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Nascar drivers know that qualifying their race car is the most important part of making the race starting line up. NASCAR may have as many as fifty cars qualifying for forty two spots in the race line up. You can bet the competition will be on the aggressive side. Teams often tape the front grills of the cars to give them better down force on the front of their cars. Tire pressures are at the lowest level to give the best bite in the corners. The gas tanks are topped off to give added weight to the rear of the car, making the rear of the car help the front end of the car turn in the center of the turns with out letting off the gas to much. These are just a few tricks of the trade that all teams use on qualifying for positions on race day.

The driver qualifies by taking two fast laps around the track. He races the clock to get the best elapsed time and if he achieves the fastest time, the driver still has to wait for the other fifty drivers to complete their run. This gives Nascar the starting order for race day. Bonuses such as money for the pole position gives the drivers the incentive to drive hard and get the best pit stall for the race. Most drivers today try to set their cars up to close race conditions. They would rather have a decent start with out the worry of winning the pole position. This has made the driver successful to the fact that they do not have to make drastic changes to the car during the race.

Qualifying the race car is like putting books in to alphabetical order, A - being the fastest, B - would be the outside pole position and so on. The last two spots in the line up are called provisional. This gives the owner of the car a spot in the field. Owner points from previous races give their team a starting position in the line up. Those team owners that have a decent finish in previous races use these points to get into the field if they fail to qualify. This gives the teams a chance to be competitive but they still have to be up to speed for the race. If the car can not keep a competitive speed they will be blacked flagged from the track for safety reasons.

Positions are determined in thousandths of a second and the driver with the fastest elapsed time will get the award for pole position and a extra amount of cash. Qualifying also determines the pit positions the drivers will have during the race. With most races being won in the pits, it is very important to have a pit stall you can enter and exit easily. Most races are won in the pits and pit crews will work feverishly to get the car serviced as quick as possible.

Many races have been won from qualifying strategy. Running up front in clean air gives you a distinct advantage, plus it will keep you in front of traffic which could get you caught up in an accident and cost you the race. Qualifying has become the main objective for all these drivers and they will be satisfied with any position, just as long as the have the chance to race on race day.

Learn more about this author, Rex Coker.
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