NOTEBOOK \ NASCAR

Waltrip has ideas: Michael Waltrip has failed to qualify for seven of the eight NASCAR Nextel Cup races this season, and he believes the system now being used to select the fields is somewhat flawed. The two-time Daytona 500 winner, now also owner of a three-car, first-year team, says he has a better idea. "They ought to draw for qualifying, like they do now," Waltrip said. "Then, the top 35 go out one through 35. Then you've got this drama built. Then you let the scrubs go out. Let's see who has got what. Seven of these guys are going to make it. It would be more fair if we were right there together." As it stands now, the top 35 drivers in the car owner points are guaranteed a starting spot in the 43-car field, actually leaving eight spots to fill. Those positions are filled by qualifying speed, with one spot reserved for any former series champion who fails to make it on the other criteria. Dale Jarrett, Waltrip's teammate and the 1999 champion, has used five of his six allotted provisionals already this year. Under the current rules, everyone entered gets his qualifying position in the blind draw. Kyle Petty, another longtime stock car racer, agreed with Waltrip that a change in qualifying procedure could be good. "On at least two occasions, he's been beat by the luck of the draw," Petty said. "He's been fast enough. Other guys have been beat by the luck of the draw, too, and other guys have got in by the luck of the draw."
Fast change: Sometimes, it's easy to forget that the Busch Series uses restrictor plates to slow down its cars at Talladega and Daytona, just like in the Nextel Cup. The idea of the plates, which restrict airflow to the carburetor, is to sap horsepower and keep the cars from getting too close to 200 mph on the big tracks. Thursday, during the first Busch practice on the 2.66-mile Talladega oval, Mike Wallace raised a red flag with NASCAR officials when he turned a fast lap of 197.342 mph. Tony Stewart was right behind at 197.195. Before the next practice session, NASCAR had switched plates, changing the diameter of the holes in the plate from 15/16 of an inch to 29/32 of an inch. Mike Bliss was fastest in the second practice at 193.162 and NASCAR was breathing easier.
Associated Press
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