of Last Championship
Present Owners Points Pos
Champ Prov Used
Prov Left
Races Used
1
Bobby Labonte
18
2000
7
0
6
none
2
Dale Jarrett
88
1999
5
0
6
none
3
Jeff Gordon
24
1998
1
0
6
none
4
Terry Labonte
5
1996
27
0
6
none
5
Rusty Wallace
2
1989
8
0
6
none
6
Bill Elliott
9
1988
16
0
6
none
Champion Provisonal's Only
SOME CHAMPION PROVISIONAL NEWS/RUMORS etc
More Champ Prov Stuff - (NOTE: this is basically correct): As much as it pains them to admit it, the NASCAR braintrust still insists on having a rule book with plenty of wiggle room in it. The latest evidence is contained in the strange story of Darrell Waltrip and the ex-champion's provisional: Does he have one or does he not? The official answer, as handed down from the hierarchy, i.e., the Cup trailer, is (tah-dah!), "Well, we haven't decided yet." Let's use this story as a microcosm of how NASCAR operates. During the offseason, changes were made to limit the number of times an ex-champion, i.e., D.W., can take the ex-champion's provisional that Waltrip used 20 times last year. Entering today's Cracker Barrel 500, Waltrip has started 43rd in 17 of the last 19 races. He has used the ex-champ's provisional in each of this season's four races, which means he does not have another one, under the new rules, until the season's eighth race, at Martinsville on April 18. So at Darlington next week, Waltrip is going to have to make the field with his qualifying speed, right? Well, maybe. Waltrip thinks that, if he maintains a spot in the top 25 of car owner standings (he is presently 23rd), he will be eligible to take one of the rules' so-called "uncharged" provisionals. Others read the rule to stipulate that one cannot get an uncharged provisional unless one is eligible for an official provisional. When NASCAR officials were asked for a ruling on Saturday morning, the official response was that they would not make a call until they circumstances dictate that they have to. In other words, NASCAR wants Waltrip to make the TranSouth 400 field fair and square. If he does not, and Waltrip's qualifying speed was 5 mph slower than anyone else here at Atlanta this week, then and only then will they make a decision. Furthermore, they don't really understand why anyone has a problem with this "Gilligan's Island" school of rules enforcement. You've got Gilligan's view, and you've got the Skipper's view. We'll have to wait until the next episode to find out which is valid.(Monte Dutton) I also have a page from the Provisional Status Page that has more info and speculation as well as a chart I devised with the Champ Prov info. Also: Waltrip has used a provisional in 17 of the past 19 races(SpeedNet)(3-15-1999)
Champ Provisional UPDATE: There is a lot of talk about DW and the Champ Prov. Most reports I hear/see report that the #66 cannot take ANY type of provisional until Martinsville. Not sure if this makes sense because if the team is in the top 25 in owners points the provisionals are not charged to the team. I guess we will have to wait and see, hopefully this will be a moot point and DW will get in on speed. Sort of lost in the DW story is Jimmy Spencers woes so far in 1999, they are teammates. Anyhow from an AP report: "Waltrip now has used a past champion's provisional to make every race this season. He is now out of provisionals for the first eight races. He won't have another provisional until after his eighth qualifying attempt this year. If, at that time, his first-year team is in the top-25 in car owner standings, any provisionals he uses won't count against his season-long maximum of eight. Even though Waltrip's Hass-Carter Motorsports is in the top-25 in car owner points for the 1999 season, this year's car owner points won't be used until next weekend at Darlington, S.C. Waltrip's four provisionals counted against him because his first-year team had no car owner points from last year, which is used to determine the provisional starting positions in the first four races."(3-14-1999)
