| Bob Lang, Director Office Hours: |
2002 NHRA Northeast Division CONTESTANT INFORMATION Welcome to another exciting year of NHRA Sportsman Drag Racing! Reading the following information can help you avoid having any problems this weekend. If you should have any questions, please ask a member of our NHRA Northeast Division Certification Team. 1. The NHRA Eliminator System will apply at this event. This event will be conducted per the current NHRA Rule Book. All awards will be standard at all Northeast Division Sportsman Drag Racing Series Events per listings in the Northeast Division Newsletter. 2. All Sportsman Drag Racing Series Events and National Open entrants must be members of NHRA. Entrants must have a current Competition Number or License for the eliminator entered. All numbers and class identification must be permanently displayed on the windshield and two side windows, either painted on or with the use of vinyl numbers and letters. NO shoe polish numbers or letters permitted. Letters and numbers must be in a contrasting color to the vehicle�s background color and be clearly visible to the Timing Tower Personnel. 3. The Vehicle Inspection Classification Form (Tech Card) must be printed and completely filled out before entering Tech Inspection. 4. CLASS CHANGES: Once inspected and properly classified, change of eliminator category and/or class will not be permitted under any circumstance. 5. Pit area will be at a premium. Please confine your pit space neatly and follow the normal flow of traffic at all times. Once parked, trailers may not be re-located. EXCESSIVE SPEED OR BURNOUTS IN THE PIT AREA, STAGING LANES, OR RETURN ROAD WILL NOT BE TOLERATED! See current NHRA Rule Book, General Regulations, Jacks/Jackstands and Warm-ups for instructions to follow when starting engines in the pits. ALL AT TRACK EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, i.e. partying, firing/tuning of racecars, etc., MUST BE QUIET BY 12:00 MIDNIGHT, ( Or local curfew) NO EXCEPTIONS!!! 6. All auxiliary pit vehicles (mini-bikes, ATV�s, golf-carts, etc.) must have their owner�s Competition Number displayed on the vehicle (metal/plastic with 5� min. numbers being used). Riders may not be under 16 years of age. If any racer allows an underage rider on their pit vehicle or it is used for other than necessary business, the vehicle may be impounded and the race entry subject to disqualification. ALL MOTORIZED PIT VEHICLES MUST BE PARKED FOR THE EVENING NO LATER THAN ONE HOUR AFTER RACING IS FINISHED FOR THE DAY. THIS RULE WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED AND VIOLATORS MAY LOSE USE OF THEIR PIT VEHICLE FOR THE DURATION OF THE EVENT. 7. Tow vehicles must be operated in a safe and orderly manner at all times. Crewmembers must be completely within the vehicle cabs or truck beds. NO standing or hanging on tailgates or running boards. Tow vehicle drivers are asked to expedite their trip down the track, keeping to the far right or far left of the racing surface at all times. Race cars and crews are asked to clear the shutdown area as soon as possible to help speed up the running of the event. 8. Any driver and/or crewmember found to be under the influence of alcoholic beverages or drugs, regardless of amount, will be ejected from the event. Such a condition is cause for suspension, fine and/or revocation of competition privileges. 9. All Eliminators will be issued run cards after passing Tech and must present the run card to the Official at the head of the staging lanes before running. License runs, check out runs, and/or additional runs will not be permitted. 10. QUALIFYING/COMPETITION RUNS: Once you leave the staging lanes for a run, you must be prepared to fire and race. After proper staging and receiving the starter�s signal to go, it is not allowed to re-stage for a second attempt. Failure to stage upon the starter�s instructions will be grounds for possible disqualification. Any driver leaving the starting line before the start system is activated, or is so instructed by the official starter, will have his time voided for the run. Contestants must be prepared to conduct their qualifying runs in a side-by-side manner. If you do not run with your paired car you may forfeit your Qualifying Run. If a driver delays in staging, to the point where the starter sends the opponent on a single run - there is a risk that the delaying driver will lose the run. If the first car down the track encounters a problem, necessitating the delaying car to be shut off - there will be NO re-run. �Burndown� games in any category will not be tolerated. If a contestant�s car should break on a burnout and cannot backup or be pushed back, it is NOT allowable to turn on the track to drive back to the Starting Line. On a qualifying run, if a contestant properly starts, stages, and receives a starter�s signal but breaks to the point the run is not completed - a time of 28.0 seconds is issued and it is considered a valid qualifying run. 11. RE-STARTS: Vehicles in TAD and TAFC once started, and having moved into the designated burn out area (waterbox), may not re-start engines if �losing fire� for any reason. 12. REACTION TIMES/INTERVAL TIMES: These readings are provided only as �extras� to basic timing information and are not guaranteed. Please do not ask for re-runs due to missed or disputed times. 13. SINGLE RUN: In situations where a driver is making a single run during eliminations, he is considered an automatic winner once he stages. The elapsed time is voided for lane choice determination if a strip boundary infraction occurs. 14. S/COMP, S/GAS, S/STREET A. All Time Trials will be run in sessions. Lane choice will be determined by a coin flip. 15. TAD, TAFC, COMP, SS, STK are all qualified fields and will be held in sessions per listing in pre-race advertising. A. TAD, TAFC, COMP will make one qualifying pass in each lane. B. TAD, TAFC, COMP, SS, STK must make a legal qualifying run to be listed on the ladder. All cars must stop at the scales and have their weight certified, when directed to do so. C. First round pairings will be determined by qualifying ET�s with next round pairings determined by the Standard NHRA Eliminator Ladder. D. TAD, TAFC, COMP lane choice will be determined by ET. The driver with the better qualifying ET will get first round lane choice. In subsequent rounds the lane choice will go to low ET previous round winner. In the event of identical ET�s in TAD or TAFC the faster MPH will get the lane choice. In COMP, the first driver to record the time will get lane choice. E. SS & STK lane choice will be determined by coin flip. F. Alternates will not be eligible for any round points, regardless of how far they advance past round one. The cash award paid will be less the amount paid to the original qualifier.
16. NATIONAL RECORD PROCEDURES A. TAD, TAFC: All runs will be record runs. B. COMP may set records only during qualifying with the first round of eliminations being used for a back-up run. Comp may also set the record in the first round of eliminations using a previous qualifying run from the same event if within the necessary 1%. C. SS & STK records will be run during the first and second qualifying sessions. Any car wanting to run for record must come to the staging lanes and report to the technical representative, before making the record attempt. Records may be attempted during the first and second sessions only. If the record is set, only one additional back-up run will be permitted. 1. If you run under the record, report to the scales for technical certification. 2. The driver may not leave the car nor any crewmember make any changes on the car until a Certification Team Member is present. If for any reason, after the engine is sealed, the seal must be broken, do not break it until a Certification Team Member is present. 3. Any car that does not pass Record Certification will not be permitted to compete in Eliminations. 17. Contingency awards will be paid to all the eliminator winners and runner-ups when posted. All winners and runner-ups must report to the staging lanes after the final round of competition to have the Certification Team complete the Product Verification Forms. Eligibility for a sponsor�s contingency award payment is based on use of sponsor�s product and display of sponsor�s decals on each side of the racecar during its participation for the duration of the event. 18. CAR WEIGHTS: Contestants in all classes calculated by weight to cubic inches must claim exact engine displacement to determine exact weight on window sticker. Any engine changes must be reported to the Certification Team before any further runs are made. 19. SCALES/FUEL CHECK: ALL WINNERS during eliminations must cross over the scales when directed to do so. Round losers are asked to stand by the scales until the winner is verified. You may be required to turn into the check area at any time; failure to comply will be grounds for disqualification. 20. All eliminator handicaps will be based on the current NHRA Index. Contestants in SS and STK eliminators will have the option of dialing under their posted index. Dial Unders may be changed before each round. Check your dial-in on the scoreboard before you stage. If it�s wrong , DO NOT STAGE! Once you�ve staged, you�ve bought it! In cases where two cars of the same class meet, the race will always be a heads-up basis regardless of any dial-unders, and the breakout rules will not apply. The breakout policy will not be in effect for TAD, TAFC, and COMP. See the NHRA Rule Book for more details. 21. S/C, S/G, and S/ST: Both drivers must have their pre-stage lights activated before either can advance into the staging beams. This is considered a courtesy rule, and starter has option of re-staging contestants to assure proper start. Failure to stage upon the starter�s instructions will be grounds for disqualification. Anyone who is deep-staged when the switch is flipped will receive an automatic red light. THE STARTER�S DECISION IS FINAL. 22. STRIP BOUNDARIES: In determining boundary crossing violations, it is considered a disqualification when any portion of a tire completely crosses the painted line surface directly adjacent to the competitor�s lane. If both cars cross lines on the same run, BOTH cars will be disqualified. There will be no �First or Worse� rule. 23. In an effort to get each racer a time run in the lane of their choice, the following system will be used. Racers who wish to run in the LEFT Lane will report to the ODD NUMBERED Lanes (1,3,5). Racers who want to run the RIGHT Lane will report to the EVEN NUMBERED Lanes (2,4,6). We will attempt to give you the choice, but be advised we CANNOT run singles!! Getting in the ODD or EVEN lanes does not guarantee a run in the lane of your choice and is not grounds for a rerun. 24. Auto Start is used at all Northeast Division Events. Thank you for your participation and we hope you enjoy these events. |