Qualifying wreck forces Cassill to backup

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Over the course of Speedweeks in Daytona, the group qualifying format that's being used for knockout qualifying has been under intense scrutiny by drivers, owners and fans.

Both Sprint Cup Series and Camping World Truck Series qualifying had wrecks last Sunday and early Friday, and the Xfinity Series made it 3 for 3 in Saturday's first round. Cedar Rapids native Landon Cassill was among the six cars to be collected in a Round 1 accident on the front stretch.

Cassill was forced to a backup car and will start from the back of the field. He was understandably frustrated after the accident, and said the wrecks are happening as a combination of the format and mistakes from drivers.

'It was kind of obvious something was going to happen. It was confusion that caused it; people no knowing where to go,” Cassill said. 'The drivers and the teams are what's causing the wrecks. The format is what's giving us the ability to cause the wreck. I think at the end of the day, it's NASCAR's decision what they're trying to accomplish. If they're trying to accomplish a safe qualifying environment, they need to get away from group qualifying.

'If you're trying to accomplish something that's entertaining, unpredictable and potentially nail-biting for the fans, then group qualifying is exactly what they need. It's just going to come with the risk of driver safety and tearing up racecars.”

Cassill's take was similar - if less controversial or passionate - to many other drivers.

He, like those others, may not agree or like the format, but knows it's the same for everyone and that they all have to deal with it going forward.

'I'm a professional and I'll do whatever I need to do to do the best job for my team, represent the sport and entertain the fans,” Cassill said. 'It's just NASCAR needs to decide what they're trying to accomplish. At the end of the day, they can change how we get off pit road, they can change the time limit, they can change the groups all they want. But as long as it's group qualifying at superspeedways it's going to be unpredictable and dangerous.”

Almost before Cassill came to rest on the front stretch after the accident that also collected Daniel Suarez, Harrison Rhodes, Tanner Berryhill, Blake Koch and Carlos Contreras, the JD Motorsports crew was sprinting back to the hauler to pull out the backup car and get to work.

The Xfinity crew was joined by members of Cassill's Cup team from Hillman-Smith Racing, including crew chief Mark Hillman. The boost he received from seeing those guys help out - with no reason to help other than the two teams sharing a driver - plus the backup being a new car JD Motorsports just purchased buoyed Cassill in a very frustrating time.

'It's just really hard on our team. We worked hard on that car, got a lot of good races out of that car; it was good for us,” Cassill said. 'If there's a bright side, our backup car is actually a better car than the other one. It's something we'd just bought, but hadn't planned on using until Talladega.

'It's really cool to see my Hillman Racing team here helping, making sure it's safe for me. Those guys support me so much. We've all done so much for each other, it's just really a team effort. We all know we need each other to stay here and continue to do what we love to do for a living. It's really cool to see them working their butts off.”

The Xfinity Series race is set to start at 2:30. Fellow Cedar Rapids native Joey Gase will start 26th.

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com