Bowyer rips new Daytona 500 qualifying format

Bowyer, Sorenson and other wreck on Sunday

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Bowyer and Sorenson tangled in the first round (group A) of qualifying for the Daytona 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, triggering a wreck that destroyed both cars as well as damaging Labonte, Hamlin and Yeley. Bowyer made some comments about the new qualifying format:

Q) What happened in the accident?
Bowyer: "First of all I wasn't behind the 44 (Reed Sorenson), he came flying around and came up on the apron, jumped up in front of me and then runs over the 51 (Justin Allgaier), stacks us all up and I run into him. It's idiotic to be out here doing this anyway. It makes no sense in being able to put on some cute show for whatever the hell this is, then you have a guy out there in desperation doing this crap like this. There's no reason to be out here. These guys have spent six months working on these cars, busting their asses on these cars to go out there and have some guy out of desperation do that crap, but it ain't his fault. It's not, it's NASCAR's fault for putting us out here in the middle of this crap for nothing. We used to come down here and worry about who was going to sit on the front row and the pole for the biggest race of the year and now all we do is come down here and worry about how a start-and-park like this out of desperation is going to knock us out of the Daytona 500. We've been in meetings for 45 minutes just trying to figure out what in the hell everybody is going to do just so we can make the race. There's no sense in doing this."

Q) Is there blame to be placed for the accident?
Bowyer: "It wasn't his fault, he's desperate and trying to get into the biggest race of the year. We need to be focused on qualifying and who is going to sit on the pole for the biggest race of the year and the front row just like we always have. There's no reason to be putting a show on and trying to make something out of something that doesn't need to be. We put a hell of a show on for the Daytona 500 and unfortunately these guys have worked the last six months for nothing."(Toyota Racing)

Reed Sorenson's comments on the accident:

Q) DO YOU HAVE A BACK-UP CAR?
Sorenson: "Not right now, we don't. I don't know if we'll try to get a car up here or what they'll try to do. But as of right now, we don't have a back-up car."

Q) CLINT BOWYER WAS REALLY UPSET. WHAT DID HE SAY TO YOU AFTERWARDS?
Sorenson: "Yeah, he came up to the window. He was pretty upset. He has a right to be upset. I was trying to block. I think what he saw is what I was trying to do. I was just trying to stay in front of him to get that good lap. I didn't think that he was all the way up to me yet. And, listening to my spotter, I was going high, and then he says going low and I went low as soon as he said that. The next thing I know, I'm spinning. I guess I didn't think he was quite that far up. It's just a product of trying to run that one good lap and I was trying to stay in front of that line. That was our only shot to run a good lap was to stay in front of him. You see blocking here all the time. It's part of this racing and now it's part of the qualifying here."

Sorenson: Q) CLINT BOWYER SAID IT WAS NASCAR'S FAULT AND THAT THEY SET IT UP THIS WAY. DO YOU THINK QUALIFYING SHOULD BE DONE ANOTHER WAY?
Sorenson: "Well, like I said, I was trying to do everything I could to stay in front of Clint (Bowyer). Normally, in a race, I probably wouldn't be that aggressive unless it was the last lap and you're trying to win the race; just like (Matt) Kenseth did last night (in the Sprint Unlimited). He blocked (Martin) Truex to win. And for us, trying to get in the race, it's that big of a deal where I was treating it like it was the last lap every race. And that's how aggressive you have to be; especially when you're not guaranteed (a spot) in the race and you're on the outside looking in. That's the way this qualifying is. It forces you into that."

Q) IS IT TOUGH NOW WITH THE RISK VERSUS REWARD THAT YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE A BACK-UP CAR?
Sorenson: "Yeah, and if that was the case, we could have decided on pit road and not gone out there at all if we weren't going to take a chance. We took that risk. And now, looking back on it, I don't know the answer to that question because maybe the same thing would have happened in the Duels. So, this was one of our two chances to get in the race and we were trying to do everything we could to do that."