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The simplest way to describe qualifying for a NASCAR race is a one man race against the clock.

Owners fill out an entry form and pay the entry fee for each race in order to get the opportunity to try out for that weeks race. The drivers then draw a number to see what order they will make that attempt.

On the day and appointed time each driver must take his car through inspection to make sure the car is following the rules. In the order of numbers drawn each driver makes his warm up and qualifying laps which are timed. After all of the drivers have run against the clock they are placed in the order of the fastest to the slowest up to 43 cars.

Now comes the complicated part. Each driver and each car owner get a certain number of points each race depending on where they finished the race. The top 35 drivers are guaranteed a starting spot in the race. The remaining spots are filled in according to who is fastest in time around the track during qualifying until a field of 43 drivers is filled.

The one exception to this rule is the first race of the year the Daytona 500 which uses a combination of the normal qualifying for the first two spots and then two qualifying races determine the remainder of the field. But then again Daytona is something special.

Learn more about this author, Sherrill Fulghum.
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