NASCAR continues to tweak its qualifying program, this time turning things around 180 degrees “ literally. Starting next week at Auto Club Speedway, cars will be reversed along pit road, so they don’t have to back out to pull onto pit road at the start of qualifying. NASCAR officials confirmed the change Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, saying it came at the request of the drivers. By lining the cars up with their backs to the wall and not their noses, it should reduce the possibility of pit road collisions and contact, as well as make it easier for drivers to pull out at the beginning of each qualifying session. An official bulletin will be issued to the teams next week.(FoxSports)(3-16-2015)
UPDATE: NASCAR will implement a change in procedure to qualifying beginning this weekend at Auto Club Speedway. Drivers will no longer back out of their pit stalls when qualifying begins. The new rule will be in place for all three of NASCAR’s top divisions and both the XFINITY Series and Sprint Cup Series will employ the change this weekend at ACS. The change came at the request of the drivers who were concerned about the congestion on pit road when cars were backed out of pit stalls at the start of qualifying. Cars will be parked in their pit stall with the nose pointing toward the track at the start of this weekend’s qualifying sessions. When a driver returns to pit road they will then back into each stall. One exception is at Martinsville Speedway where Sprint Cup cars will leave from their garage stall for qualifying since Camping World Truck teams use pit road as the work area.(Motor Racing Network:)(3-17-2015)
