All News Kerry Earnhardt Kirk Shelmerdine Todd Bodine

Provisional Rules to be changed? UPDATE:

April 23, 2004 at 12:00 AM
  • hearing after last weeks error with the provisonals being awarded that there may be a change somehow in the Provisional Starting Process. Lat week at Martinsville, #72-Kirk Shelmerdine was out of provisionals but was origianlly on the Starting Lineup. The #98 team of Todd Bodine protested and was added to the field and Shelmerdine dropped [in hindsight, since Shelmerdine was told he was in, they should had just added Boding and started 44 cars, however…]. Anyhow, hearing it could be like the top 40 speeds, and the remaining three ‘promotors option’ or the top three in owners points not in already with none being charged, however, this is just a rumor.(4-21-2004)
    UPDATE – rules change: NASCAR issued technical bulletins in its Cup and Busch series this week outlining a minor change to the awarding of provisional starting positions. The change concerns instances when there are not enough teams eligible for provisionals to fill the provisional starting spots. Previously, NASCAR would award the remaining positions to teams based on their number of qualifying attempts and all teams would be charged for using the provisionals.
    Under the revised rule, in the event the number of entries eligible for a provisional is equal to or less than the number of starting positions, provisionals assigned to fill positions 39 through 43 will not be charged to teams’ maximum season total.(ThatsRacin.com), not much of a change and the rule pretty much already read like that anyway, anything to make the rule more confusing I guess.
    this is from a NASCAR PR dated 1-6-2004: “In the event the number of entrants is equal to or less than the number of starting positions available for an event, provisionals assigned to fill starting positions 39 through 43 will not count toward the maximum season allotment.”…so what is the difference?
    So with 46 cars entered, no provisionals for #72-Shelmerdine [out], #00-Wallace or #04-McClure [first attempt for the teams] and while the #33 [Skinner] used a provisional and somehow was charged it at Daytona when it didn’t have any, assuming [hate to assume] that the #33 with Kerry Earnhardt/team is NOT eligible for a provisional. So that should/could/maybe make 42 teams eligible for a provisional this week at Talladega, so they shouldn’t be charged this week…..
    Been told, provisionals will NOT be charged at Talladega.(4-23-2004)