NASCAR alters Talladega qualifying procedure

The series moved to an IndyCar-style knockout qualifying system this year, and will now borrow another element from the series at Talladega by splitting its opening qualifying phase into two groups. Competitors will be assigned to their groups via a random draw.

After a pair of five-minute sessions, the fastest 24 cars will process to another five-minute run-off, following which the fastest 12 will move on to a five-minute battle for pole.

Up until now, qualifying on tracks longer than 1.5 miles has involved all cars being allowed on track for a 25-minute opening phase, followed by a 10-minute second phase for the fastest 24 drivers.

On the series' previous Talladega visit, drivers in the pole shootout waited in the pits until the final seconds of the session before running in a single drafting pack as slipstreaming was critical for a fast time at the high-banked superspeedway.

The change will apply to both the Sprint Cup and Truck series.

"This revision in national series qualifying at Talladega should be more exciting for our fans," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR senior vice president of competition and racing development.

"It will feature a more accelerated pace, provide greater opportunity for team strategy to come into play and it should more closely resemble actual racing conditions."

The October 19 race will be the sixth round of the Chase.

Cup part-timer Brian Scott earned a surprise pole at Talladega during the series' earlier visit to the venue in May.