CHARLOTTE, N.C. – There will be a new ownership model in the Sprint Cup Series.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will now have a “franchise” system that goes into effect this weekend. It’s a change from the independent contractor model that had been in place since the sport’s inception. The charter system guarantees a starting spot for 36 teams and the field will be reduced to 40-cars as a result. The teams that received a charter are those that have been racing full-time since 2013. This means that teams like the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford, the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet didn’t receive a charter.
The four remaining spots will be open to teams who don’t currently own a charter. If a perspective owner wishes to get a charter, they must purchase an existing one from another owner. NASCAR must approve the sale. They’ll charge an administrative fee but won’t get a cut of the transfers of ownership. Each owner is limited to four charters each and set the sales price for their respective charter. When asked, Rob Kauffman said that each charter is “single-digit millions.”
The charters can be sold once every five years and it must be for the full season. They run the duration of the current television contract with an option to extend every four years.
“The new team owner agreements will offer a more appealing environment for both current and prospective team owners at the NASCAR premier series level,” France said. “I’ve always stressed that if we can do things to improve the business of our stakeholders, we will pursue it. I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished today with this agreement.”
Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice-president and chief racing development officer said that the point allocation would remain the same. This means that the 40th-place car will receive four points at a minimum. He also said that how this would affect the qualifying process, especially for the Daytona 500, will be announced on Thursday.
O’Donnell was also asked about a possible relegation type system down the road where the lowest ranked charter team would lose their charter to the highest non-charter team. He said that NASCAR “is not in the business of taking charters away.”
BRISTOL, Tenn.- Two other schools will be playing pigskin at Thunder Valley at the tail end of the summer.
The East Tennessee State University Buccaneers will open their Southern Conference portion of play against the Western Carolina Catamounts at Bristol Motor Speedway. The game will take place on Sept. 17.
Buccaneers head coach Carl Torbush said that everybody at the ETSU football program is “very excited about this opportunity to play at Bristol Motor Speedway. We are very appreciative of Jerry Caldwell and everyone at BMS in making this happen.”
Western Carolina head coach Mark Speir, who was born and raised in Kannapolis, N.C. and is a diehard NASCAR fan, said that he’s looking forward to the opportunity to “welcome ETSU back to the SoCon – and to be able to do so in such a storied American sports venue like Bristol Motor Speedway is an awesome opportunity for both our programs.”
Jerry Caldwell, general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway, said that “it’s exciting for us to support ETSU’s return to football and offer these athletes an experience they’ll never forget.”
Caldwell also said that only the backstretch stands will be used for this game.
Thunder Valley is no stranger to hosting football games. It played host to an NFL preseason game in 1961 between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Redskins. On Sept. 10 of this year, it will play host to the Tennessee Volunteers and the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol.
“The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading…” and I need to tell everyone to calm down with the freakout over “Daytona Day.”
From time to time, NASCAR nation gets embroiled in some ridiculous discussions like the Confederate flag and the restart zone. By far the most ridiculous discussion of all still belongs to the damn restart zone, but the uproar over Daytona Day is a close second.
For those of you who weren’t watching the NFC Championship Game this past Sunday, FOX ran a one-minute promo for the upcoming 58th running of the Daytona 500. If you didn’t get to see it, here it is.
As you can see, it’s basically a promo aimed at people my age who love to socialize and have fun while watching sporting events. It’s not meant for those of us who are diehard fans of NASCAR and already had the Daytona 500 circled on our calendars. While I think it’s a little cheesy, I know people to whom this would appeal nicely. It’s basically saying get your friends together for a Daytona 500 viewing party like you would for the Super Bowl.
Judging from the reaction of the fans already here, you would think FOX took a truck full of bibles, dumped them into a hole, doused them with gasoline and lit a match.
Fans were taking to Twitter to bitch and moan about a promo saying it doesn’t portray NASCAR fans the right way, it doesn’t depict the NASCAR experience and that it didn’t make any mention that Pope Pius XII died of heart failure on Oct. 9, 1958.
Some even said that this was the final straw and that they’ll never watch NASCAR again.
As I said in the lede, “get a grip!” This isn’t Augusta National where only the select few can enter. This is a sport with a fan base whose average age is 50 (Sports Business Journal).
Just like the human body, sports need new blood to keep the sport going. Our fan base isn’t getting any younger and we need people my age to get into the sport. Some of us weren’t born into families that already watched NASCAR religiously. Those people like myself had to find our love for racing on our own.
A lot of the old school fans have attacked the people in the ads as a bunch of yuppies who wouldn’t stay for the entire 36 race season. Even if that were the case, the Daytona 500 is the biggest race of the year for us. We should be getting as many freaking eyeballs as possible in front of the TV sets every February.
Let me put it to you another way. NASCAR races every season average around 4 million viewers. Let’s say you throw a viewing party for the Daytona 500 and invite 20 people to watch it. If even just four of them are converted and continue watching for the next 35 weeks, that’s 16-million new people introduced to the sport we all love.
I understand that the old guard doesn’t want to acknowledge their time has come and gone. I understand that they don’t want to feel like NASCAR isn’t catering to them anymore. I’ve been following this sport long enough to qualify as a “legacy fan” so I get it. I also feel there needs to be a balance between serving those fans that got NASCAR here and serving those who are just starting their journey as fans into NASCAR. But the fact is the legacy fans aren’t going to live forever and what worked back in the day doesn’t work for my generation.
In any sport, the last and probably most important responsibility of the old guard is to help facilitate and initiate the new guard to take over. It can’t work, however, if you’re not willing to welcome those new guns and new ideas into the mix. Last year when Kansas Speedway announced that it had partnered with Nickelodeon to call the Kansas spring race the SpongeBob SquarePants 400, so many people turned their nose up at it saying it makes it too much for kids. To which I say, that was the whole point. What is wrong with using companies like Nickelodeon to help us market to children? I loved it because I grew up watching shows like SpongeBob and to a degree still enjoy it as an adult. A lot of the current stuff is crap, but it still brings in the youth that this sport desperately needs.
I found my love of NASCAR through a show called NASCAR Racers. Yeah, remember that show from back in 1999? When I discovered that this show was based on a real sport, I started tuning in and that’s how I’m here.
The bottom line is it’s ridiculous to get so worked up about a promo aimed at getting new blood into the sport we all love because the fan base is one of the oldest in professional sports. I’m not saying you have to like every new idea or new marketing campaign, but don’t get so worked up over a promo for one of the biggest races in all of racing because it’s cheesy and doesn’t include the fight of Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison in 1979. If you just stand around with your finger in your nose and do nothing, expect to get left behind.
My plane is about to take off so I must wrap this up. Until next time, I’ll leave you with this fact. The most money ever paid for a cow in an auction was $1.3 million.
The opinions expressed in this piece are solely those of the author and may or may not represent the views of Speedway Media.
Five men will forever be immortalized among the greatest in all of NASCAR.
Today in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina, the class of 2016 was officially inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Each of their respective careers has, in part, laid the foundation for the sport of NASCAR. Jerry Cook was a decorated modified driver and competition administrator for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Series, Bobby Isaac was a champion in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and holds the record for most poles in a single season, “Texas Terry” Labonte was an accomplished driver in the Sprint Cup Series, Bruton Smith was a promoter who took our sport to new places and Curtis Turner was one of the pioneer drivers of NASCAR.
Ryan Newman started the ceremony by inducting Bobby Isaac. Photo: Bob Leverone/NASCAR via Getty Images
Isaac was the first to be inducted today by the driver of the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, Ryan Newman.
“Winning a pole in NASCAR’s premier series means you’ve taken your race car right to the edge of mayhem,” Newman said. “One false move equals disaster. Perfection equals glory, and our next inductee did it better than anyone. His 19 poles in 1969 still stand as NASCAR’s single-season record. I know I’ve tried to beat it. Also a skilled racer, he won 37 races and took home the premier series championship in 1970. He sat on the pole many times, and now he stands at NASCAR’s pinnacle.”
Isaac’s wife Patty Isaac accepted the induction on behalf of her late husband who died of a heart attack on Aug. 14, 1977, just a day after competing in a Late Model Sportsman race at Hickory Motor Speedway.
Ironically, Hickory is where Isaac discovered his love of racing. Born into a poor family, Issac “attended a race at Hickory Speedway,” said Patty. “Not having enough money to purchase a ticket, he watched the race from a tree outside the track. He was inspired to believe that racing was his opportunity for a better life. Bobby soon realized that God had blessed him with the ambition and talent to be a race car driver. He loved to win, but he hated to lose, and he used this passion to drive his success.”
She then talked about how two events at Talladega Superspeedway changed Issac’s life forever.
“On September 14, 1969, he chose to compete in the opening event while most of the well-known drivers boycotted for safety concerns,” she said. “Mr. France recognized Bobby’s contribution to the success of that race and his speedway and rewarded him with a Rolex watch engraved with these words: “Winners never quit; quitters never win.” It became his most prized possession. The second event was on August 12, 1973, when midway through the race, a voice told him to park this thing. He pitted the Bud Moore car and announced his retirement.”
Jerry Cook joined fellow modified driver Richie Evans in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Photo: Streeter Lecka/NASCAR via Getty Images
The next to speak was three-time Sprint Cup Series champion, Tony Stewart.
“Any day, anytime, anywhere, and against anyone,” Stewart said. “That was the attitude that possessed our next inductee, and that’s why I admire him so much. His competitive spirit knew no end, and combined with ferocious talent, landed him six modified championships, and today one of my favorite drivers takes his rightful place amongst the immortals in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.”
After being introduced by Robin Pemberton, Cook took the stage to accept his induction into the hall, saying it was “a little overwhelming. This is the greatest honor in NASCAR, and to have a place in our sport’s house is the ultimate achievement. Congratulations to the other inductees, also.”
He talked about his beginnings and career in the sport. He even acknowledged that the stories of he and Richie Evans leaving town in different directions just so they wouldn’t let each other know where they were racing that night were all true. That got a huge laugh out of the crowd.
“I think the rivalry between Richie and I made us both better drivers,” he said. “From 1971 to 1985, we claimed all the NASCAR modified championships and were tied at six championships each when I retired in 1982.”
In 1982, he took a position with NASCAR as a competition administrator where he remains to this day. “I went to work with the weekly tracks and the modifieds that I knew so well. I launched what is now the Whelen Modified Tour along with the late, great Jim Hunter, and we restarted Busch North Series, which is now the K&N Pro Series East. I was even an interim pace car driver for the Cup races for a while until a new driver could be hired.”
Kevin Harvick inducts Curtis Turner. Photo: Streeter Lecka/NASCAR via Getty Images
After awarding the Landmark Award to Darlington Raceway founder Harold Brasington, 2014 Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick took the stage to induct Turner into the hall.
“Known as the Babe Ruth of stock car racing, this pioneer entertained NASCAR’s earliest fans with not only his ability to whip a car around the track but also with his colorful personality away from the wheel,” Harvick said. “More than 45 years since his final race, this sultan of speed remains the only driver to win two consecutive races from the pole leading every lap.”
Accepting the award on Turner’s behalf was his daughter Margret Sue Turner Wright. She said that despite his lack of education, her father “taught himself how to write a contract, and he wrote a lot of contracts, a lot of businesses, and his life became busier with traveling, and so soon he decided he really needed to fly in the air instead of on the road. He needed to take flying lessons. So he took some flying lessons, and I saw mom and dad studying. Ann Ross Turner, who’s our mom, she was his supporter throughout his racing career, and she was quizzing him in that living room just about every night on either law books or for the flying. He did pass the test, and he bought his first plane, a Piper Cub.”
She then told the story of how he “was going to go to Charlotte and wanted to know if I’d like to go along. I was about nine. He said he wanted to show me something he was working on. So we left Roanoke, and we drove towards Charlotte, and near it, we eventually got out on the side of a road. So we got out, and there was just this big meadow, and he said, ‘I want you to look at this big field, meadow, and this is where I’m going to build the best racetrack there’s ever been.’ And while he was showing me and talking about it, I could tell he was really seeing it. I could only see grass. I just couldn’t get that. So I realized later he was a visionary.”
She referred to how her father had plans that would lead to what would become Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Bruton Smith, accompanied by son Marcus, took his place in the hall. Photo: Streeter Lecka/NASCAR via Getty Images
The next inductee, hands down, stole the show. It was fitting that the man to induct Bruton Smith was a driver who’s never shy on giving his opinions, 2012 Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski.
I’m not going to give away too much of his speech if by chance some of you missed it. If you did, you can listen to it on nascar.com. However, here’s a little taste of his speech.
After his proposal to Pepsi to be the exclusive soft drink provider at Charlotte Motor Speedway for 50-years was rejected, he then said in the way only he could that he “sold an awful lot of Coca-Cola. I mean, we have sold millions and millions of cans of Coca-Cola. As a matter of fact, if we had all the money we took in from selling Coca-Cola, we would have plenty of money and I could give y’all some money tonight because we took in lots of money there. We were selling Coca-Cola.”
He then said what I think was the line of the night.
“So Coca-Cola is still there,” he said. “Coca-Cola is at all eight speedways. We love Coca-Cola. We love what they do, and God bless Coca-Cola and all the employees.”
It should be noted that Bristol Motor Speedway is the only track of Speedway Motorsports, Inc. that sells Pepsi products.
I’ve always joked that Bruton Smith is a “brilliant madman” who could talk until the end of time. If Marcus hadn’t stopped him from doing so, I think he would’ve kept his speech going until the Coca-Cola 600 weekend on Memorial Day.
“I’m losing my bet on your speech,” Marcus said. “I told them you’d be less than eight minutes.” “Well, I apologize,” Bruton said. “Rick Hendrick said if I carried on out to 12 minutes he’d pay me for it. I’m trying to get there, Rick.”
Terry Labonte shakes hands with 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion, Kyle Busch as he is inducted into the hall. Photo: Streeter Lecka/NASCAR via Getty Images
Last up was reigning Sprint Cup Series champion Kyle Busch to induct two-time Sprint Cup Series champion Terry Labonte.
“My first full-time season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, I had the pleasure and pressure of following in the footsteps of a living legend,” Busch said. “Saying I had huge shoes to fill was an understatement. Early in his career, the two-time series champion, known as the Ice Man, for his coolness under pressure, later, though, the Texan became known as the sport’s Iron Man when he set the consecutive starts record. Now we have an even better name for him: NASCAR Hall of Famer.”
Labonte took the stage to thank all of those who helped him along the way such as his family and Rick Hendrick. He then transitioned to taking his children Justin and Kristy with him to the race track. He said he wasn’t sure if Kristy liked being there and how he made a terrible mistake when he let members of his pit crew take Justin through Talladega Boulevard. Any NASCAR fan worth their salt knows that some things in the infield at Talladega Superspeedway should forever remain unseen. “I’m not sure exactly what they saw or what they did, but from there on, about every Saturday night when we were at a racetrack, Justin would say, ‘Dad, can we take the golf cart through the infield?’”
He then said that while few drivers get to race in the Sprint Cup Series, even fewer get to race with their brother like he did with 2000 series champion Bobby Labonte. “I’ll tell you what, we had some great years we raced together,” Terry said. “We have some memories that will last a lifetime, and I love you too, buddy.”
He then spent the rest of his time talking about the events in his career that led to this moment. ” You know, I got to do a lot of cool things, got to go a lot of places, and be introduced as a two-time NASCAR champion. But I’ll tell you what: It’s going to be a whole lot better introduced as a NASCAR Hall of Famer.”
“The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading…” and I need to say that I’ll give the clock a chance.
I’m sure for a lot of you, the biggest lightning rod that stood out on the first day of the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour was the caution clock for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Truth be told, when I heard about the caution clock, I was spending my time thinking of how I’d rip this apart and call out someone in the offices at Daytona Beach. Now that I’ve had a few hours to mull it over and while I still don’t like the idea, I’ll begrudgingly give it a chance this season.
I’ve become more lukewarm to the idea now after hearing Vince Welch had done the math on how many races would’ve been affected last year had this rule been in place. Just a quick aside: If you’re one of those people who wastes his/her time adding up the points to determine the champion with no Chase system every single freaking year, you don’t get to say what Welch did was a waste of time.
He said that of the 23 races last season, nine would’ve been affected by this new rule. None of them, however, would’ve been affected more than once.
Also, Truck races aren’t known for having long green runs. They tend to be pretty caution-heavy. They’re also pretty damn short. Plus as I remember, in the early days of the Truck Series, they used to stop the race halfway through to take a break.
Now while I’m the farthest thing from a racing purest, I still have my version of what I’ll tolerate changing and what I feel needs to stay put. I understand that things will always change in NASCAR. I get it. I really, really do. But I’ve always followed that statement up with that if we’re going to make changes, they have to make sense!
Yes, it’s gimmicky. I still don’t like it, but I’m willing to give it a chance because I know change is always inevitable. I wasn’t too keen on the elimination format when they announced it, but I gave it a chance and I love it!
So in conclusion, I’m willing to give it a chance and I would urge the rest of you to do so as well. If you don’t like it because it’s too gimmicky, I understand and completely sympathize with your judgement. But if you’re just going to complain about it because it’s different, then I kindly suggest you go to that corner of the internet that fondly remembers your utopian NASCAR that never existed.
My plane is about to take off, so I must wrap this up. Until then, I’ll leave you with this fact. Odontophobia is the fear of teeth.
The opinions expressed in this piece are solely those of the writer and may or may not represent the views of Speedway Media.
After months of speculation, there will be a Chase system for all the national series.
Starting this season, the NASCAR XFINITY Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will decide their champion with a modified Chase format that mirrors the current model in the Sprint Cup Series.
The XFINITY Series will consist of 12 drivers, seven races and three rounds. It will begin with the Round of 12 in the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky Speedway. Four drivers will be eliminated when the checkered flag flies on the Drive for the Cure 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Eight drivers continue on in the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway. The championship four drivers will be decided at Phoenix International Raceway.
The Camping World Truck Series will begin their Chase at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with the Round of Eight. The cutoff race will be Talladega Superspeedway where two drivers will be eliminated. The Round of Six cutoff will be Phoenix International Raceway.
Sprint Cup Series drivers who made the 2015 Chase for the Sprint Cup will be ineligible to race in the championship race of either the XFINITYor Truck Series at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Speaking before the NASCAR media corp at the 2016 Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France said that he believed “it’s important that they (drivers in the XFINITY and Truck Series) understand how difficult it’s going to be when they get to the next level. Certainly, it makes it more exciting for our fans. Fans love elimination style and emphasis on wins. I think for the drivers, I think it’s important to get conditioned to what it’s going to take … to handle the next level.”
Photo: NASCAR News PR/Media
The Dash 4 Cash has also been revamped. The lineup for the four races – Bristol, Richmond, Dover and Indianapolis – will be set by heat races (basically, like the Can-Am Duel’s at Daytona). Those who qualify in odd-numbered positions will race in the first heat race. Those who qualified in even-numbered positions will race in the second heat race. These set the starting lineup for the main race (the points race). The top-two finishers in both heat races will race for the Dash 4 Cash in that race. The highest finisher of those four wins the Dash 4 Cash event. Winning two of these is equivalent to one regular season win (minus the bonus points).
Photo: NASCAR News PR/Media
The Camping World Truck Series will utilize caution clocks for the 2016 season. If the race stays green for exactly 20 minutes, the caution will automatically fly. The time is reset to 20 when the race is put back under green. If a caution should come out before the 20 minutes are up, the time is reset back to 20. When the race gets to 20 laps to go, the caution clock is turned off and won’t be used for the remainder of the event. The caution clock won’t be used at Eldora and will be turned off with 10 laps to go at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and Pocono Raceway.
Cole Custer will no longer be running part-time now that he’s turning 18.
JR Motorsports co-owner Kelly Earnhardt Miller confirmed today on SiriusXM Speedway with Dave Moody that the driver of the No. 00 Chevrolet will pilot said truck for the full 23 race NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. Needless to say, Custer is – and get used to hearing this word a lot the next few days – excited about the opportunity.
“We are all pretty confident heading into the season,” said Custer. “Joe (Shear Jr., crew chief) and I have been together for three years and we have a great relationship. We’ve shown a lot of speed in our time together, and we need to build a little more consistency. I can help that with the way I drive. Last year, we were running to win races and get experience; this year, it’s going to be all about the points.”
In 19 career Truck starts, Custer has amassed two wins, four top-fives and 10 top-10s. He thinks he’ll “still have the speed we had last year and I think we’re going to be contenders for the championship.”
Other team co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he looks “forward to seeing Cole run the full season. He and the team showed they have great speed and the ability to run up front in their limited schedule last year. We have great people and partners in place to make this a top-notch effort and give them the opportunity to go out and learn, win races, and compete for the championship.”
Few things annoy professionals more than hecklers and Tony Stewart is no exception to that.
The driver of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet was attending the festivities surrounding the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals at the River Spirit Expo Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma when he confronted a fan who was overheard on videos posted to Twitter that he doesn’t like Smoke.
The two exchanged words when the fan appeared to shove Stewart. He continued to yell at the fan as another man sat the man back in his seat.
Stewart and his representatives declined to comment on the matter.
One track will have a fresh coat of asphalt before the NASCAR circus returns to it in 2016.
Kentucky Speedway announced Tuesday that it will undergo its first-ever resurfacing in its 17-year history. In addition to repaving the entire 1.5-mile intermediate track, they will increase the banking in Turns 1 and 2 from 14 to 17 degrees, narrow the width of the turns from 74 to 56-feet, improve drainage and add over 3,000 feet of SAFER barrier.
The project will be completed before the tripleheader NASCAR race weekend July 7-9.
Kentucky Speedway General Manager Mark Simendinger explained their reasoning for the upcoming changes, saying, “Modifying Turns 1 and 2 will present an exciting challenge to the drivers while addressing issues of the track surface, SAFER barrier, and drainage will improve safety, which is always our paramount concern.”
Coordinating the repave will be Speedway Motorsports Inc. Vice President of Operations and Development, Steve Swift, who said, “We have assembled an excellent team, all of whom are familiar with the demands of speedway construction. I am excited about the finished product as we wanted to present a unique challenge to the drivers. This design, with Turns 1 and 2 completely different than 3 and 4, accomplishes that goal. The big winner will be the race fan.”
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: New convoluted rules are coming to Formula 1.
Now I’m probably violating a cardinal journalism rule by saying this is convoluted, but there’s no way I could discuss this without it sounding overly complicated. Now, “this” in my pronoun game is Formula 1’s new tire rule. This comes about with the introduction of the new “ultrasoft” compound for the 2016 season and the desire to stop teams from spending more time in the garage than on the track during practice. Pay very close attention because this gets very, very complicated.
Starting this season, Pirelli will bring three dry compound to the track instead of just two. These will consist of three combinations: orange-banded hard, white-banded medium and yellow-banded soft, medium, soft and red-banded supersoft and soft, supersoft and purple-banded ultrasoft.
Next teams will have 13 sets of tires instead of eight. Teams will also get their choice of what number of a certain compound they’d like versus the other two. At a minimum, the tire set manifest must have at least one of each dry compound. However, you could do a manifest that has just one soft, one supersoft and one ultrasoft. In order to get a customized set, teams are required to send to Pirelli their tire set request eight weeks prior to the Grand Prix weekend for European races and 14 for all other race weekends. Teams aren’t required to send one if they don’t want a customized tire set. In that case, Pirelli will give them four of the prime compound, five of the option compound and four of whatever they’re calling the softest compound.
It’s only going to get more convoluted from here.
Pirelli then takes one set of each compound to be used for Q3 and race day. Don’t think too much on that, I’ll explain it in a few minutes. Just focus on the 10 sets for practice and qualifying. After 40 minutes in free practice 1, teams are required to give the tire set they used for it to Pirelli and that set cannot be used again. After another 40 minutes, teams give their second set to Pirelli and that can’t be used again. The process repeats itself each practice session.
Now we get to qualifying. At this point, a team will be left with just two sets of tires. Remember those three tire sets taken away? One of them is given back to the team if that team makes it to Q3. If they don’t, it disappears like the plot to Sword Art Online. Also, that tire set will be a set of the softest tire compound.
Here’s where we up the ante. If you make it to Q3, you have to start the race on the tire set you used to set your fastest lap in Q2. Previously, it was the fastest time set in Q3. Why they changed it is beyond me. It’s beyond my comprehension. As someone who’s followed Formula 1 for a number of years, I’ve long since accepted that there are some things about this sport I’ll never understand.
Once we get to race day, it pretty much unfolds like it always does. You are required to use both dry compounds should rain not fall on the track. Also, you can use any of the tire sets not used during the rest of the weekend, although that’s not likely to have any left over.
If you’re still confused, just watch this video.
Thanks for reading and I hope I didn’t cause any of our readers a brain aneurysm.
