How important is qualifying???????????????

[Fred Elsass]

Last year there were 72 cars that made it to the semi finals at National events.


Take a guess as to how many winners were in the top 10??


And all of you out there who bang on about Stock and Super Stock being a performance eliminator then eliminate the shoe polish and run off your index. As long as WE have shoe polish WE are nothing more than BRACKET RACERS.


Awaiting your kind responses.


Sarge

[1320racer]

Originally Posted by Fred Elsass

WE are nothing more than BRACKET RACERS.

Bracket racers who sit around for days and race for pittance.

Finally the FACTS and the TRUTH are spoken here by one of their own, about the almighty stock eliminator racer that thinks what they do is special. Bravo!

[GUMP]

Qualifying can make or break your day. There is an obvious advantage to qualifying in the top 2-3 positions. Also, the ability to move around the ladder can help you win a round or two.

[JGrossijr]

If you don't recognize how AHFS has changed qualifying strategies, or understand that the fastest guys aren't showing their potential, then you might not understand why qualifying in the top 10 (or 16) isn't a goal for a lot of racers anymore.

Qualifying in the top 3 has advantages with the right number of cars in the field, but with the risk of taking a strike and possibly a HP hit down the road. It's a risky play that racers with the potential contemplate when there's an odd number of entries and singles in the right places.

Strategic position qualifying is also a strategy when you're the fast guy with slower cars in your class at the event, or have a competitor in a points battle that you want to take out. The right position could be anywhere on the ladder.

Qualify dead in the middle of the pack and you can draw one of the top 3 and take their single, or end up drawing someone on the bottom of the ladder. The middle of the ladder can be a good place to be.

If you are fast and have laid down too many fat numbers, or have someone else with your combination blowing up the average in your class, then you better be qualifying somewhere around .65 under to bring that average down to protect yourself from getting hit.

If you want to see racers showing their true performance potential in qualifying, then there needs to be incentives to do so. There's a myriad of ways to do that, but for now the smart play for a fast guy is to lay low so he can pounce when necessary without being punished.

So yes, qualifying is important. There's just more to it than being in the top 10

[jmantle]

Take a guess as to how many winners were in the top 10??

Joe Sorensen comes to mind


And all of you out there who bang on about Stock and Super Stock being a performance eliminator then eliminate the shoe polish and run off your index. As long as WE have shoe polish WE are nothing more than BRACKET RACERS.

To make that work you would have ensure every combo is factored correctly. Can't see that happening.
We raced when you ran off the national record, became real interesting when the factories introduced "net" HP ratings.





Sarge[/QUOTE]

[Larry Hill]

Everyone needs to be the lead dog It is like a breath of fresh air. It is a lot of fun and a whole lot of work.

[J.R. Haddad]

Qualifying can be very important. You need the ability to be able to go low,
or 2nd or 3rd to take advantage of odd lot fields, which should appear
around 1/2 the time. when no advantage there, then running close to
-65 under to build up some credit for when you do need to let it loose,
is prudent. Knowing your car so that you can put it where you want it
or need it is an invaluable asset, and very hard to do consistently. Unlike
classes that are not laddered, or that don't have Heads-Up runs, we have
a chance to control our destiny a little bit. Every class has it nuances,
these are some of ours, and we like it. I hope your enjoying yours.

J.R.

[Larry Hill]

Q data is the hardest to manipulate, only one data point per race. E data is easily changed with up to seven data points per race.

[JP1738]

From someone relatively new to Stock Eliminator, almost always in the bottom 5 of qualifying, and in a relatively non-competitive class (N/SA has some super fast guys, but there are only like 2 others on the east coast) qualifying means almost nothing to me. It would be nice to move on the ladder from time to time, but it does not effect me in almost any way. As long as I'm under my index, I do not care where I land on the ladder.

[VE6DRW]

Take a guess as to how many winners were in the top 10??

Joe Sorensen comes to mind

World champions and perennial late-round racers win because they have their complete racing act together. Being able to win a heads-up race against a same-class car is a small by-product of their efforts.

For the rest of us, we're bracket racers with nice cars who just enjoy the sport.