Harmon continued, “There were some racers who liked the playoff style system, but an overwhelming majority of the racers asked that we switch back to the traditional system for 2011 and beyond. Racers will accumulate points based on the best 5 out of 7 events.” The 2011 rulebook shows a 25 point bonus for those “Heads-up racers” who attend five events. If a racer accumulates points in six events, then he or she will get a 50 point bonus. Racers who attend all the races for either series will get another 100 points added, bringing the total bonus point accumulation to 175. The “Index and Open Comp” style categories feature a bonus structure that awards 100 points for racers that attend five, six, and seven events. Attending all events allows for a maximum bonus of 300 points. All racers that pass technical inspection in a points-generating category are awarded 50 points per event.

Qualifying will also weigh in on the final tally as points are awarded based on one’s final qualifying position. Open Comp/Index style categories will run a similar qualifying points system as 2010 with the top qualifier receiving 90 points, second 80 points, third drops by 5 to 75, and there is a 5 point reduction until 17th when all entries get 5 points for qualifying. Qualifying is more valuable for heads-up racers as the top qualifier is awarded 150 points and it drops from there. Thom Bates, Tech Director for NMRA racing operations, offered some insight to the rationale behind the different qualifying structure, “We’ve seen a few racers try to manipulate the ladder when the fields are odd-sized. By putting a greater emphasis on qualifying, it will force racers to race hard and not play any games to get the weaker side of the ladder in eliminations. We think this qualifying structure will discourage any game playing that we’ve seen in the past.” Jeff Conley, NMCA Tech Director, expanded the view of the qualifying points program for heads-up racers, “in addition, by encouraging more competitiveness in qualifying, the rules committee will have more data to draw from when trying to keep the fields even.”

2011 NMCA FLOWMASTER POINTS SYSTEM

The NMCA will award championships in 2011 in the following classes: Pro Street, Super Street, Nostalgia Pro Street, Xtreme Street, Pro Stock, 275 Drag Radial, Open Comp, Late-Model EFI, Mean Street, Nostalgia Super Stock, & Nostalgia Muscle Car.

Points will be accumulated from the NMCA events using the best points totals accumulated at 5 of 7 events. At the end of the season the class champion in each of these NMCA classes will be able to proudly display the #1 permanent number for the entirety of the 2012 NMCA season. Competitors in each class that finished in positions 2 through 10 in points receive #2 through #10 permanent numbers for the 2012 NMCA season.

General Guidelines:
Points are awarded based on elimination rounds lost, qualifying positions for specified classes, and ET records set for specific classes. A competitor will be advanced to the next round of competition once they are declared a winner in the previous round. It will not be necessary for a competitor to participate in a losing round to be awarded points for that round.

The only way NMCA points will be awarded for eliminations is the following:
1) Driver losses a round of racing in competition.
2) Winning an event

Points Eligibility:
In order to be awarded points in the NMCA organization the driver must be competing in a vehicle which is deemed capable of running within 3 seconds of the ET record for the class by the NMCA Technical Staff. This rule is designed to prevent the “rental car” problem of competitors attempting to gain points by running a non-competitive vehicle.
NMCA Class Racers (PRO, SS, NPS, XS, PSTK, DR, MS, OC, EFI, NSS, and NMC) will all earn points through qualifying, eliminations, and bonus point opportunities. In all cases NMCA points will be awarded to the driver only, and cannot be transferred in any manner or form. In the event of a disqualification of either a driver or a vehicle for misconduct or non-compliance of class rules, the NMCA Director may penalize the driver by removing their points from either that event or any and all points accumulated throughout the season if necessary.

Points will be calculated in the following manner:
In all NMCA Points Series Classes the best 5 or 7 events will be utilized to calculate a competitors base points position.

Series & Event & Bonus Points competitors who compete in NMCA Heads-up Classes (PRO, SS, NPS, XS, PSTK, DR, and MS) will receive
Racers that compete in 5 of 7 NMCA events 25 bonus points
Racers that compete in 6 of 7 NMCA events 50 additional points;
Racers that compete in 7 of 7 NMCA events 100 additional points;
Total of 175 bonus points.

Establishing an official ET class record – 50 points

Series & Event & Bonus Points competitors who compete in NMCA Heads-up Classes (OC, EFI, NSS, and NMC) will receive
Racers that compete in 5 of 7 NMCA events 100 bonus points
Racers that compete in 6 of 7 NMCA events 100 additional points; .
Racers that compete in 7 of 7 NMCA events 100 additional points;
Total of 300 bonus points.

Points Awarded for Tech-In 50 points are awarded when the driver successfully completes the tech-in process on a racecar, which complies with all class regulations, general regulations, and points regulations.

Qualifying points will be calculated and awarded following the final round of qualifying.

Points Awarded for Eliminations
Each round loss is awarded 100 points. Winner in each class are awarded 100 points.
Example of 8 car field:
1st round loser 100 points
2nd round loser 200 points
3rd round loser 300 points
Winner 400 points

At the NMCA World Finals in Indianapolis, IN double base points will be awarded at this event exclusively for all NMCA Points Series Classes. Each round loss is awarded 200 points. Winner in each class are awarded 200 points at this event. Regular qualifying and record awards will stay in effect for this event.
Official NMCA ET records:
(Heads-Up Classes Only):
Points will be awarded to the “holder” of the new ET record at the conclusion of all rounds of qualifying and eliminations, only once per event. Current record holders are eligible for points for re-setting their official ET record.

If an ET record is established at an event that is dropped, the ET Record points will be dropped as well. All ET and MPH Records will be recorded out to the third decimal (i.e. 0.000).

Rain Out/Race Cancellation Points Policy:
In the event of a rain-out and/or race cancellation, any racer that has successfully completed the registration and tech-in process PRIOR to the formal announcement of race cancellation will be eligible to receive tech-in points, and will be eligible to count the race as “attended” for bonus points calculations. This “time frame” for tech-in may be adjusted, as deemed necessary, by the Competition Director depending on specific weather conditions and scheduling. In the event that one full round of qualifying is complete, qualifying points and tech points will be awarded to the racer that claims the race. In the event of race cancellation, those racers choosing to retain points from tech-in & for bonus will not be eligible for credit on their race entry/credential.

NMCA Points System:
Any contestant disqualified for mechanical non-compliance (during either an official protest or a contestant protest, commonly known as teardown) automatically loses all points for that particular event. The race will be charged to the contestant’s overall quota of races attended and the contestant will be charged with a non-replaceable “zero grade” event that will be used as one of the scored events in calculating national standings. Additional penalties may be imposed by the NMCA organization. Contestants will be notified if additional penalties are forthcoming.

Competitor Obligations:
The NMCA points will be posted following each event. It will be the responsibility of each competitor to verify the posted points following each event. Should a competitor wish to contest the posted points they shall have no more than ten days following the postings to officially contest the postings. This must be done in writing and provided to the Event Director. The deadline to contest official NMCA points for the 2011 season is November 10, 2011, unless specified otherwise by NMCA.

Tie Breaker Procedures:
In the event that two competitors tie for points at the end of the racing season, the tie-breaker will be awarded to the racer who participated in the most events. If a tie still exists it will be awarded the racer that achieved the higher points total in his last event. If a tie still exists it will be awarded the racer that achieved the higher finishing position in their last event, (ex: winner, runner-up, semi-finals). If the tie still exists it will be awarded the racer that qualified in the higher position at their last event. If the tie still exists it will be decided by coin toss.
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Andrew Le
Social Network Coordinator
NMCA