I'm just an ordinary schmo in a sea of experienced racers, but I am a fan and I have a recommendation that may alleviate some of the concerns about the Friday night session. If Drag Racing is typically won with consistency, then why not start rewarding teams by taking qualifying consistency into account? Yeah I know they have the pit crew challenge, but I mean really reward them. How, you ask? Well, let me explain.
What if qualifying ladders were established based on average qualifying times rather than the driver's quickest 'single' ET? I know I'm going to get pummeled by the anti-NASCAR crowd here, and that's alright. All I ask is that you consider the pros:
1. Driver's & crew chiefs would still have to stand on it during the Friday night session in order to keep their overall numbers consistent with everyone else's.
2. They'd work just as hard under the new format that they do now because they need to get down the track four times to keep their average as low as possible.
3. The ladder, typically, would be a little more balanced because after four qualifying efforts using an average ET. I think the field would be a lot more closely aligned. (I haven't done the math on that to prove it, it's merely a hunch.) If I get time later, maybe I will - it may disprove my theory, who knows?
4. The Gary Scelzi's of the world would be in the show based on averages going into yesterday's fourth session and Zippy would have more than likely used a tune-up to get from 'A' to 'B' rather than have to stand on it in the heat "hoping" to get in. Less tire smoke is a good thing, no?
*Use the Pro Stock field this weekend as an example - where would Greg Anderson have qualified using the system I describe above?
Cons:
1. There'd be an impact to the low-buck teams who often choose to sit out a session or two because their averages would suffer. Concessions would have to be made - nothing slower than 12.00, for example, and that would be not only the slowest time that would count against a driver, but also what a driver would get if he/she chose to sit out a session.
2. Driver's trying to bring their averages down, even slightly, would probably pedal it during qualifying to get to the other end as quickly as physically possible, potentially hurting parts while doing so... and delaying action with oil downs.
I don't know if this is the answer, probably not, but I'm a thinker and I like to think of possible solutions rather than simply sit around and complain about it. And to me, canceling the Friday night session altogether is NOT the solution.
