How Saturday's Xfinity heat races will work
Saturday is a first for the Xfinity Series.
No, we're not referencing when a non-Sprint Cup driver wins the race (like that's going to happen anyway), but rather the heat races that will take place before Saturday's main race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The heat races at Bristol are the first of four Xfinity race weekends that will feature the format in 2016. The four races, all part of the Dash 4 Cash promotion, are at Bristol, Richmond, Dover and Indianapolis. Here's how they'll work.
• Drivers will single-car qualify (rather than the group format) before the heat races. The odd-numbered qualifiers (1st, 3rd, etc) will run in the first heat while the even-numbered qualifiers will race in the second heat.
• The heats, 50 laps each at Bristol, will determine the starting grid. The first heat will start in order on the inside and the second heat will start on the outside. 42 cars are currently entered for the race, meaning two will miss the race. [EDIT: The two DNQ cars will be eliminated before the heat races.]
• The main race, set to start shortly after the second heat Saturday afternoon, will be 200 laps.
There's a catch, however. And we think it's a pretty big one if you're looking for the heat races to be an incredbily dramatic and entertaining way to set the field.
Teams who blow an engine or crash a car in a heat race are not allowed to go to a backup. If you can't fix the car in time for the race to begin, you're screwed. You're either starting the race laps down or not starting the race at all.
We get why NASCAR instituted the rule; it's expensive in terms of parts and labor to have a backup car prepped and ready to go at a moment's notice if the primary car has a problem that isn't fixable. But the rule could make the heat races pretty boring affairs. Why risk daring maneuvers in the name of a starting spot or two when you could miss the race entirely if you crash?
There's also a Chase wrinkle too. The Dash 4 Cash prizes at the end of each race are awarded to the highest-finishing Xfinity Series regular in the race. If the same Xfinity Series driver is the highest finishing regular in two Dash 4 Cash races, he gets an automatic berth in the Chase. Given the rate that Sprint Cup Series drivers (*cough* Kyle Busch) have dominated the Xfinity Series so far this season, winning two Dash 4 Cash prizes may be the easiest way in to the Chase.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
