Why does NASCAR use the provisional starting system?
The theory, from what I am told, is that it protects the teams that attempt to make all the races. It allows a team to ‘have a bad day’ if they fail to qualify for the race or encounter problems. How many provisionals per race? There are seven provisional positions and a starting field to 43 cars every race. Six spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on OWNERS points. The seventh is awarded to a past champion who has not OTHERWISE qualified for the race. If no past champ needs the provisional, the next team in the OWNER points will be awarded a provisional. There is not a Winston West Provisional available for any of the west coast races. before 1994 not sure how it was handled 1994 – two 1995 – four 1996 – four plus 1 champs(if no champ used it, it went unused) 1997 – four plus 1 champs(if no champ used it, the next team in owners points got it) 1998 – six plus 1 champs(if no champ used it, the next team in owners points got it) 1999 – six plus 1 champs(if no champ used it
