1 Winter Survival Series Rules

1:Winter Survival Series

1.0: WARNING: Racing is Exceedingly Taxing, both Physically and Mentally. When driving a racecar, you'll be exposed to extreme (both high and low) temperatures; to dense smoke and fumes; to intense shocks and vibration; to very loud noises; and to a variety of other unusual, exhausting, confusing, and stressful conditions. Even if you think you're in excellent health, tell your doctor what you're planning to do; get a full pre-competition physical exam before you start racing; and establish a schedule for regular re-tests.

1.1: Organizer Decisions: Organizer's decisions are final.

1.2: Unsafe Vehicles and/or Drivers: At organizer's sole discretion, any unsafe car or driver may be removed from the event at any time.

1.3: Refunds and Compensation for Loss: There are none.

1.4: Claiming Race: At the end of the competition, the promoter may elect to purchase any vehicle from its owner(s) for $500. This is to insure there is no high dollar cars competing unfairly. Any items such as racing seat, harnesses, window net, and fuel cell may be removed. Refusal of claim will result in the loss of any and all points, position and payout.

1.5: Winners and Prizes: The car which completes the most laps is the Winner on Distance. The Winner on Distance receives $500. 2^nd place will receive $250. 3^rd place will receive $125. 4^th place receives $75 and 5^th place receives $50. We will have 2 classes of race cars. The small car class is 4cyl cars and trucks. The large car class is for straight 6, V6 and V8 cars and trucks. No 4 wheel drive trucks allowed.

1.6: Right of Publicity: You and your crew may be photographed, recorded, or otherwise reproduced and re-used whenever and wherever the organizers like (including but not limited to magazines, radio and internet). You will not be compensated.

1.7: The intent of this series is for EVERYONE to have FUN!!!! This includes everyone helping to put this race on. If you are upset and feel the need to yell. Please take some time to cool off. Remember this is for fun and to give all of us something to do in the off season. SO LETS HAVE SOME FUN!!!

2: ELIGIBILITY

2.1: Vehicle Eligibility: Entry limited to mass-produced, four-wheeled vehicles legal for US highway use at the time of their manufacture. Vehicles must be acquired and prepared for a maximum of $500 as described in Section 4. Vehicles must meet all safety standards laid out in Section 3.

2.2: Driver Eligibility: All drivers must have a valid US or International driver's license and a valid competition license (club memberships, rally licenses, and instructional licenses are not accepted). The ONLY acceptable competition licenses are: AMP, SCCA, Grand Am, FIA, NASA, NASCAR, CSRG, ARCA, WestCar, SRL, Legends/600, USAC, CASA, BCRA, BBORR, NCMA, MMRA, Barber Comp, CRA, ICSCC, HMSA, HSR, SVRA, and VMC. If you don't have one of these, you'll need to buy a 2009 comp-license waiver; these cost $50, are good for the 2009 calendar year, and are sold in the pits on Saturday morning before the race.

2.3: Tire Eligibility: DOT-approved street tires only, minimum treadwear rating 190; no exceptions. Maximum of a 7" wide rim only.

3: SAFETY

3.1: Rollbar and Structure: Professionally made three-point roll cage (main hoop behind the driver’s seat from the left-side floor, up to the roof, across the car as near to the roof as possible, and back down to the right-side floor; one driver’s side door bar; and appropriate crossmembers and braces) or better are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. (For a good source of premade bars, try I/O Port Racing or AutoPower online. A-1 also sells good, reasonably priced bars and belts and suits and other racing equipment.) Shoulder-harness bars strongly encouraged, and virtually necessary for proper shoulder-harness mounting in some applications. Additional diagonals strongly encouraged.

3.1.1: Rollbar Tubing and Padding: Minimum tubing size for cars weighing under 3000 pounds as raced is 1.50” x .120” or 1.75” x .095”. Cars weighing over 3000 pounds as raced must use a minimum tubing size of 1.75” x .120”. DOM mild steel strongly suggested. No muffler tubing, no water pipe, no electrical conduit, etc. All tubing connections to the car must have proper mounting plates of appropriate size and thickness. Additional gussetting and bracing is strongly encouraged. All roll cage tubing must be padded with high density roll bar padding wherever your head, arms or legs may contact.

3.2: Driver's Seat: Driver's seatback must reach above middle of helmet or higher. One-piece SFI- or FIA-rated competition seats very strongly encouraged.

3.3: Onboard Fire Extinguisher: Fully charged Purple K, Type 10B:C, or Type A:B:C extinguisher, 2.5 lbs or larger, must be located in easy reach of driver and secured via a proper, purpose-made, all-metal quick-release bracket. No plastic mounting hardware allowed.

3.4: Driver's Helmet: Undamaged Type SA helmet, Snell 95 or better, mandatory. No type M helmets allowed.

3.4.1: Neck Brace/Helmet Support. Racing neck braces are mandatory. Foam roll-type neck braces are the cheapest (but, naturally, also the least protective) option. Drivers with Hutchens devices, D-Cel harnesses, HANS devices, and so forth are encouraged to use those instead.

3.5: Four or five point harnesses are required.

3.5.1: Harness Mounting: Grade 8 or better hardware and 3-inch or larger load washers are required when mounting to sheetmetal. Shoulder harnesses should be within 15 degrees of horizontal from load point to seat entry.

3.6: Antifreeze Allowed: (only in winter months) water-wetter, or other additives allowed.

3.7: Fire-Retardant Clothing: Full one piece fire suite is mandatory. IF USING A SINGLE-LAYER 3.2/A1 or 3.2/A3 SUIT, DRIVER MUST ALSO WEAR FIRE-RETARDANT LONGJOHNS. Multilayer suits rated 3.2/A5 or higher are highly recommended; multilayer suits rated 3.2/A5 or higher may be worn without longjohns. Fire-retardant FIA or SFI-rated racing gloves and shoes are required.

3.8: Glass, Headlights, and Taillights: ALL glass except the front windshield MUST be removed. Front Windshield may also be removed however a metal mesh screen must be properly installed in it’s place. All headlights, marker lights and tail lights MUST be removed. Third brake light may be left and may be working but it is not required. It must be mounted in an area that will not be broken in an impact with another car.

3.9: Airbags: All airbags must be disarmed and removed, and all airbag housings must be open for inspection at tech. (Remember, airbag removal can be really dangerous, please seek professional help if you are not able to safely remove your airbag)

3.10: Window Nets: Window nets are not mandatory. We recommend them, but if you install a window net it must be easily removed from the window frame by the driver. Please make sure that all of your drivers are well practiced at removing the net and that all net hardware is in perfect working order.

3.11: Zero-Tolerance on Fuel Leaks: Get your fuel system in good working order! If any track staff sees a suspect leak you will be immediately black-flagged and sent to the tech shed. You will have ONLY ONE CHANCE to completely repair any fuel leak. If the leak reappears on the track, your car will be permanently removed from the race. No exceptions.

3.12: Noise Limit: Our noise limit is 92dB @ 100 feet @ W.O.T. no straight-pipes allowed. All cars must have baffled mufflers on all exhaust pipes. If your car came with a dual exhaust then you need 2 mufflers.

3.13: Outside door bars are allowed: They must be No higher than the top of the tires and No lower than the center of the wheel hub. Maximum 1 ½" diameter pipe permitted. 1/4" x 3" flat steel is also permitted. The ends of the door bars must be turned in. No sharp edges. If the tech inspector feels that the outside door bar is unsafe then it MUST be removed or the car will be disqualified. NO EXCEPTIONS. 1 bar on either side of the car only. No other outside bars permitted. No outside bars allowed in the front and rear of the vehicle.

3.14: Battery Tie-Downs: All batteries must be fully secured via proper, purpose-built battery brackets, battery frames, or sealed battery boxes. Zip ties, bungee cords, duct tape, will not be accepted

3.15: Mirrors: All cars must have at least one interior mirror. Driver and passenger side mirrors are allowed but MUST be mounted INSIDE of the vehicle. NO EXTERNAL side view mirrors are allowed.

3.16: Bad-Weather Visibility: It's your job to figure out which bad-weather visibility aids will be most useful for your car. Wipers, Rain-X, tearoffs, small, etc. are all acceptable. If your visibility appears compromised during the race for any reason, however, you may be black-flagged until conditions improve.

3.17: Car Numbers: Car numbers must be at least 12 inches tall and clearly visible. Numbers will be supplied by the WINTER SURVIVAL SERIES. You can request a specific number when you register. Numbers may be painted on or made of tape. They must be a contrasting color to the car and easy to read. They must be on the drivers side and passenger side doors. Front and rear numbers are allowed but are not required.

3.18: Fuel Bulkhead: The fuel-tank area must be totally separated from the driving compartment. For example, if the fuel tank is in or below the trunk area, any openings between the trunk and the cockpit must be permanently sealed with bolted, riveted, or welded metal panels. If the fuel tank can't be completely separated from the cockpit by metal panels, a metal-encased, FIA-compliant fuel cell must be used.

3.19: Fuel, Oil, and Coolant Lines in the Cockpit: Any fuel, oil, or coolant lines that pass through the driving compartment must be encased by heavy-duty conduit, durable steel or aluminum pipe, or strong metal plate.

3.20: No Open Sunroofs: All sunroof openings must be covered by a new panel securely fixed into place; or securely fixed mesh with openings no larger than 1/2-inch each.

3.21: Open T-Tops and Convertibles: Arm restraints are required when driving an open T-Top or convertible. Convertibles are required to have a complete 12 point roll cage minimum.

3.22: Engine Firewall: Big gaps or holes in the engine firewall must be sealed up with metal plate or OE-type grommets. If you can see through it, we want it closed up.

3.23: Master Electrical Kill Switch: All cars must have a racing-type master electrical kill switch. The control for this switch should be red; the OFF position should be clearly indicated; the switch should be easily accessible from outside the car; and the switch should be clearly marked by a three-inch or larger lightning-bolt symbol. Both the main battery circuit and the ignition circuit must be interrupted by the kill switch (if you don't do that, the engine may still run off the alternator even after the battery circuit is disconnected). The switch should be located on the cowl; or on the outside edge of the dash near the driver's-side window opening; or on the deck at the base of the rear windshield. Don't put the switch where it's likely to be hit by another car in traffic or crushed in an accident.

3.24: Interiors: Complete interior must be removed. The only interior parts that are allowed to remain are the drivers side door panel (a flat piece of sheet metal is also allowed) and the dash board. All carpet and trunk liners must also be removed.

4: VEHICLE PRICE

4.1: Total Investment in Vehicle Can Not Exceed $500: Except for items described in Rules 4.2 and 4.3, the total spent to purchase and prepare any car may not exceed $500.

4.1.1: Cars that "should be" worth $500 don't count; cars that "were worth $500" before you spent another $2000 to fix them don't count; cars you've owned for 20 years and spent more than $500 on during that time don't count; "it would have been worth $500 if it didn't already have a cage" doesn't count. Five hundred dollars means five hundred dollars. We police this with rule 1.4.

4.2: Safety Equipment DOES NOT Count Toward $500 Total: Safety equipment described in Section 3 DOES NOT count toward the $500 total. There is NO LIMIT on safety-equipment spending. Tires, wheels, and brake components are also considered safety equipment and DO NOT count toward the $500 total. While not mandatory, additional safety items such as fuel cells and plumbed fire suppression systems are highly recommended and DO NOT count toward the $500 total. Mufflers also do not count toward the $500.

4.3: Sponsorships: Sponsorships are allowed but it does not mean that you can spend more then $500 on your car. Use the money for safety equipment or a new helmet and fire suite. Money spent on your car from sponsorships still counts towards the $500.

4.4: Scavenger Sales: If you sell pieces off of your car, the money that comes back in can be used to offset the initial purchase price. Have proof of any sales used. Remember the car can be purchased at the end of the event so it’s in your best interest not to cheat on this rule.

5: TEAMS

5.1: Definition of Team: Each team must consist of one car and up to four drivers. There is no limit on pit crew members, friends, or family.

5.2: Driver Portability: Any registered driver is allowed to drive any registered car at any time.

5.3: Pit Communication: Every team must have a reliable way to signal its driver on track. A pit board (homemade is fine) is acceptable, as is a helmet-wired radio system. No loose or hand-held receivers are allowed in the car.

6: Conduct

6.1: Unsportsmanlike conduct -which includes, but is not limited to, unnecessary contact, overly aggressive driving, chopping off other cars or lack of car control -will result in a black-flag penalty for Unsportsmanlike conduct. These penalties will be punished as follows:

6.1.1: First Individual Offense: Mandatory driver change; offending driver can't return to the track for 30 minutes.

6.1.2: Second Individual Offense: Driver loses his wristband for the rest of the day.

6.1.3: Third Individual Offense: Driver is out for the rest of the season, beginning immediately.

6.2: Team Rule: Teams are held jointly accountable for unsportsmanlike driving offenses earned by their drivers. These penalties are punished as follows.

6.2.1: First Offense: Mandatory driver change.

6.2.2: Second Offense: Vehicle impounded in Pit Lane for 10 minutes.

6.2.3: Third Offense: Vehicle impounded in Pit Lane for 30 minutes.

6.2.4: Fourth Offense: Vehicle removed from race.

6.3: Why Am I Upside-Down? Rule: You're upside-down because you have no business being out on a racetrack. Any driver who puts a car on its roof is out for the rest of the season, beginning immediately.

6.4: Touching a Temporary Barrier: Physically contacting a cone, tire barrier, or any other temporary structure placed on the track by the organizers will result in a mandatory 10-minute impound penalty. Subsequent offenses may be punished by longer impound penalties.