NASCAR qualifying question

[SiteWolf]

OK....we have a potential issue here...

It's no secret that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. qualified for the pole a few days ago....spoonfeeding tho this comment may be.

But Junior wrecked his car and will be starting at the back of the field now.

THIS time we know this in advance, but that won't usually be the case....drivers wrecking their cars or even being penalized quite often will do so...after we've already given qualifying divis.

Would I not be correct in still treating Junior as having won the pole?
For race results I've always used the unofficial results page nascar.com puts out soon after the race finishes
I plan to grab from their lineup page for qualifying divis once I start the new qualifying divi setup....is this going to be an issue?

[hork]

Seems to me better to be consistent. I'd vote for treating this race's qualifying as you would every other, and give him credit for his front row qualifying spot.

[SiteWolf]

that's my thought.....were this any other race, we wouldn't find out (or he wouldn't have a chance to wreck so that) he'd been moved to the back before qualifying divis are released..............after all, we're giving divis for where they qualify, not where they start

[P562045]

So will this be a not an issue after this week. In other words drivers will not be going to the back of the field because of crashes. Just trying to understand this a little. To be honest I can only think of one reason why a driver would be put in the back of the field and that is when they have engine trouble. For all I know there could be other reasons to put drivers at the back of the field as well.

I am thinking this is a pretty unique situation that will not often happen. But when it does happen. At least with regards to qualifying divis are we just going to leave things alone with this type of situation. In other words if something happens like with Dale Jr. we will not be having another divi for this type of situation where he goes from qualifying first to wherever he ended up in the back of the field. I vote we just leave things alone it will just be easier for everyone.

[SayOw]

It actually happens quite frequently, but not always with pole sitters.

What happens, is after qualifying there are still practice sessions drivers can use to fine tune their car. If they blow an engine or wreck their car in one of these post-qualifying practice sessions, they then must forfeit their qualifying position and start at the rear of the pack because they will be using a different car/engine that they qualified with...now using their "backup car".

[P562045]

Thank you SayOw.

I did not even really remember that they had practice sessions prior to the race.

[SayOw]

There are 3 practice sessions scheduled for AFTER the Twin-125's tonight ...

Friday, February 18th

11:00 a.m. - Sprint Cup Series Practice - SPEED Channel
12:30 p.m. - Sprint Cup Series Practice - SPEED Channel

Saturday, February 19th

10:30 a.m. - Sprint Cup Series Happy Hour (Final Practice) - SPEED Channel

[mntwins4lifeheysmacknuts]

Jr. still gets the Coors/Bud/Winston/Pizza Hut/Taco Bell/Mobil 1 Pole award right? It's the position he qualified in.

[SiteWolf]

Originally Posted by mntwins4lifeheysmacknuts

Jr. still gets the Coors/Bud/Winston/Pizza Hut/Taco Bell/Mobil 1 Pole award right? It's the position he qualified in.

if, in all that, you're asking if Junior got the pole........yes

[TroyB911]

Yeah Junior in all intensive purposes IS the POLE winner and as far as DIVI concerned is the POLE sitter. But at the warm up to the 500 he will be sent to the end of the lead lap. He WILL start the race at the front but when they START he will be in the back. Does this make sense?

[TroyB911]

FYI Gordon will also most likely move to the rear when they begin warm up laps due to extensive damage at the end of his duel today.

[SiteWolf]

Originally Posted by TroyB911

Yeah Junior in all intensive purposes IS the POLE winner and as far as DIVI concerned is the POLE sitter. But at the warm up to the 500 he will be sent to the end of the lead lap. He WILL start the race at the front but when they START he will be in the back. Does this make sense?

he'll run warmup laps in the front, he'll start the race in the back
he qualified for the pole, he'll start in the back

[rrock33]

yes divi is based on qualifying not what happens after to change the starting order

so I ask the question,...

how does this type of thing affect +/- after the race?

if jr starts last and wins is it +43 or zero since his "original starting position" was pole???

[SiteWolf]

Originally Posted by rrock33

yes divi is based on qualifying not what happens after to change the starting order

so I ask the question,...

how does this type of thing affect +/- after the race?

if jr starts last and wins is it +43 or zero since his "original starting position" was pole???

from what I know...or from what I've seen....drivers are listed on the results page following a race....with a starting position equal to their qualifying position.............and the results page after a race is what I grab to put stats in....

I took a look for an example...I ran into Tony Stewart winning the pole in August 2009 and wrecking in practice....on the results page for that race he shows with a starting position of 1 despite starting at the back of the field.

[rrock33]

Thank you for clearing that up. I get how stats are grabbed so we'll go with that. Still curious about the + and - 200 shown for
projections seems extreme but it is what it is.