DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 22: A general view of cars racing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 57th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 22, 2015 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/NASCAR via Getty Images)
With the advent of the Charter System, NASCAR has announced new changes for qualifying procedures in the Daytona 500 and the 35 remaining points races on the 2016 Sprint Cup Series schedule.
For the Daytona 500, all 36 Charter teams will be guaranteed a starting position, with the final four slots going to non-Charter teams, which NASCAR refers to as "Open teams." Four Open teams will make the Daytona 500 field.
The highest finishing Open team in each Can-Am Duel race earns a starting position, with the final two starting positions awarded to Open teams based on Coors Light Pole Qualifying if not already a top finisher in a Duel race.
Single-car qualifying runs will set the front row for the Daytona 500 and the starting lineup for the Can-Am Duel fields, with the number of Charter team and Open team cars split evenly throughout both races.
If qualifying is cancelled due to weather, the top two finishing Open teams from each Can-Am Duel race earn starting positions in the Daytona 500.
If the second Can-Am Duel race is cancelled due to weather, the highest finishing Open team from the first race earns a starting position, with the other three Open teams determined by qualifying.
If both Can-Am Duel races are cancelled due to weather, qualifying determines all four Open teams.
If qualifying and both Can-Am Duel races are cancelled due to weather, the combined practice speeds are used to determine the four Open teams.
If all on-track activity prior to the race is cancelled due to weather, 2015 owner points will be used to determine the four Open teams.
The good news is that the weather at Daytona looks great so far.
For the remaining 35 points races, the system will be:
Again, the field for each race will consist of 36 Charter teams and four Open teams.
Qualifying results will determine the Open team starting positions if the event is run as scheduled.
If qualifying is cancelled due to weather, the combined practice speeds determine the four Open teams.
If practice and qualifying are cancelled due to weather, owner points determine the four Open teams (events 1-3 revert to 2015 owner points).
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