Can someone please explain to me how a driver qualifies 4th, finishes 2nd in his heat and starts 13th in the feature?

If I understood what they said at the track, because he left the track during his qualifying attempt, Cummins could not start in the top half of the field IF he qualified for the feature. So, he started 13th, first spot outside the top half.

Thanks openwheel. I guess I should’ve read the rule book first. I don’t understand the logic of the rule, but it is what it is.

Amazing how they can enforce a rule like that but illegally placed lead weights are a struggle for the Usac team of officials.

He should have gotten his one freebie as should all not named bacon and Moles.

Uh, yeah. I wasn’t gonna go there, but it does make one wonder, doesn’t it?

This has been a rule for a long time. The logic is you can’t allow gamesmanship to take advantage of track conditions. If a driver knows a track will be better early or later in qualifying they could purposely manipulate when they go out. Therefore there has to be a penalty for not getting a time in when you were scheduled to do so. Saw this happen in silver crown racing on the miles many years ago and then USAC figured it out and we now have rules in place.

That does make sense. Thanks for the clarification.