Guaranteed Starting Spots Becoming Endangered Species

Posted on March 13th, 2010 by Stephen Rhodes in NASCAR - Runnin' on Fumes

As in all professional sports, everyone starts with a clean slate, except in NASCAR where the previous season’s owners points carry plenty of clout.

For those of you not familiar with the NASCAR rule book, during the first five races of the year, the 35 guaranteed starting spots are awarded based on the final 2009 car owners points standings; however, after the fifth race, the locked-in starting positions will go to the top 35 in 2010 car owner spots.

That factoid makes next Sunday’s (March 21) race at Bristol Motor Speedway (the Food City 500) very important for a lot of the full-time teams who are holding up the rear at the back of the grid. Why, you’re wondering? Because beginning at Martinsville, anyone outside of the top 35 will have to qualify strictly on speed.

As of Saturday, here’s how the top 35 looks:

• 31. Sam Hornish Jr., No. 77 Penske Racing Dodge, + 49 points over 35th place.

• 32. David Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports with Yates Racing Ford, +42.

• 33. Brad Keselowski, No. 12 Penske Dodge, + 19.

• 34. Travis Kvapil, No. 34 Front Row Ford, + 10.

• 35. Mike Bliss, No. 36 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet, 0.

• 36. Kevin Conway, No. 37 Front Row Ford, 0.

• 37. Boris Said, No. 26 Latitude 43 Motor Sports Ford, – 24.

• 38. Robby Gordon, No. 7 Robby Gordon Motorsports Toyota, -27.

• 39. Max Papis, No. 13 Germain Racing Toyota, – 29.

It is imperative that the above drivers and their owners step it up a bit if they want things to be easier on race weekends. Qualifying on speed alone is a tough proposition, especially if you’re not in the top 35, as drivers such as Robby Gordon will attest to.

The wheat and the chaff will begin to separate, beginning next weekend. And it is possible that some drivers’ career will be on the line as like any other professional sport, NASCAR is a results-driven enterprise.

So if you’re in the cellar of the driver’s standings, you better look in the mirror and check yourself before you wreck yourself.

Source: SPEED TV