CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - NASCAR will use group qualifying for its two Sprint Cup Series road course races this year.
The format has been used in lower series, but NASCAR had still used single-car qualifying at Sonoma at Watkins Glen until Monday's announcement.
The size of the groups were not announced, but will be determined by final practice speeds. The slowest cars will be placed in the first groups, with the fastest cars in the final group.
Each group will be given a pre-determined about of track time to complete their qualifying laps. The fastest lap timed for each car will be considered the driver's qualifying time.
The change moves qualifying from Friday to Saturday at Sonoma. It was already scheduled for Saturday at Watkins Glen.