When NASCAR announced changes to the qualifying procedure prior to Daytona originally it was final practice speeds that would determine qualifying lineup.
That seemed to change at Phoenix where NASCAR seemed to call an audible and changed it to combined speeds from both practices.
Since then we have seen teams switch back and forth on race weekends where the only two practices that were held we on Fridays.
Teams trying to lay down a fast lap late but still focus on getting their cars ready for the race since there was no other practice.
Weekends where qualifying was held on Friday this was not an issue for teams as they would have two practices on Saturday to get ready for the race.
For instance, last weekend at Kansas with qualifying on Saturday mid morning teams admittedly sandbagged second practice so they would not have to go out later in the session.
While teams like Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and others whose speeds were top five in final practice qualified deep in the pack because of their late draw.
Since then NASCAR announced that no longer the top 35 and those not locked in to the field will be separated.
Also, qualifying order will be based on first practice speeds only. Meaning teams can just focus on qualifying in the first practice.
Following last Saturday’s qualifying results Indianapolis Motor Speedway and NASCAR moved its qualifying session back one hour.
This in essence eliminates any advantage for drivers going early at IMS.
Shifting into gears…
Another change this season at Pocono specifically is drivers can shift again at the 1.5 mile track.
On Friday Cup director John Darby says shifting always allowed but previous gear ratios "weren't compatible for shifting."
Some drivers might not even shift this weekend and for other it depends on how the car feels in the practices.
Four time Pocono winner, Jeff Gordon said this week "NASCAR is going to let us shift here again, so I'm pretty excited about that," said Gordon, who is 13th in the point standings. "By allowing us to shift again, I think it's going to make it more competitive and provide more opportunities to pass. You have to have good horsepower, and getting the gearing right and getting those shifts smooth is vital."
When you say nothing at all...
Richard Childress met the media on Friday morning but said very little. This past week on social media tools like Twitter and Facebook those who supported what Childress did wante to help pay for his fine.
Childress on Friday said "We had a lot of fans to send in money to help with the fine. I will pay it personally. And all the money that is coming in we will donate to the Childress Pediatric Trauma unit; for this situation, maybe something good will come out of it. He added "Hopefully Kyle and myself will have learned something from it. Thank you all very much…and later."
That was all Childress had to say in his press conference at Pocono as he hopes to put this behind him.
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