NASCAR cuts guaranteed starting spots from 30 to 25 for Truck series
NASCAR is changing the number of guaranteed starting positions based on owner points from 30 to 25 for the Camping World Truck Series races.
The old rule guaranteed spots to the top 30 teams in the owner standings that showed up to an event as long as that team had been entered in every race during the year.
The rule has no impact for the first four events of 2010 – only 25 trucks were entered in every race in 2009, meaning that only 25 teams are eligible for guaranteed spots. Starting with the fifth race of the season, the top 25 teams in the 2010 owner standings who show up for a race will have guaranteed starting spots in the field.
The new rule will ensure that there will be at least 10 open spots in each race. There will be 11 open spots if a past champion does not use a provisional to get the final spot in the 36-truck field.
“All owners who would have been locked in under the previous procedure will have guaranteed starting positions at Daytona and for three additional races,” said NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Director Wayne Auton. “Teams which saw limited competition in 2009 or are new to the series will have greater opportunity to qualify for races than they might have had in the past, especially at short tracks such as Martinsville Speedway, where drivers who may not have a great deal of experience at the national series level are attempting to further their careers.”
The Nationwide Series will remain with 30 locked-in positions and Sprint Cup will remain with 35 locked-in positions.
“This is the thing to do,” said Red Horse Racing co-owner Tom DeLoach, who is considering starting a third team that will have no points to start the season. “If I’m starting a team, [NASCAR’s] moving from five to 10 [has] doubled my chances. It’s absolutely the right thing to do. Let’s get out there and race.”
The revision does not impact the setting of the lineup if qualifying is rained out. The top 30 in owners points (regardless of whether a truck has competed in all events) get spots, with the final six positions set by criteria in the rule book.
