Concord, NC — The 2010 points championships for members in DIRTcar Racing’s eight sanctioned divisions will be determined by driver talent, team strength, Lady Luck…and a calculator.
The organization’s post-season recognition and awards program has been fine-tuned in 2010 to benefit the weekly racer and reward drivers’ success without requiring them to run the most events. The return of State champions will bring the chase to the home tracks, with State points funds leading to the lucrative national standings that create a national ranking, rewards and prestige.
National and State points standings are maintained for DIRTcar Late Models, UMP Modifieds, Pro Late Models, Sportsman, Limited Modifieds, Stock Cars, Factory Stocks and Sport Compacts and overall will recognize hundreds of drivers and teams competing across the country.
This season’s DIRTcar points awards system largely mirrors the one used in 2009, with some minor alterations to benefit the thousands of weekly, one-track teams. Bonus points will once again be available based on car counts as in the past, but DIRTcar Racing officials have adjusted the number of races that drivers will count toward their overall points totals.
As the battle for the national and state points titles roars into its third month of weekly action, here’s some bullet points detailing how drivers will accumulate points in hopes of collecting a share of the nearly $400,000 in points-fund cash on the line in 2010.
* In all divisions, winners of sanctioned feature events receive 75 points. There’s a five-point per position drop through sixth place, then two points per position through 11th and one point per position from 12th through last place.
* Bonus points are awarded only to feature event participants on a scale of one point for every car over 20 entered in an event. A bonus-points ceiling of 10 points per race has been established, so the most ‘event’ points – the combination of finish and bonus points – a driver can receive for a single race is 85 (feature win with a field of 30 or more cars).
* When a B-Main is run, drivers not qualifying for the feature receive finish points starting with the first non-transfer and dropping one point per position to a minimum of 10 points. Any driver participating in an event will receive a minimum of 10 points.
* Drivers may begin replacing their lowest ‘event’ points nights after completing a minimum number of sanctioned races – 35 for the Late Models, 25 for the UMP Modifieds and 15 for all other divisions. Last year Late Model drivers began replacing races after 40 events and UMP Modified competitors after 30 events.
* All races must have 10 or more cars entered in order for driver to receive full points. If a race has nine or less cars, points will be reduced 10 percent for each car – ie., nine cars equals 90 percent points, eight cars equals 80 percent points, etc.
* All points ties at the end of the season will be broken by the greatest number of wins among the dead-locked drivers. If a tie still exists, the number of second-place, third-place, etc. finishes will be compared until the tie is broken.
* For any event to award points, a sanctioning agreement between the track and DIRTcar Racing must be in place. Added events must be approved 10 days prior to the event.
* Drivers who do not have DIRTcar Racing memberships by July 15, 2010, will not be eligible to share in the post-season points fund. In addition, eligibility to participate in the points-fund awards may be forfeited by any member violating DIRTcar rules.
* The 2010 points season began on Jan. 1, but only a driver’s highest finish-points race each week was counted from that date through March 31. All DIRTcar-sanctioned races count toward accumulated points from April 1 through Oct. 3, and the Late Models and UMP Modifieds close out the points season with the DIRTcar UMP Championship weekend on Oct. 8-9 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.
* DIRTcar Western Region State points racing may continue through Nov. 14 and end with a championship event the weekend of Nov. 19-20, but drivers’ will only accumulate points toward their State battles and not the national standings.
Over $160,000 in points-fund cash has been earmarked for the DIRTcar Late Model division in 2010, including the $55,100 payout for the upcoming DIRTcar Summer Nationals ‘Hell Tour’ that runs from June 16-July 17. The national champion will receive $20,000 and State titlists will pocket $2,000.
UMP Modified racers will chase over $120,000 in points-fund awards, including $65,535 that will be divided among the top 50 finishers in the national standings. The national champ will earn a $20,000 check and State titlists will receive $2,000.
The payoffs for the national champions in DIRTcar Racing’s six other sanctioned divisions: Pro Late Models ($10,000), Sportsman ($3,000), Stock Cars ($3,000), Limited Modifieds ($1,000), Factory Stocks ($1,000) and Sport Compacts ($1,000). Drivers in each class will also compete for State points crowns.
Log on to www.dirtcar.com for more information on DIRTcar Racing’s UMP circuit and to view complete points standings for all divisions.
