NASCAR changes superspeedway qualifying format for all three series

NASCAR announced early Monday morning that changes are coming to knockout qualifying at the superspeedways of Talladega Superspeedway and Daytona International Speedway for both the Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series.

Starting with the May race at Talladega, the qualifying format will consist of two rounds, with the top-12 posted lap times advancing to the final round.

In an effort to stop the gamesmanship that had been taking place during qualifying at the superspeedways, the cars will now be released in a "predetermined timed interval determined by NASCAR" and will take one timed lap in each round of qualifying.

The qualifying order for the first round will be determined by a random draw, while the order for the second round will be set by the slowest speed to the fastest speed from Round 1.

There will be a 10-minute break between the sessions. NASCAR will impound the cars after each qualifying lap, and only those advancing to the final round will be allowed to adjust tape and use a cool-down unit during the break between sessions.

While the Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series will use this new format starting at Talladega Superspeedway May 1-3, the Camping World Truck Series will use this format for the first time at Talladega in October.

The qualifying format for the 2016 Daytona 500 will be announced at a later date.