[Jordan] Anderson has fallen victim to a loophole in NASCAR’s new qualifying procedure. In the weeks and months since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the sanctioning body has had to adjust its qualifying procedures across all three of its national touring series.
A myriad of different formats was used last season before NASCAR finally settled on a mathematical metric in races that did not have actual qualifying sessions. The metric is based upon percentages relating to owner points, as well as finishing position and fastest lap ranking from the previous event.
To ensure all competitors had an equal shot at making the race, the sport expanded the NXS and NCWTS field sizes to 40.
“It is super frustrating, especially for all the long hours and hard work that [we] have put in to get that car ready,” Bassett Racing co-driver Dillon Bassett told Fronstretch. “For us not even to have a chance to go to the racetrack this weekend even if we wanted to, it really hurts.”
The blow is especially difficult for the family-owned team that had originally planned to enter all 33 NXS races, with Bassett and his brother Ronnie sharing the majority of the driving duties. It would have been a first for the team after competing part-time the last two seasons in a partnership with DGM Racing.