NASCAR: Pocono Raceway announces same-day Pennsylvania 400 qualifying
By Phil Naegely
There are more changes coming to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The Pennsylvania 400 qualifying and the race will take place on the same day during the second Pocono Raceway contest of the year.
Already, 2017 has been the year for changes and modifications to NASCAR. While many of the changes are enhancements to the sport, they still may catch racing fans off guard. On Monday, Pocono Raceway announced that the second race weekend will feature same-day qualifying for the Monster Energy series.
Traditionally, the top series qualifies on Friday with the race on Sunday. This will still be followed for the first Pocono Raceway from June 9-11 but will be modified for the second weekend of racing at the end of July.
This move by Pocono Raceway is a wise decision. The track now offers two different types of schedules and that should be music to both fans and the drivers. Following tradition is all fine and dandy, but change is also good. Pocono Raceway spectators can experience it in both forms during the 2017 season.
Drivers get into a normal routine during the 2017 season. Some weeks the schedule is different when there is a night time race at the top series. However, the schedule is essentially the same each week.
By moving to same-day qualifying as the race, Monster Energy drivers and teams will have less time to react to their qualifying result. This is probably a good thing as drivers will think less about what happened and move quicker onto the next event, the actual race.
At the same time, this move benefits race fans. They can buy tickets for both qualifying and the race on the same day. Likewise, they won’t have to drive back and forth to the track if they came to both qualifying and the race in the past.
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So far the Pennsylvania 400 is the only Monster Energy race that will have same-day qualifying. However, other tracks that host two races a year would be wise to consider following suit for one of their two top series races during the season.