[Bill Gardner]

I just wondered if drivers would like to qualify at local race tracks? :2:

[Joe Snyder]

Originally Posted by Bill Gardner I just wondered if drivers would like to qualify at local race tracks? :2:

I can almost guarantee than the large majority of drivers would like to qualify. It's the way it was done for years and it worked just fine.

* Qualifying is part of racing.
* It still gives slower guys a great chance to start infront of a heat and make a feature.
* It prevents guys who have no business starting infront of a heat from being there thus possibly causing the opportunity of more accidents. They can get much more meaningful laps in terms of development running in the back.
* I'm sure the fans love watching the really fast guys come from the back in the heats.


* Does qualifying put more laps on a track and wear it? Sure. But more times than not, when someone blames qualifying for wearing out the track, 9 times out of 10 the track was going to be junk anyway. Terre Haute sprintweek, the track was packed tight because of rain and really dry. There were still guys who had top 10 times near the back.

Wherever you draw in qualifying order, even on pavememt it matters in terms of track conditions, we hear the Nascar and IndyCar guys speak of it all the time. Thats is just part of it.


* Regardless, the cream always rises to the top I guess.

* But, my #1 reason, I just think its cool.


********* But not everyone will agree, and that is fine. I think a good compromise could be something like this when there are people who don't like it because of the wear on the track or the time factor...or whatever.

If there are 35+ cars, a draw for starting spots will be used, anything less than that we will qualify. How abou that for local racing?

[ByronMack]

Originally Posted by Bill Gardner I just wondered if drivers would like to qualify at local race tracks? :2:

As a fan, I wish they would go back to qualifying. It seems to me that drawing lots of times puts the slower drivers in the front, causing more cautionsbbecause of faster cars trying to get to the front An less experianced drivers getting into positions they're not used to. Do all the tracks reuire transpondrs in the cars? If so, why not qualify like USAC midgets, during hot laps, if it's a tine problem.
Posted via Mobile Device

I like (love) qualifying because:

* Its part of the whole racing package
* Its exciting to see teams try to lay down great laps
* It usually sorts the cars to where they belong
* It lets every driver / team be featured one at a time on the track without sharing the attention and have their sponsors and back stories mentioned

[snoopy]

Especially on pavement, no. More laps on the tires. Keep time in hot laps. If the car count is down and there is no B, a fast, mid, and slow heat gives more action and guys run with others with their own skill and equipment. The bigger the track the more spread out the heats become. Getting lapped in a heat can be hard on the ego of a beginner.

[Barney]

I am not a driver just a fan. But I could do without qualifing. I go to see racing and dont care for the time trials. And why Terra Haute let everybody have a full lap before they got on the clock during sprintweek to me was rediculous. It just made the whole process take a lot longer than it needed to.

[cmiracingvids]

Originally Posted by Barney I am not a driver just a fan. But I could do without qualifing. I go to see racing and dont care for the time trials. And why Terra Haute let everybody have a full lap before they got on the clock during sprintweek to me was rediculous. It just made the whole process take a lot longer than it needed to.

I know this will be a hot topic. But I agree with you. I don't care for qualifying...it's boring and I go to the races...to see RACES, not qualifying. I know faster drivers like it, because it puts them in heats with faster guys, but that also makes for boring racing too I think. One could say qualifying is part of racing, but so is passing and making your way through lapped traffic. Most of the time lapped cars make for a great feature because the leaders encounter problems negotiating them. I for one LIKE that about dirt racing.
Qualifying during hot laps is the worst idea I've heard of. Don't do that. Also, if the sprints qualify, then the support classes are going to start saying they want to as well...then what?
To me, the best system I've seen is drawing for position, and then running a passing points system. It makes for good racing, it's fair, and the fast guys always manage to make their way to the front. The only issue I have with passing points is that if you wreck in your heat, it's really hard to come back to make the feature through the B, because you'll start in the back. But then again, if you're good enough...you'll transfer, and it'll be a great race. That's just my opinion.

[Micro 11]

Originally Posted by cmiracingvids I know this will be a hot topic. But I agree with you. I don't care for qualifying...it's boring and I go to the races...to see RACES, not qualifying. I know faster drivers like it, because it puts them in heats with faster guys, but that also makes for boring racing too I think. One could say qualifying is part of racing, but so is passing and making your way through lapped traffic. Most of the time lapped cars make for a great feature because the leaders encounter problems negotiating them. I for one LIKE that about dirt racing. Qualifying during hot laps is the worst idea I've heard of. Don't do that. Also, if the sprints qualify, then the support classes are going to start saying they want to as well...then what? To me, the best system I've seen is drawing for position, and then running a passing points system. It makes for good racing, it's fair, and the fast guys always manage to make their way to the front. The only issue I have with passing points is that if you wreck in your heat, it's really hard to come back to make the feature through the B, because you'll start in the back. But then again, if you're good enough...you'll transfer, and it'll be a great race. That's just my opinion.

Qualifying during hot laps has worked out great at Kokomo. They draw to see what group they go out with, and usually have 6 or 7 cars per group. Yea sometimes faster cars get bottled up behind slower cars, but it only takes one lap to get a good time. The fast cars are almost always the fastest qualifyers.

[nonwing79]

Group qualifying is good and speeds up the show. At first I didn't think that I would like the group qualifying but the more I watched the better I liked it. The fast guys still rise to the top and it adds something to hot laps. Kokomo has group qualifying and the drivers still turn some very quick laps even though other cars are on the track with them. It also helps some guys who can pace off of other cars get better times, we all know drivers past and present that didn't qualify very good by themselves, but when the racing started they were very good. It does save the track and speeds up the program. Group qualifying lets the driver have some control over his destiny compared to the pill draw. Group qualifying has been said to screw the early guys or the late guys but this has always been the case with any qualifying. If a driver drew an early number and the track was fast or greasy, it made a big difference, the same can be said for the guys that drew a late number and the track came to them or dried up. Group qualifying puts more drivers with the same type of track conditions, which keeps the times close.

[Panama]

Originally Posted by Barney I am not a driver just a fan. But I could do without qualifing. I go to see racing and dont care for the time trials. And why Terra Haute let everybody have a full lap before they got on the clock during sprintweek to me was rediculous. It just made the whole process take a lot longer than it needed to.

Originally Posted by cmiracingvids I know this will be a hot topic. But I agree with you. I don't care for qualifying...it's boring and I go to the races...to see RACES, not qualifying. I know faster drivers like it, because it puts them in heats with faster guys, but that also makes for boring racing too I think. One could say qualifying is part of racing, but so is passing and making your way through lapped traffic. Most of the time lapped cars make for a great feature because the leaders encounter problems negotiating them. I for one LIKE that about dirt racing. Qualifying during hot laps is the worst idea I've heard of. Don't do that. Also, if the sprints qualify, then the support classes are going to start saying they want to as well...then what? To me, the best system I've seen is drawing for position, and then running a passing points system. It makes for good racing, it's fair, and the fast guys always manage to make their way to the front. The only issue I have with passing points is that if you wreck in your heat, it's really hard to come back to make the feature through the B, because you'll start in the back. But then again, if you're good enough...you'll transfer, and it'll be a great race. That's just my opinion.

Are we new fans to the sport?

There is nothing as cool as the sound of one lone sprint car engine sucking in air and making big horsepower. I have been a gopher, crew member, driver and announcer, I have been going to the sprint car races for 40 years, I love qualifying and I miss it dearly!
I go to watch hot laps, qualifying and of course the racing, that is the full picture of who's who in engine builders, chassis set up and the HERO's that will put it all on the line to be the fastest You can see who knows how to pick the fast line, and you can hear the BEAUTIFUL sound of BIG money motors.

If it were my choice it would be against the law to "NOT" have qualifying. :2:
Just my .02