Rules & Protesting

Racers may protest an incident or breach of our rules.

While these rules cover most situations, racing is complex and nuanced. Inevitably, scenarios may arise that are not explicitly covered or that violate the spirit of the rules and the league. In such cases, the stewards reserve the right to stray from the letter of the rules as written.

  1. An incident occurs when a driver causes another racer to:
    1. Spin, go off-track with all four wheels, or suffer mechanical issues requiring an immediate pit stop.
    2. Lose one or more positions to an uninvolved third car due to contact.
    3. Receive a 4x during the pace lap.
    4. Stewards will determine whether an incident was avoidable, intentional, or simply hard racing.
  2. Threatening, insulting, racist, sexist, or otherwise abusive language—whether spoken or written—will result in penalties, up to and including removal from the league.
  3. No retaliation, ever. This should go without saying.
  4. PACE LAPS
    1. Don’t leave big gaps to the car ahead of you.
    2. If you cannot maintain pace and/or your position for any reason, you must tow and start from pit lane. This is done so others, that are forced to pass you, don’t get a black flag at the start.
  5. START PROCEDURES
    1. Stay in your lane until the green flag drops. Offsetting your car to gain an advantage before the start may result in a penalty.
    2. Do not exceed the pace car speed by more than 5 mph before the start, and gain an advantage. 
    3. Go on the green flag. Pole position does not decide when to go.
    4. Do not use the apron on a super speedway to improve your position during lap 1. This will be a penalty.
    5. Multi-Class
      1. No gaps between classes.
      2. All cars go on the green flag.
  6. INCIDENTS
    1. Hold the brake if you’re involved in an incident, even if you stop in the middle of the track. Failing to do so and causing another incident will make you at fault.
    2. Do not force your way through another car to resume racing. Back up, drive around, or wait. 
    3. Re-enter the track safely. If your re-entry causes another incident, you will be at fault.
  7. PASSING
    1. To attempt a pass in a corner, the passer must be at least alongside or ahead of the other car’s door centerline before the turn-in point.
    2. A pass isn’t complete until one car is entirely ahead. Until then, both drivers must leave space. Until you are clear of the car behind, don’t expect them to slow/concede. If you don’t know if you’re clear, assume you are not.
    3. If the passer fails to hold the apex and causes an incident, they will likely be at fault in a protest.
    4. If the car being passed turns down on the passer without leaving room, and the passer is making the apex, they will likely be at fault in a protest.
    5. Predictability and communication are key to safe passing. Be sure to read the Passing Guidelines.
  8. NO BLOCKING
    1. Only one proactive defensive move is allowed. After making that move, the driver must hold their line and cannot make additional moves to block or impede the overtaking car.
    2. Proactive Move: Choosing a defensive line before the following car commits to a move.
    3. Reactive Move: Changing lines in response to the following car’s passing attempt. Reactive moves are penalized.
  9. Pit Exit Right of Way: At the pit exit line, the driver ahead has the right of way. Any driver alongside must yield and merge behind the leading car.
  10. Post-Race Conduct: After finishing the race, complete one additional lap before any post-race shenanigans. This prevents unnecessary incident reports or position adjustments. Podium photos are allowed, but do not block the track immediately after the finish line.

Protests & Penalties

We have a steward committee that reviews all protests. Lap 1 will automatically be reviewed, with a lower tolerance for high-risk maneuvers. You may be cited if your high-risk move results in one or more racers being wrecked, even if you followed the letter of the law.

All other issues must be protested by a party involved in the issue for them to be reviewed by the stewards.

To file a protest, complete this formProtests must be submitted by the next morning, 11 am Central. Tell us the drivers involved and the approximate lap. We’ll do the rest.

Stewards may decide to warn rather than penalize a racer.

  1. Penalty Schedule
    1. Self-Reported: Loss of -2 points and -3 overall positions.
    2. Steward-Enforced: Loss of -5 points and -7 overall positions.
    3. A race suspension for every 2 Steward-Enforced penalties.
    4. If the stewards believe it is warranted (i.e. excessively bad judgment, aggression, etc.), racers may be suspended for one or more races.
    5. Purposely wrecking someone or yelling at someone over the radio:
      1. 1st offense: Loss of race points for that race and a one-week race suspension from all races.
      2. 2nd offense: Removed from the league
  2. Penalty points are assigned to the driver. They do not get dropped.