How The NASCAR Starting Order Is Worked Out
All NASCAR races make use of NASCAR qualifying results to help work out the starting positions of the vehicles in the race. However, it is not quite as simple as that because the starting positions are not only determined by qualifying results.
All NASCAR races make use of NASCAR qualifying results to help work out the starting positions of the vehicles in the race. However, it is not quite as simple as that because the starting positions are not only determined by qualifying results.
Some starting positions are worked out by previous results and a team's rank, but in general, the qualifying results have the main effect on the starting positions of cars in a NASCAR race.
The starting positions for the qualifying races are determined by the luck of a draw or a sequence of draws. The order of the runs is from the lowest number to the highest with higher numbers having a minor advantage because the condition of the race track improves with usage. The more it is used the faster the track becomes.
The NASCAR teams send out their vehicles one at a time based on the numbers that they drew in the random lottery. Each car is permitted a prearranged length of track to get up to speed and as it zooms over the starting line it gets a green flag to indicate that the stop watch has started.
Each sports car is permitted two laps to establish its speed; the faster time will be its entry into the qualifiers for the real starting positions. Drivers have different strategies for these two laps, but one common strategy is to make use of the exterior lane of the track for the first lap.
This allows the sports car to travel more distance and therefore warm up more. The second lap can then be run along the fastest lines giving a lower qualifying time.
Another approach, albeit a less common one, is to forego the second lap because it lessens the stress on the car giving it a better chance in the final, actual race. This is a dangerous strategy which not many drivers decide to undertake.
Qualifying results for NASCAR races are based solely on the length of time it takes to complete a lap. This obviously has to do with speed, but the actual highest speed over a short distance is not taken into account.
If there is a tie for a position, times are compared down to 0.001 (one-thousandth) of a second. If there is still a tie, then the winner is the driver with the highest number of points in the season so far.
The media has a tendency to report racing results in miles per hour (MPH) which is definitely tracked, but it does not determine the winner. The winner is the one with the fastest lap time, which can also be transformed into an overall speed.
Because the media give details of the results in this way, the general public has a tendency to believe that the car reaching the highest MPH will be the winner, but that is false or at least not the whole story.
Sometimes the qualifying rounds have to be postponed indefinitely, most often due to very bad weather conditions, then the NASCAR qualifying positions are based on the owner's previous amount of points.
Owen Jones, the author of this article writes on various subjects, but is currently occupied with the
Gatso speed camera. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at
Laser Temperature Guns.
