NASCAR's Top 35 Rule is an absolute joke... (drivers, racing, Seat)

[bluescreen73]

So we haven't even had qualifying or the duels and already the buzz is that Danica is "locked into the Daytona 500."

Out of all the imbecilic things NASCAR has done over the last 15 years, this stupid rule takes the cake. Why the hell even have qualifying when only 6 spots are up for grabs? The Top 35 cars could go out and turn qualifying laps at pace car speeds and it wouldn't negatively impact them at all.

Most of the Top 35 teams phone in their qualifying runs and use the pre-qualifying practice session to work on their race setups. It gives them yet another advantage over the go-or-go-home guys who actually have to put together a solid qualifying package.

The common excuses for its existence are:

1) What if <insert star here> misses the field?
The old stock car adage is "run whatcha brung." If your crew screws up so badly that you miss the field, tough s*&t, pack it in and try again next week.

2) The sponsors pay big money to these teams. It's security for them.
Again, it's contingent upon the teams doing their level best to get into the show every week. If they can't, the sponsors should feel free to go somewhere else.

Nobody should be guaranteed a starting spot in a race. If NASCAR wants to keep up this stupid charade then instead of wasting time, fuel, and tires putting together a qualifying session which doesn't mean jack, draw all starting positions out of a hat.

[Checkered24]

I don't see where this has really hurt Nascar much. Money drives the sport, and it lets sponsors invest knowing their brand is going to be on the TV.

Fans are important and they identify and root for drivers. It insures their favorite fans are in all the races.

I do see your points, and do understand them to some extent. It makes it harder for drivers or new teams to "break in" because there are so few spots open for them.

It just doesn't seem to be a big negative. At least to me. There are some qualifying spots for fringe teams/drivers to make it, while keeping the regulars.

[WFW&P]

It hasn't deterred the fan base much and the reality of it is not many of the top tier teams would have to go home anyway if everyone had to qualify. But think of the story if a point leader missed qualifying during the chase.
I interpret the top 35 rule as sports socialism.

[PDD]

Danica Patrick guaranteed starter (rookie)
Trevor Bayne not guaranteed (last years winner)
Bill Elliott not guaranteed (former winner)

Does anybody else see something wrong with this?

[rbohm]

while i agree that the top 35 rule is bravo sierra, i dont have a problem if nascar were to say that the top 15 teams have a guaranteed starting spot in the next race. that does allow for more competition to get people qualified, which means more teams actually have a shot.

as for danica getting a guaranteed start in the 500, the points are not based on the driver, but rather the points earned by the team the previous year. and it only lasts for the first five races of this year, which means that danica will have to earn a starting position in later sprint cup races, unless the team is a full time team and manages to stay in the top 35 points wise as a team.

and for bain, the wood brothers are running a part time schedule, and have for many years now. in fact even david pearson ran a part time schedule with the wood brothers when he drove for them. bain is a full time driver in the nationwide series for rousch, and will likely move to sprint cup driving for rousch in a year or two.

as for bill elliot, he can take a past champions provisional if one is available. unfortunately for him his past championship was in the late 80s, which puts him behind other past champions. for instance if rusty wallace wanted to run the 500 this year, he would get the first past champions provisional position that is available.

there is one other provisional position, and that is the sponsors provisional position. the race sponsor can pick anyone they want to fill the last spot on the grid.

[PDD]

The point is zero experience Danica is guaranteed a spot and two former winners are not , that sucks.

[Zembonez]

This is not just a NASCAR issue. Other sanctioning bodies do the same thing. Indy drivers have long bought in to the race.

NASCAR is in trouble. Attendance is down. TV ratings are down. Many tracks now have installed giant banners to cover up empty (unsold) seats at races. Track owners hope the advertising revenue from the banners will help offset the lost revenue from ticket sales.

I believe the cookie cutter cars that all look alike are a major downer to the fans. People used to go to the races and pull for their favorite brand as much as they did a favorite driver. These days, if you don't see the decal on the nose of the car, you have no clue what it is.

The Australian V8 Supercars are a great example of a "stock car" racing series.

I was once a NASCAR fan. I'd like to see the sport become interesting again.

[bkern1989]

I personally don't have a problem with the rule. I think with all the talk about how the racing has been going down hill, qualifying is probably the last of their worries. They've gotta work on getting the track attendance back up, and changing the top 35 rule would have zero effect on that issue. If anything, it would only hurt them if say Jr were to mess up in qualifying, causing him to miss the race. Jr's millions of fans would for sure have something to say to NASCAR if he were to miss a race. It's very doubtful that they [the fans] would have the attitude of "Well, he messed up...better luck next weekend I guess."