Drivers blast NASCAR for new 500 qualifying format

Bowyer and Sorenson wreck and involve others

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Just minutes into the first round of yesterday's group qualifying for this weekend's Daytona 500 at Daytona Int'l Speedway, "a bad multi-car wreck destroyed several cars" including that of driver Clint Bowyer, who "was livid when he came out of the care center and took NASCAR to task for using this format to set the field for its version of the Super Bowl," according to Jeff Gluck of USA TODAY. Bowyer said of the new format, which is different than its predecessor in that qualifying used to be done one car at a time, "It's idiotic to be out here doing this anyway. There's no sense in trying to put on some cute show for whatever the hell this is. …

These guys have spent six months working on these cars, busting their (rears) on these cars, to go out there and have some guy out of desperation do that crap." Bowyer acknowledged it was not driver Reed Sorenson's fault, instead laying blame on NASCAR for "putting us out here in the middle of this crap for nothing." Sorenson, who is not guaranteed a spot in the race, said, "For us, trying to get in the race is that big a deal where I was treating it like the last lap of a race. That's how aggressive you have to be when you're not in the race. That's how this qualifying is — it forces you into that." Driver Kurt Busch: "We gotta find a better system. So much hard work goes into these cars, and it seems like it's a roulette system."

Driver Ryan Newman: "Hard to stand behind NASCAR when nobody knows why we're doing this. Maybe I need to get sit down and educated about this." Three-time NASCAR Cup champion Tony Stewart tweeted: "Today [used] to be about showcasing the hard work from the teams over the winter. Now [it's] a complete embarrassment for our series" USA TODAY