NOTE there is no longer a Top-35 rule. That rule was done away with after the 2012 season
Qualifying Rules: Each team must send a representative for a random drawing at a time and location designated by NASCAR. The order of the random drawing will be conducted in accordance with owner championship points for cars that have entered by the Entry deadline, starting with the highest points holder. Until the completion of three (3) Events of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, the final 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship car owner points standings will be used for determining the order of the random draw. After the third (3rd) completed Event and until the completion of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, the current 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship car owner points standings will be used for determining the order of the random draw. This drawing will be made at a time specified on the Schedule of Events on the Official Entry Blank. If the car is not in the Garage area at the time of the drawing, only the driver may draw. If the car is in the Garage area at the time of the drawing, a designated member of the crew may draw. If the driver or car owner or designated member of crew is not present at the time of the drawing, a NASCAR Official will draw for the team.
At tracks measuring less than 1.25 miles in length AND Road Courses, qualifying will consist of two (2) rounds.
1) The first qualifying round is 30 minutes in duration, unless otherwise authorized by the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Director.
2) All cars must compete in the first qualifying round. Upon the completion of the first qualifying round, the 43 eligible cars for starting positions 1-43 will be determined.
3) The twelve (12) eligible cars that post the fastest single lap time from the first qualifying round will advance to the final qualifying round.
4) The remaining cars will be sorted based on their times posted in the first round of qualifying in descending order. There will be a ten minute break after the completion of the first round and the twelve (12) eligible cars that advance to the final round will have their times reset. The final qualifying round will be 10 minutes in duration, and the fastest single lap time posted in the final round will determine positions 1st through 12th in descending order.
At tracks measuring 1.25 miles in length or larger, qualifying will consist of three (3) rounds:
1) The first qualifying round is 25 minutes in duration, unless otherwise authorized by the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Director.
2) All cars must compete in the first qualifying round. Upon the completion of the first qualifying round, the 43 eligible cars for starting positions 1-43 will be determined.
3) The twenty-four (24) eligible cars that post the fastest single lap time from the first qualifying round will advance to the second round.
4) The remaining cars will be sorted based on their times posted in the first round of qualifying in descending order.
5) There will be a five minute break after the completion of the first round and the twenty-four (24) eligible cars that advance to the second round will have their times reset.
6) The second qualifying round is 10 minutes in duration and the twelve (12) eligible cars that post the fastest single lap time will advance to the final round.
7) The fastest remaining cars will earn positions 13th through 24th based on their times posted in qualifying in descending order.
8) There will be a five minute break after the completion of the second round and the twelve (12) eligible cars that advance to the final round will have their times reset. 9) The final qualifying round is 5 minutes in duration and the fastest single lap time will determine positions 1st through 12th in descending order.
NASCAR Revises National Series Qualifying Format At Talladega Superspeedway: NASCAR revised its national series qualifying format for Talladega Superspeedway which, in turn, should elevate the on-track competition for fans at the high speed 2.66-mile track. For the Oct. 17-19 events at Talladega featuring both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, national series qualifying will take on a more rapid pace that should bring out the best in the competitors and provide fans with an extra element of excitement.
Keystone Light Pole Qualifying for the Fred's 250 powered by Coca-Cola NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 17 at 5:30pm/et and will air live on FOX Sports 1. Coors Light Pole Qualifying for the GEICO 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 18 at 4:30pm/et and will air live on ESPNEWS, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
National series qualifying at Talladega will now consist of the following:
· Three rounds with the first round divided into two groups amongst the competitors. The first qualifying round is five minutes in length for each group.
· Competitors will be assigned to a first qualifying round group based on the random draw held earlier in the event.
· The 24 eligible competitors that post the fastest single lap speed from either of the first qualifying round groups will advance to the second round. The remaining competitors will be sorted based on their speed posted in the first round of qualifying in descending order.
· There will be a 10-minute break after the completion of the first qualifying round and the 24 remaining competitors that advance to the second round will have their times reset.
· The second qualifying round is five minutes in length and the 12 eligible competitors that post the fastest single lap speed will advance to the third and final round.
· The fastest remaining competitors will earn positions 13-24 based on their fastest single lap speed posted in qualifying in descending order.
· Following a five minute break, the 12 eligible competitors that advance to the final round will have their posted speeds reset.
· The final qualifying round is five minutes in length and the fastest single lap speed will determine positions 1-12 in descending order.
"This revision in national series qualifying at Talladega should be more exciting for our fans," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR senior vice president of competition and racing development. "It will feature a more accelerated pace, provide greater opportunity for team strategy to come into play and it should more closely resemble actual racing conditions."(NASCAR)(9-4-2014)
And in another surprise move by Brainless and NUTSCAR:
Qualifying at Martinsville will be the same as Talladega except the sessions will be reduced from 5 minutes down to 2 minutes and the Crews will have to push the Car and Driver around the Track while blindfolded.