NASCAR insiders react to overhauled practice, qualifying format in 2025

Last season it felt like NASCAR got too creative with qualifying. Now, there are new rules for practice and qualifying sessions in 2025. For fans and the sport, both changes are in the positive direction.

Practices have expanded from 20 minutes to 25 minutes at most tracks. There will be a 50-minute practice at the Daytona 500. Of course, NASCAR will have expanded practice sessions at new tracks, configurations, and new car setups.

When it comes to qualifying, NASCAR has gotten rid of the complicated Group A and B system that they were using in the second half of 2024. Thank goodness.

Jeff Gluck of Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic reacted to the changes on The Teardown podcast. They seem to be in agreement.

“The big takeaway I would say is that it’s single-round qualifying most places now,” Gluck said. “So, no more knockout qualifying. And your starting position is just based on where you qualify, rather than your qualifying group. So, you like that? Seems to simplify it.”

He didn’t get any pushback from his cohost, for once.

“It seems like it’s a more straightforward approach,” Bianchi responded. “I know at the end of last year people I talked to on the team and NASCAR side there was a lot of, I wouldn’t say frustration, there was just a lot of, we need to make this simpler. We need to make this more straightforward and easy to understand. … This seems like this is a better solution.”

Both Gluck and Bianchi are right, especially when it comes to qualifying. The simpler the better. Faster cars go in front of the slower cars and the lineup is set by the times in the session. No more Group A on the outside and B on the inside or vice versa.

Despite past criticisms, NASCAR’s changes to practice and qualifying appear to be good. Having more practice, even just five minutes more, is good for teams and fans. Making qualifying as simple as possible is also great.

There was a strange moment during the season when NASCAR felt that qualifying was too unequal. The thing is, no matter how you split it up, one group will have an advantage over another group. Tracks change, they get rubber on them, and they heat up.

Drivers who, by the metric, earn a later qualifying position deserve that inherent advantage. Racing isn’t about fairness, it is about the best drivers, cars, and teams competing against each other. Advantages exist. Kudos to NASCAR for going back to a simpler format.