General Race Rules & Procedures
General Race Rules
INTRODUCTION
The general rules and procedures outlined below concern the heads-up, open comp style eliminators, and bracket racing classes that will be held at the Buick Performance Group (BPG) races. The entire body of rules, regulations and procedures outlined below is presented with the assumption any modification(s) and/or condition(s) not expressly and specifically permitted in this rulebook should be considered illegal, unless you obtain expressed written permission from the BPG Race Director. If there are areas of this rulebook that need clarification please contact the BPG Race Director by e-mail at mlyonsdc@yahoo.com or on the message board www.buickperformancegroup.com.
The general philosophy of the BPG is to maintain stability and parity within the race classes and to showcase Buick Performance. BPG will make its best effort to implement most all significant rules changes during the winter months so the competitors can prepare for the upcoming season. Anyone who desires to make an official BPG rule recommendation and/or request may only do so in WRITING on the message board or via E-mail. Telephone conversations with BPG officials, staff members and/or contracted employees will NOT be considered in rules committee discussions. THESE REQUESTS MUST BE RECEIVED IN WRITING AND CAN ONLY BE MADE BY BPG MEMEBERS! You may e-mail your recommendations and/or requests to: mlyonsdc@yahoo.com post to the message board www.buickperformancegroup.com Fax to: BPG RULES, (330) 729-9166 or US Postal Service P.O. Box 3351 Boardman, Ohio 44513. To be considered, your written request must include the following: Full Name, Class, BPG Member Number. You may or may not receive a written response to your recommendation or request.
All participants are required, as a condition of entering the track; to sign all required forms, including such releases as determined by the BPG and track procedure. The BPG makes no representation, or express or implied warranties, that the compliance with the rules and regulations posted in this rulebook or the safety requirements published by the host track sanctioning body (NHRA or IHRA), will prevent or guarantee against injury or death to spectators or participants or damage to personal property. The rules and conduct guidelines set within this rulebook, and the safety rules set forth by the tracks sanctioning
AUTHORITY FOR CONDUCT OF RACING
Participants at BPG events are expected, at all times, to conduct themselves in a professional and non-disruptive manner. Any participant who, in the sole and absolute judgment of the BPG organization:
•Verbally or physically threatens another participant or other person.
•Uses vulgar or derogatory language.
•Engages in un-sportsman like conduct or conduct detrimental to the sport of racing.
•Or otherwise creates a condition or circumstance that is unsafe, unfair, or out of order shall have violated the rules & regulations of the BPG organization.
Competitors in violation of the above rules will be disqualified and asked to leave the event without payouts or refund.
COMPLIANCE OF RULES
Any and all participants, entering into a BPG event, agree to be bound by all rules, regulations, terms and decisions made by the BPG Officials. Any and all decisions, whether they are made prior, during, or after an event are final and may not be made the basis of litigation toward the BPG or BPG staff and officials.
By entering into an BPG event all participants hereby release BPG, BPG officials, BPG staff, race track, facility, and race track officials from liability relating to any loss, costs, damages, death, or injury relating to any decisions, erroneous or otherwise, or the decisions based on malfunctioning electronic or mechanical equipment, whether due to negligence or otherwise.
The BPG Directors, Event Director, and Race Director are the only officials with the authority to disqualify a participant from an BPG event for non-compliance of rules or infractions. BPG officials may, and will, do so in the event of any violation relating to the decision, rules, or regulations of the BPG or those of the host racetrack.
ASSUMPTION OF RISK
Drag racing is a dangerous sport for participants. For the purpose of this rulebook, participants will be defined as any persons directly or indirectly associated with any vehicle that has been permitted to enter the event site for the purpose of competition, racing, or car show, including, but not limited to owner, crew, driver, sponsors, family, and/or any other people involved with said vehicle. In addition, any person or persons engaged in selling or displaying products will be defined as participants as well.
Participants may suffer bodily injury, death, loss, or damage to property during a BPG event. Participants who enter a BPG event are acknowledging that the event site is safe and suitable for racing and that they understand and assume the risks that relate to drag racing events.
Participants must acknowledge that by participating in the events that they may suffer injury, death, loss, or damage to personal property. The participants voluntarily assumes the risk of such losses and agrees to indemnify BPG, BPG Staff, event sponsors, the track, the race track officials, and other participants and/or officials for such losses and agrees to not sue such persons for such losses.
RACE PROCEDURES
Safety Inspection
BPG events are held at National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) or the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) member racetracks. For the purposes of competing in BPG events, all racers competing should follow the NHRA safety guidelines as outlined in their official rulebook as a minimum to ensure legality. All vehicles must first pass safety inspection before they will be “teched-in” for BPG classes. The BPG will not be held responsible for failed safety inspections and no refunds of entry fees shall be made to racers failing to comply.
Starting System
BPG drag racing will be conducted using a standard NHRA starting line system. The field size, ladder type used, tree, & starting procedure used in each category of BPG racing is addressed in each individual section of the class rules & regulations.
Qualifying
If possible, all competitors will be given two qualifying passes, weather permitting. In order to be counted as an official-qualifying attempt, all vehicles must self-start on command, self-stage and receive the start signal, or other alternatives deemed appropriate by the event director. All qualifying passes must be made within one of the two official designated qualifying sessions, and only one attempt is permitted per qualifying session. Following completion of qualifying for heads up classes, all competitors must immediately report to the scales for weigh-in.
The BPG Race Director has the option to build a ladder on as little as one qualifying session if track or weather require. If there are no qualifying sessions completed, the Race Director may build the ladder randomly. In all heads-up classes, the vehicle with the quickest elapsed time will be number 1 qualifier, the 2nd quickest will be the number 2 qualifier, and so on. In the event of identical qualifying elapsed times, the vehicle with the faster top speed recorded on the qualifying runs in question will be awarded the lower qualifying position.
To be included on the official ladder for eliminations a competitor must at the very minimum self-start on command, self-stage, and receive the start signal. No competitor shall be added or included on the official ladder if they fail to make at least one qualifying session and complete the minimum requirements as stated above. Should an official qualifying session be eliminated due to weather or any other unforeseen occurrence and a competitor has not staged and received the start signal that competitor can be placed on the bottom of the ladder.
Single Runs
During single runs where there is not another competitor on the track to run against, the lone driver is considered the winner once he stages and the tree is activated. If this lone driver commits any lane violation the elapsed time is voided for lane choice determination and any E.T., MPH, awards, and/or records for points.
During eliminations, any driver who has earned a “BYE” run through position (not an opponent’s breakage beyond the front of staging) may choose not to make a full pass, but must report to staging when the round is called, self-start when instructed, stage under the vehicles power, and take the tree. Once the tree has been activated the driver is NOT required to make the run.
Ladders
With the exception of Heads up classes all BPG classes are paired on an established NHRA Sportsman ladder in all fields. The Heads up classes are paired on an established NHRA Pro ladder. Once qualifying ladders have been posted, they will not be changed unless the BPG Director determines there is adequate reason for change.
An alternate system will be used in Super 8 and Quick 16 to insure a full field first round. If a driver notifies the Competition Director that they will be unable to compete in first round of eliminations an alternate who will be the next driver of sequence, may be substituted for the broken competitor. Any monies or points for that round will be awarded to the broken competitor and only points and monies to be awarded to the alternate will be that of earned rounds won.
Å PAIRINGS / LANE CHOICE / BYE-RUNS
(Heads-Up Classes)
In all cases lanes choice is determined by elapsed time. In the first round of elimination, the quickest of the qualified pair will have lane choice as determined by the position of the qualifying sheet. In every round after the first, lane choice will go to the competitor that has the quicker elapsed time from the previous round.
Pairing Procedures:
During official qualifying the BPG officials will attempt to pair all vehicles prior to reaching the head of the staging lanes. In any event, once a competitor reaches the front of the staging lanes for a run, they must be prepared to fire and race the vehicle the Staging Steward selects for them to race. Vehicles must self-start and self-stage. This rule also applies to single runs. Push starting and push staging any vehicle is prohibited. Staging must be done under the vehicles own engine power. Should a vehicle not run with it’s appointed pair the qualifying or elimination run will not be made up at any time.
(All other classes)
For all non-heads up classes, we will utilize NTR's system of the “chip and paddle system” to determine lane choice and pairings in rounds one and two. Random bye runs will be drawn from the lanes using the chips. The first number drawn determines the lane that the bye is selected from. That number will be placed back in the pocket and the second number determines the car number in that lane, from the front, that is selected for the bye. Their will be no carryover on a randomly drawn bye run if not used. If there is an even amount of racers, the selected bye run participant will be given lane choice. A competitor will be allowed only one chance for a randomly drawn bye-run. A competitor may receive another bye-run, once we ladder the field. When pairing cars for eliminations, the first chip pulled will be given lane choice. The second chip pulled will be paired against the first chip pulled. Those two chips will then be placed to the side and the other two chips will be selected to determine the second pair using the same guidelines. Once all chips have been selected, the process will be repeated as noted above. If a lane becomes empty, that chip will be removed and the process will continue with only the lanes with cars in the drawing process. If only one lane remains, the first in line will have lane choice and be paired with the participant behind it.
Bracket classes will be laddered (based on reaction time in Round 2) once they reach the third round, regardless of the amount of cars remaining. Once on a ladder, lane choice will be determined between the two drivers. It will be the responsibility of the competitors to have determined lane choice prior to being pulled from the staging lanes. If lane choice has not been determined, the head of staging will place the vehicles in the lanes at his/her discretion. No lane changes can be made after the vehicles leave the ready line.
Staging Rules
Control of the starting line is the sole discretion of the track starter. Courtesy staging (both pre-stage bulbs lit before any staging bulb lit) is required. The Auto Start System will be activated and utilized in all BPG classes. It will be each driver’s responsibility to see that they properly stage with their last staging movement being a forward motion.
AUTOSTART: National Trail Raceway utilizes the CompuLink AutoStart system for all races. NTR follows the NHRA Division 3 guidelines for all AutoStart settings. The settings for the system are as follows:
Stage minimum: 0.60 (The amount of time from a tire breaking the beam to begin AutoStart)
Staged to start: 1.10 (The amount of time that both cars are staged to start AutoStart countdown)
Total: 10 (When one car is staged and the other is pre-staged, this is the amount of time before the tree starts)
Crosstalk will not be used in any classes.
Deep staging is permitted, however not necessarily advocated. It is always the driver’s responsibility to stage the vehicle prior to the tree being activated. IN ANY EVENT THE DRIVER MUST BE PREPARED TO LEAVE AS SOON AS THE FINAL STAGE BULB IS LIT.
A competitor with the word DEEP displayed on the window is not necessarily obligated to DEEP stage. ALL DRIVERS MUST BE PREPARED TO LEAVE ONCE THE FINAL STAGE BULB IS LIT. The final staging motion, using applied power, must be in a forward motion going from pre-stage to stage.
Disqualifications
BPG uses NHRA policies with regards to disqualifications (red-light starts, double red-light starts, crossing the centerline, etc.) in order to help prevent situations in which both competitors are disqualified and maximize the chances of declaring a winner. Please consult the NHRA Rulebook under General Policies for more information.
A competitor may not advance to a position in a later round that he did not actually compete in. In the event a class winner is disqualified for any reason, the runner-up will be declared the winner if he is certified as legal. If the runner-up is also disqualified, there will be no winner or runner-up for that class and no awards, points, or purse will be given for those positions.
SCALES/MECHANICAL COMPLIANCE PROCEDURES
A competitor is entitled to have their scale weight/mechanical components checked a total of up to three times per round to determine legality. If a competitor’s scale weight /mechanical components check within tolerances for the class one out of any of these three attempts, the competitor will be deemed legal for that round.
EXAMPLE: If a competitor is weighed & found to be less than the minimum weight required the competitor will be asked to pull off the scales. The scales will be verified to be zero. The competitor will be re-scaled. If the competitor is found to be less than the minimum weight required the competitor will be asked to pull off the scales a second time. The scales will be verified to be zero a second time. Three other competitors (if there are others in line to be weighed) will be weighed. After these three competitors are scaled, the competitor will be re-scaled for a third and final time. If the competitor is found to be, less than the minimum weight required the competitor’s run will be disqualified.
Safety Infractions SAFETY INFRACTIONS
Any time a vehicle or driver exceeds the elapsed time or MPH for which he is safety certified, or if the driver and/or vehicle are found to be in violation of any current safety standards, then the safety inspectors have the sole ability and authority to restrict the driver and vehicle from further runs until the problem is fixed, or to disqualify the entrant from the event. Safety infractions will be determined by NHRA standards and the host track personnel.
Bracket Dial-Ins
Each racer is responsible for verifying his dial-in as well as the opponent before staging. If there is a problem, notify the starter immediately. If a racer stages, they have accepted their dial-in, and/or personal index, and that of their competitor. The race can stand as ran.
ELIMINATION ROUNDS:
Each heads up competition-winning racer should report to the scales to be weighed after each winning elimination run. A racer with a competition bye run is not required to be weighed after a winning round of eliminations. However, the tech department reserves the right to check any competitor at any time and if a record is set the competitors weight will be checked. Each losing racer should report to the scale area after each losing elimination run. If a winning racer in an elimination round is found to be illegal at the scale area, the loser in that elimination run will be weighed for possible reinstatement. If the loser in that elimination round is not present in the scale area, no one will advance to the next round.
NOTE: Every round of eliminations is a weighing round. Not withstanding, it is the racers responsibility to follow the above elimination rounds instructions unless directed otherwise. It is the racers responsibility to claim a record run at the scale area. Each racer should report to the scales to be weighed after a record or back up run. It is the responsibility of the racer to see that his time slip is signed by scale personnel stating minimum weight & scale weight. It is the racers responsibility to next report to the Race Director or his appointee to have the run logged into the “official” record sheet. The Race Director or his appointee shall log the run (ET, MPH, SCALE WEIGHT, & WHEN RUN WAS MADE (Ex: TT #2, Elim #3) It is the racers responsibility to verify the logged values, sign the time slip, with the Race Director or his appointee and then claim the time slip and retain it for the duration of the season. It is the racers responsibility to follow the procedures stated above and in the rulebook to claim a record.
RECORD PROCEDURES
Owning a BPG Class Record is a high honor awarded to the fastest and quickest drivers. Record runs may only be made under official qualifying or elimination conditions. In order to set a Class Record, a contestant must run either quicker or faster than the previous record. The elapsed time and speed records may be set independently or simultaneously. In order to re-set a record, the contestant must provide the BPG Technical Director or his appointee with the record setting after each run. Once a vehicle has set a BPG Record it may be inspected for compliance with the rules, including possible teardown, as the BPG Director or his appointee sees fit.
Procedure for ties
If two or more contestants tie for the same elapsed time record to the thousands of a second at the event, the faster speed will be the tiebreaker. If two or more contestants tie for the speed record to the hundredth of a mph at the same event, the quicker elapsed time will be the tiebreaker. In the event a tie still exists, the contestant accomplishing the record run earlier in the event will be awarded the record. A contestant that resets & then loses the record at the same event will not get credit for breaking the record. All ET and MPH Records will be recorded out to the third decimal (i.e. 0.000). A contestant cannot set records with one vehicle, and then compete in eliminations with another vehicle.
Protest Procedure
Contestant protest must be filed by a competitor in the same class and must be filed and accepted in by the BPG Race Director by no later than the conclusion of qualifying for the class. The BPG Race Director may, at the time of the protest filling, choose to accept or reject the protest, at his sole discretion.
The protested vehicle (and/or engine components) will be sealed as necessary, and inspected at some point prior to the first round of eliminations. The protested vehicle may be disassembled for inspection and re-assembled by the vehicles owner(s) and/or his designated crew. Refusing inspection and/or disassembly can result in the following: removal of the vehicle from competition, and immediate removal of the vehicle, owner and crew from the racing facility. During the actual inspection process, only representatives of the protested vehicle may be present. In addition, any infraction to the class rules, even those beyond those in the original contestant protest, will be grounds for immediate disqualification. BPG may impose fines, disqualification, suspension, and/or revocation of competition privileges for non-compliant entrants, depending upon the severity of the infraction.
EVENT PROCEDURES
RAIN OUT POLICY & EVENT TERMINATION
It is the goal of BPG to complete all events in the timeliest manner during the weekend, regardless of weather conditions. The BPG and our host tracks have a strict NO REFUND POLICY! No refunds at any time for any situation. If you enter an event, you knowingly do so at the risk of rescheduling, cancellation, curfew expiration and/or change of venue. In the event of race termination or cancellation gate fees for driver, car, spectator, or crew will NOT be refunded under any situation.
REFUND POLICY
Once a competitor has entered the tech process, there will be no refunds of entry fee. No spectator or crew refunds are issued regardless of situation.
PAYOUT POLICY
Payouts will be administrated by BPG, and will be made at the completion of each round AT THE RACE TRACK. No payouts will be mailed, made, or sent after the completion of the event. Driver must supply complete information to BPG including proper name, social security number, address, telephone number, drivers license, or any other information required by BPG. If a competitor is unable to pick up their check at the track arrangements can be made the Race Director to have the check mailed. This will be handled on a case-by-case basis and ALL the proper information required must be submitted, at the track, for the check to be mailed.
CONTINGENCY AWARDS
Contingency awards and payouts are the responsibility of the company posting the contingency and are not that of BPG. BPG will take any reasonable steps necessary to ensure that each participating company sponsor honors their commitments, but the BPG will not be responsible for non-payment or bad checks. Competitors must resolve any disputes or problems relating to contingency or non-payment directly with the company.
MARKETING & MERCHANDISING RELEASES
All vehicles, drivers, crew, and competitors, upon consideration of being permitted to enter a BPG event, hereby release the following rights. All rights to advertising, images, promotion, filming, recording, exhibition, t-shirt sales, likenesses, photographs, slides, sound recordings and any other merchandising or market-related items as deemed necessary by BPG of the drivers, vehicles, and crew. BPG may assign, sell, loan, or transfer these rights. Participants agree they will not offer for sale, sell, or distribute, or give away souvenirs, products, t-shirts, apparel, merchandise or any other thing of value, or permit others to do so, without obtaining written permission, prior to the event, from BPG.
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