NASCAR qualifying start time: What time is qualifying for Pennzoil 400

The NASCAR Cup Series is back in action on Sunday, March 6th with the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. ET and will air on FOX. You can watch a live stream on FOX.com/live. The race is 267 laps and usually lasts just at or under three hours. In 2021, the race was won by Kyle Larson with a time of 2:52:07. Joey Logano won the race in both 2020 and 2019 with times of 2:58:11 and 2:35:11, respectively.

Qualifying for the Pennzoil 400 will take place on Saturday, March 5th, but may have a different format than you expect. Here is the usual format on oval courses from NASCAR.com:

• 15-minute warm-up/practice, separated into two groups
• Qualifying Round 1 (Group A) – single car, 1 lap
• Top five transfer to Final Round
• Qualifying Round 1 (Group B) – single car, 1 lap
• Top five transfer to Final Round
• Qualifying Final Round – single car, 1 lap

For the 2022 Pennzoil 400 though, the full field will comprise one group for the Cup practice that starts at 1:30 p.m. ET. That practice will be extended to 35 minutes to give teams additional on-track time and split the difference with the change in format.

That practice will lead directly into a single-car, single-lap qualifying that will be split up into two groups. The top five drivers from each of the groups will then advance to the second round of qualifying. This fight for the pole consists of another single-car, single-lap run.