General Rule and Points Structure All Classes

Racers compete for the championship title on the basis of TOTAL points won at ALL 5 full points events. Points will be calculated in the following manner:

Series & Event bonus points (Heads up classes)

-Establishing an official ET record: 5 points*

 

Points awarded for qualifying

Points awarded for Eliminations

-Round win   10 points

Attendance points

-Per event   10 points

*Official OSCA ET records
Points will be only awarded to the "holder" of new ET record at the conclusion of all rounds of qualifying and eliminations, once per event. Current record holders are eligible for points for re-setting their official ET records, once per event. In order to insure the validity of all new records, a backup performance of within 1% is required. In the event that two runs exceed the existing record but are not within 1% of each other, the quicker time or faster speed will be acceptable as the backup for the slower time or speed, which will stand as the new record. Only the driver holding the record at the conclusion of the event will be credited with the record. A driver setting and then losing a record at the same event will not receive credit or points for establishing a record. All record runs are not official until entry has undergone a post race technical inspection including cubic inch verification via P&G test. Due to the nature of the index classes, ET records will not be given for these eliminators. If records were given and a competitor runs on the index (i.e. 12.900 in the 12.90 Index class) the record can never be broken. For this reason no records will be given for these classes.

Tie Breaker Procedure

In the event that two competitors tie for the points at the end of the year, the tie breaker will be awarded to the racer who achieved:

1) Most event wins.
2) Most event runner-ups.
3) Most events entered.
4) Most event round wins.

-The vehicle entered and qualified must the vehicle used during eliminations

-Vehicle changes

-All previous event times are permitted under the following conditions:

-The new vehicle must be properly entered in the class raced. Class entry fee must be paid and technical inspection must be completed

are voided for vehicles and drivers included.

-Changes must be made, and driver must re-qualify, during the normal scheduled qualifying rounds for that event. No changes are permitted after qualifying has been completed.

-Driver must stay within class and category in which they have entered and have proper credentials to drive replacement vehicle.

Staging lane procedures

It is the sole and ultimate responsibility of each contestant to answer the call to the staging lanes in order to make their run. If you are pitted in an area with poor audio from the PA, you are expected to assign a crew person to position him or herself so they may hear the staging lane call for your category and inform you of them. Contestants not making the call to staging will either miss the qualifying run or, if in eliminations, will be scratched from competition and the round will be run without them. If you suspect that you may have a problem making the staging lane call, notify the OSCA Race Director so he can be aware of your problem.

Starting Line Procedures

Once a vehicle entered in competition reaches the front of the staging lanes for a run, it must be prepared to fire and race and the driver MUST have all safety specified gear for their class on, including neck restraints and gloves. Failure to adhere with these safety requirements will result in driver being backed up until all requirements have been met and may result in a missed pass. In order to be a legitimate race winner, a contestant's vehicle must self-stage including single runs. Staging must be done under the vehicles own power with the engine running. The use of any device, mechanical or electronic, that permits the driver to position their vehicle relative to the starting line is prohibited.

The practice known as "DEEP STAGING" is allowed but not guaranteed. THE FINAL STAGING MOTION, USING APPLIED POWER, MUST BE IN A FORWARD MOTION GOING FROM PRE-STAGE TO STAGE POSITION.

The starter has the final starting line control of each race as it is being conducted. A reasonable amount of time will be permitted for drivers to stage. While a noticeable delay of staging by the second vehicle will not be tolerated, "quick staging" by the first vehicle will not necessarily force the starter to speed up the starting process. The time limit will be determined at the sole discretion of the starter.

THERE WILL BE NO WARNINGS

Drivers are responsible for their crew on the starting line.  Crew members must use caution and not stand in the staging beams while lining up their driver.  Crew members standing in the beams may result in a warning and/or driver disqualification. 

Protest Procedure

Contestant protests may only be filed by a competitor in the same class and must be filed with an OSCA official no later than the conclusion of qualifying. The OSCA Tech Director may, at the time of protest filing, choose to accept or reject the official protest, at his sole discretion. At any time during the event, the OSCA may enter an "official protest" at no charge by the proper OSCA officials. Protests must be accompanied with the proper cash protest fee.

The protested vehicle will be sealed as necessary, and inspected at some point prior to the first round of eliminations. The protested vehicle must be both disassembled for inspection and reassembled by the car owner(s) and/or his designated crew members. Refusing inspection and/or disassembly can result in the following: removal of the vehicle and driver from competition, race suspension of driver, and loss of competition points.

During the actual inspection procedure, only one representative of the protested car may be present. No other racers, spectators and/or crew members may be present at the inspection (including the protesting party).

If the protested vehicle is found to be within the requirements for the class, the protest fee, less 50%, will be forfeited to the owner of the protested car. If the protested vehicle is found to be NOT within the requirements of the class, the protest fee less 50% will be refunded. In addition, any infractions to the class rules, even beyond those of the original protest, will be grounds for immediate disqualification.

The OSCA may impose fines, disqualification, suspension and/or revocation of competition privileges for non-compliant entries, depending on the severity of the infraction.  

Conduct of Participants

It is the responsibility of each participant and their crewmembers to conduct themselves in a sportsmanlike manner throughout the course of the event. Any inappropriate conduct directed towards fellow participants, spectators, or event officials deemed unsportsmanlike by the OSCA Officials is grounds for expulsion from the event or any other disciplinary action as prescribed by the Directors of the OSCA.  

Tow Vehicles

Tow vehicles must be clearly marked with entry number and must cross the scale prior to and after picking up race entry.

Tow vehicles restricted to two crew members. Any tow vehicle or race entry not crossing the scales will be disqualified. It is the sole responsibility of the entrant and his/her crew to conform to these rules. Tow vehicles are prohibited in all other classes. Vehicles that break may be towed back to the pits, by way of the scales first, but only after receiving permission from the OSCA race director.  

Termination of a Race/Refund Policy

The OSCA will make EVERY attempt to complete all scheduled races by running late into the evening and/or by continuing the program on Sunday when possible and necessary. However, should the race be terminated due to inclement weather conditions, curfew, darkness or any other reason, the following will occur:

If the race is terminated PRIOR to ANY single run of eliminations taking place, the racer will be entitled to a rain-check equal to the amount of 1/2 the entry fee paid for the terminated race.

This rain-check will be issued and is ONLY available on-site at the terminated race. There will be NO REFUNDS distributed through the mail or at the following racing event.

If the race is terminated AFTER ANY ROUND of eliminations, there will be no rain-checks issued, nor will there be any refunds or guaranteed "make-good" date. OSCA Championship Points, which had been earned at the time the race is terminated, will be awarded for that race. In all cases, points will be awarded only up to the stage in the eliminations and/or qualifying where

ALL entrants in the class or eliminator have had an equal opportunity to score.

A race is considered to be official if ANY points were awarded.

Final determination of any race cancellation will be solely at the discretion of the OSCA Directors.

Disqualification

No participant may advance to a position in a later round than they actually earned. In the event that a class or eliminator winner is disqualified for any reason, the runner-up will be the winner. If the runner-up is disqualified, then there will be no winner or runner-up named for that race, nor points awarded for those positions.

Lane Choice

For pro-tree heads-up and index eliminators using qualifying and a ladder, in the first round of eliminations, lane choice will be given to the quickest of the qualified pair as determined by the position on the qualifying sheet. In the following rounds, lane choice will be given to the contestant in each pair who has the lower elapsed time from the preceding round.

For Open Comp and Pro Comp lane choice is determined by lower reaction time during qualifying. In the following rounds, lane choice will be given to the contestant in each pair who has the lower reaction time from the preceding round.

Qualifying

In order to be eligible to run in a points earning eliminator, a qualifying attempt must be made during at least one of the two designated qualifying sessions. Only one qualifying attempt is allowed per session. In order to perform an official qualifying attempt, all vehicles must self-stage. All vehicles that have weight as a tech item must report directly to the scales immediately upon completion of each qualifying run. Failure to meet minimum weight on a qualifying run will disqualify the run. The OSCA Race Director has the option to consider as few as one qualifying session sufficient to establish a ladder if time constraints, track conditions, or weather conditions so dictate. In all eliminators (with the exception of Open and Pro Comp which qualify based on reaction time), qualifying will be determined by the quickest elapsed time of each vehicle in the designated qualifying sessions. In all heads up eliminators, the vehicle with the quickest ET will be the number 1 qualifier; the second quickest ET will be the number 2 qualifier, and so on.

Safety Infractions

If at any time during open time trials, qualifying, class eliminations or eliminations an entry exceed the ET or MPH for which the driver and/or vehicle are safety certified, or if the driver and/or vehicle are found to be in violation of any other current safety standards, then the host track safety inspectors have the authority to:

(1)restrict the driver and vehicle from further runs until the problem is remedied, or

(2)disqualify the entry from the event. In all cases, safety rules of the host track override the OSCA class requirements and specifications.

There is no recourse through the OSCA for safety infraction rulings made by the host tracks safety inspectors.

OSCA Protest Fees:

1. Any external item (tire width, body, suspension, etc.).....$150

2. Cubic inch check (with P&G)....$300

The rules are subject to change without notice. Any rule revisions made throughout the race season will appear on the OSCA website.

Once again, if you have any questions please contact the OSCA