Originally posted by neon_duke
I usually qualify, but that's because I really like to measure my car against the competition. If I can start from the basement and be in the lead by turn 1, I'm running too much car for the race to be fun. I've run some series, where I only have one allowable car but it's too powerful, where I have started last and taken a couple laps to gain the lead. I don't feel bad about those.
I will usually try to run any race where I can qualify third or better. If I have the pole by more than a second or two, I either detune or switch to a different car.
For Enduros, if I know in advance which car I'm going to run, I never bother to qualify. In a short race with evenly matched cars, starting position is critical. But in a longer race it has less and less significance.