To always get a better qualifying lap at any track, here are the steps below:

Road Course: Make the handling great! You have alot of turns to work on, it is a big issue there.
Superspeedways: Make the downforce on the car better in the Garage, it will help get more speed on your laps.
Short Tracks: Speed! Make your speed better, the laps are close, and you want to do better.
Speedways: Turn the Gear Ratio down a little bit, make the handling better, it will help at any Speedway.