Saturday qualifying

dpkimmel2001

dpkimmel2001

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Cup qualifying headed to Saturday on more consistent basis in future?

“I think the key for us is to really create some fun activities for the fans with more driver access on Fridays if we can,’’ Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer, told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Monday.

“Tend to like the qualifying, if we’re going to move it, on Saturday. I think that is a really good experience for fans in terms of having that support race and being able to see the Monster Energy Series drivers qualify. So we’ll probably continue to look that way. The biggest thing for us is to creating those unique, fun fan experiences around the drivers and open up the access as much as we can.’’

O’Donnell told “The Morning Drive” that there have been some questions raised by competitors about qualifying and racing on the same day.

“I think some of the feedback from some folks in the garage is that still is really tough to qualify, get ready for the race,’’ he said. “Folks like it, but I also think Saturday also gives you the opportunity maybe to plan a little bit more on race prep that you need for the car. It will be a balance as we look at both of those to see what is the best solution going forward for the teams.’’


http://nascar.nbcsports.com/2017/08...-saturday-on-more-consistent-basis-in-future/
 
If they're going to continue to have races start just after 3, I'd rather see qualifying that morning. It has made for an interesting 2 weeks.
 
Johali said:
Qualifying and racing on the same day also complicates the pit stall selection process. Using the Qualifying positions from the previous week is asinine in my opinion.
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Agree. It doesn't make good sense to me.

On a personal level, I liked having the track activity on all three days. Qualifying on Saturday is good by me as long as they have practice on Fridays. Something going on is why people show up in campers.
 
Should just run qualifying the same day as the race I think. Either that or run more double headers that are not because of rain.
 
Meh...both the traveling fan in me and the one who enjoys watching qualifying when I get home from work on Fridays thinks they should leave it be, but I'm just one person.
 
From what O'Doofus said his priority is "creating those unique, fun fan experiences around the drivers and open up the access as much as we can.’’ IDK what a "fun fan experience" entails (for me it would be enjoying free ****tails at some venue at the track) but I am sure it would be markedly different for others.
 
I love going to Martinsville in Friday for qualifying. I liked it more with the old qualifying method but that any other conversation. That being said, I have liked Sunday morning qualifying, even though I forgot they were doing it at Watkins Glen.
 
Watching Dale Jr and Ryan Blaney in a cook-off on stage amongst droves of people isn't exactly my idea of fun - that's what Pocono had. I'm sure they had other things, but speaking for myself there probably isn't much in the way of fun fan experiences that's going to appeal to me. What would appeal to me is if they did a drivers go kart or legends race at a place like Martinsville. Or around one of the countless legends tracks at the 1.5 tracks. That's the kind of stuff I want to see.
 
Sponsors run the sport, but fans have to buy the product and bring in track revenue. Drivers and some crew chiefs like it. I know Rodney Childers has said he likes having another day at home with his family. I'm not a big fan of it. I look forward to Friday cars on the track, practicing and qualifying.
 
AdoubleU24 said:
Watching Dale Jr and Ryan Blaney in a cook-off on stage amongst droves of people isn't exactly my idea of fun - that's what Pocono had. I'm sure they had other things, but speaking for myself there probably isn't much in the way of fun fan experiences that's going to appeal to me. What would appeal to me is if they did a drivers go kart or legends race at a place like Martinsville. Or around one of the countless legends tracks at the 1.5 tracks. That's the kind of stuff I want to see.
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I come to the track to see racing. That's all the 'fan experience' I need or want. No concerts from bands I don't like, no ball of death, no MMA. I don't look at that stuff away from the track; why would I find it entertaining when I'm there?

P&Q at any level, I'm there. Run a Legends race on the front stretch, go-carts around a road course, overweight dachshunds riding minibikes through a mud pit; I'll get out of the car and go in. Otherwise, I have no reason to get out of the folding chair and the umbrella shade until the driver intros start.

Just me.
 
I'd rather have the race start at a reasonable hour than jam qualifying in at noon on Sunday. I like the idea of Cup quali on Saturday and have happy hour wrap up the day, after Trucks or Xfinity races.. Of course a double-header truck/xfinity race on saturday is awesome as well and might affect that afternoon happy hour idea. For those weekends, maybe have happy hour treated like more of a morning warm-up on Sunday morning.
 
Bowtie3 said:
I love going to Martinsville in Friday for qualifying. I liked it more with the old qualifying method but that any other conversation. That being said, I have liked Sunday morning qualifying, even though I forgot they were doing it at Watkins Glen.
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They seriously hamstringed the younger drivers with only an hour of practice on a road course. Larson lost 30 minutes serving a penalty from last week. A team can't do much to the car in 30 minutes, much less an hour. They said Jones went to a driving school to help him, but a sports car compared to a cup car? They had a full house plus at the Glenn, not having cars on the track for those fans to watch doesn't make sense to me.
 
DUN24 said:
I'd rather have the race start at a reasonable hour than jam qualifying in at noon on Sunday. I like the idea of Cup quali on Saturday and have happy hour wrap up the day after Trucks or Xfinity. Of course a double-header truck/xfinity race on saturday is awesome as well and might affect that afternoon happy hour idea. For those weekends, maybe have happy hour treated like more of a morning warm-up on Sunday morning.
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I'd love to see Happy Hour moved back to after the supporting races. It gave me something to watch while the crowd drifted out of the stands and cleared the parking lot.

The Cup teams aren't going to hold for going back to that, and I can't blame them. It requires them them to sit around all afternoon waiting for the supporting race to end before they can finish their day. The timing may possibly have given teams a better feel for how their cars would handle in the late stages of the next afternoon, but I don't think they'd find that minimal advantage worth sticking around for several extra hours.

Also, there were hardly any supporting races run at night 'back in the day'. Nobody's going to want to run final practice after a night X or Truck race.
 
I thought, when the current qualifying format was announced, that I'd like it. I was wrong. I seldom watch qualifying at this point. Even if I did watch it, I wouldn't be a fan of the single day qualifying/race format. It's way too much time to devote to the sport on my day off.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
I'd love to see Happy Hour moved back to after the supporting races. It gave me something to watch while the crowd drifted out of the stands and cleared the parking lot.

The Cup teams aren't going to hold for going back to that, and I can't blame them. It requires them them to sit around all afternoon waiting for the supporting race to end before they can finish their day. The timing may possibly have given teams a better feel for how their cars would handle in the late stages of the next afternoon, but I don't think they'd find that minimal advantage worth sticking around for several extra hours.

Also, there were hardly any supporting races run at night 'back in the day'. Nobody's going to want to run final practice after a night X or Truck race.
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If it's a night race, run final practice before it. I defo get the driver logistics issue.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
I come to the track to see racing. That's all the 'fan experience' I need or want.

P&Q at any level, I'm there. Run a Legends race on the front stretch, go-carts around a road course, overweight dachshunds riding minibikes through a mud pit; I'll get out of the car and go in. Otherwise, I have no reason to get out of the folding chair and the umbrella shade until the driver intros start.

Just me.
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I think we are both "experienced" challenged.........either that or a little older....:D
 
Oh, my biggest gritch with Sunday Q is the impact on fantasy racing. It reduces the time between when Q ends and the green drops, shrinking the window a player has to choose his team.

That's why I also don't like having Q after final practice. The posted practice results have speeds that are skewed toward Q runs, with no way to separate them from the laps run with race set-up.

Oh, and this stuff about not being able to repair a Q-damaged car before the race without penalty is Caca Del Toro.
 
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I hardly watch "knockout qualifying" as it is, although I did check out Pocono Q. Seemed like they had a good crowd there. If I'm going as a fan, I'd think Saturday or Sunday Q would ideal to me, and from what I read it did seem like the teams saved a bit of money not being on track on Friday. I think two-day Cup shows are the future, but Q on Saturday probably makes more sense as teams can make adjustments, pull out a backup car, and so on. Pack a bunch of support series sessions into Friday's schedule.
 
StandOnIt said:
They seriously hamstringed the younger drivers with only an hour of practice on a road course. Larson lost 30 minutes serving a penalty from last week. A team can't do much to the car in 30 minutes, much less an hour. They said Jones went to a driving school to help him, but a sports car compared to a cup car? They had a full house plus at the Glenn, not having cars on the track for those fans to watch doesn't make sense to me.
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WG has 33K permanent seats which were not all filled. How did you arrive at the notion that there was a full house?
 
FLRacingFan said:
I hardly watch "knockout qualifying" as it is, although I did check out Pocono Q. Seemed like they had a good crowd there. If I'm going as a fan, I'd think Saturday or Sunday Q would ideal to me, and from what I read it did seem like the teams saved a bit of money not being on track on Friday. I think two-day Cup shows are the future, but Q on Saturday probably makes more sense as teams can make adjustments, pull out a backup car, and so on. Pack a bunch of support series sessions into Friday's schedule.
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I agree as if the teams can save a buck 2 day shows will be essential given the lack of sponsorship money flowing. Friday could be used for the carnival barker/concert stuff if needed.
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
The good news is they sold all the tickets but the bad news is they certainly not were all used. To add context the Philadelphia Eagles had 40K show up yesterday to watch practice with most players not having a prayer of making the team......:D
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It's the first football they've had in six months. Also, wasn't it free?
 
Pat said:
I saw the grandstands were not filled. So where were all those people?
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Sell-out doesn't mean everyone who bought a ticket showed up.

Also, at a road course, people often move around to see different parts of the track. Those with bleacher tickets may not spend the entire race in their purchased seats.
 
Pat said:
I saw the grandstands were not filled. So where were all those people?
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Maybe they were all at the concessions or something lol. All I know is that it looked like the same blocks of seats were empty for the entire race.
 
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Charlie Spencer said:
Sell-out doesn't mean everyone who bought a ticket showed up.

Also, at a road course, people often move around to see different parts of the track. Those with bleacher tickets may not spend the entire race in their purchased seats.
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This is true about people moving about. I certainly would do that. A friend who lives near Road America spends most of the Xf races on the grass near a favorite corner but has a seat.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Sell-out doesn't mean everyone who bought a ticket showed up.

Also, at a road course, people often move around to see different parts of the track. Those with bleacher tickets may not spend the entire race in their purchased seats.
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With the joint having 33K permanent seats it doesn't seem like it would be a tall order to sell each ticket unless the cost of them were exorbitant. People may have moved to other areas to get a better perch but there was a noticeable amount that were not in the stands.
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
With the joint having 33K permanent seats it doesn't seem like it would be a tall order to sell each ticket unless the cost of them were exorbitant. People may have moved to other areas to get a better perch but there was a noticeable amount that were not in the stands.
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It looked like 40-50% to me.
 
Pat said:
It looked like 40-50% to me.
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There are several non-reserved bleachers in the infield general admission areas. Those seats are not sold, they are just there for the use of general admission ticket holders. Most GA ticket holders watch from the hillsides rather than these bleachers.

All of the reserved seats were sold, according to the track. All of the camp sites were sold, according to the TV guys. Maybe they were lying? :idunno:
 
LewTheShoe said:
There are several non-reserved bleachers in the infield general admission areas. Those seats are not sold, they are just there for the use of general admission ticket holders. Most GA ticket holders watch from the hillsides rather than these bleachers.

All of the reserved seats were sold, according to the track. All of the camp sites were sold, according to the TV guys. Maybe they were lying? :idunno:
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Maybe what I remember seeing was those bleachers.
 
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