Daytona 500 Qualifying: NASCAR Must Alter Qualifying System For Legendary Race

Trevor Bayne is not an automatic qualifier for next week’s Daytona 500, and NASCAR needs to change that immediately.  

With the way the system is currently constructed, the top 35 drivers in points from the previous year are automatically guaranteed a starting sort in the biggest race of the year.

Makes sense.

They are essentially saying that the 35 best drivers from a season ago are worthy without having to sweat it out on the qualifying track.

Not so much for Bayne.

Since his No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford didn’t run a full season and finished outside of the top 35, he faces a tall task to ensure he can race next Sunday. This is a travesty.

When you look at a sport like tennis or golf where a previous major winner is essentially grandfathered into that event for the rest of their career, it makes NASCAR look pretty stupid.

Sure, it may only be one race, but there is nothing quite like winning the Daytona 500. So when a 20-year-old becomes the youngest driver to ever win, he should be remembered at the track for the rest of his career. This was a historic accomplishment, and yet NASCAR is still treating him like some sort of part-time driver.

He deserves a bid no matter what happened to him after last year’s race.

The same can be said for two-time winner Michael Waltrip, who also ran a partial schedule in 2011 and now is forced to qualify for a race he has participated in 25 times before.

There will be 13 drivers competing for seven spots, so odds are they will end up getting the nod, but it’s certainly up in the air. Here are the parameters on how to qualify according to Floridatoday.com:

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The top two among the non-top-35 drivers in each qualifier make the 500. Three spots are then awarded to drivers based on today’s qualifying speed. The final spot goes to either (Terry) Labonte or (Bill) Elliott. If both should qualify on time or in their qualifying race, the final spot will go to one more driver based on today’s speeds.

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I’m not saying they should completely axe the qualifying aspect of the race, but when guys like Bayne and Waltrip have to work so hard just to get back to the same track they once dominated, it just doesn’t seem right.

Let’s hope the backlash will be enough for NASCAR to re-think their current methods. But more importantly, let’s hope Bayne has the opportunity to defend his title.