Multi-truck qualifying planned for inaugural event at Pocono

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - NASCAR announced today that it will revise the qualifying procedure for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series' inaugural Pocono Mountains 125 at Pocono Raceway on Saturday, July 31, with a multi-truck session on the 2.5-mile track.

The order in which trucks will qualify for the 36 available positions will be based on their practice speeds from final practice on Friday, July 30. Times will be inverted, allowing the slowest truck in practice to be the first out in qualifying on Saturday morning, with the fastest truck going out last. Trucks will be released from pit road in approximately 25-second increments.

Two laps of qualifying will be allowed with the fastest lap counting. Once a truck comes onto pit road its respective qualifying lap is complete. No drafting will be permitted.

"The distance and uniqueness of Pocono afforded us the opportunity to implement this style of qualifying for this event," said NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Director Wayne Auton. "SPEED is excited about the format and we believe the fans, drivers and viewing audience will embrace it, too."

"Our anticipation for the first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race ever at Pocono has been building for quite some time, but adding multi-truck qualifying to the mix really turns it up a notch," said SPEED President Hunter Nickell. "All of us at SPEED are looking forward to watching this unique qualifying format unfold live and delivering it to the fans."

"It will definitely be different than what we are used to," said Todd Bodine, a former series champion who currently leads the series standings by 101 points over Aric Almirola. "It will be quite a show I'm sure."

A drawing for qualifying order will be held in case inclement weather cancels the session. The field would then be set according to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series rule book.

Qualifying will be televised on SPEED at 10 a.m. on July 31 from Pocono.