John Force failed to qualify for the 16-car eliminations for the first time in 395 National Hot Rod Association events at Las Vegas last week, ending a streak that had seen the 14-time funny car champion make every field since Oct. 31, 1987.

Some fans believe NASCAR should follow the NHRA’s lead in terms of qualifying and take only the 43 fastest cars each week, with no provisionals or guaranteed spots.

But in the NHRA a driver gets at least three scheduled qualifying passes before he or she makes or misses the race. Force had to have three sub-par runs to miss the show, meaning one fluky problem didn’t send him packing.

In Nextel Cup, a driver could have a flat tire or some other problem on his qualifying run and miss the show.

If a Dale Earnhardt Jr. or a Jeff Gordon had three chances and didn’t go fast enough to make the cut, it’d be different. But as long as you only get one shot, the sport’s biggest names – the guys who actually help put fannies in seats – need to have some other way to make the race.

That’s not so much to protect the drivers as it is to protect the fans who’ve paid their money expecting to see the stars show up and compete. I sure don’t see how it “helped” drag racing last week not to have John Force around for Sunday’s main event.

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