Race Administrators (Admins) Top Sim Racing (TSR) drivers running in each race will also be doing double duty as Race Directors. These Race Directors are ON-SITE Administrators much like a referee or umpire and will be announced during the drivers’ meeting after qualifying. They will enforce the rules during the race and control the server. Once they make a decision it should be considered final and is no longer subject to discussion. Openly arguing with a Race Director could result in ejection, suspension or removal from the league. Remember that the Race Directors are fellow racers like you and may not have seen the specific incident in question. They will make every attempt to address the issue as soon as it arises, however in the event that they can’t or didn’t witness the event, it will be reviewed after the race and a penalty assessed at that point if necessary. If you have an issue, please address it to a Race Director through a private chat message (under yellow if possible). DO NOT take it upon yourself to retaliate or further enflame the issue. If you are not racing for any reason (i.e. you’ve retired due to damage, missed the start, or can’t run the entire race) but would like to assist the Race Directors, ask them if they need help. In most cases they will accept the assistance. You may help watch the race, and give your opinion in relation to on-track incidents when asked. In most cases you will not have access to control the server, but an extra pair of eyes is almost always helpful in administrating an event.  Vehicle Files: All drivers may select any sponsor they want for their vehicle, either real or fictitious. The one requirement is that the sponsor be family friendly (no nudity or profanity is allowed on the vehicle). We ask that you submit the vehicle file prior to running the event. Please do not run any vehicle files that have not been uploaded to the Race Points Manager (RPM), to avoid generic vehicles showing up in the game. Race Settings: STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES Please note that depending on the particular series being run, open setup races and the length of the event could vary. The race parameters for the particular event will be posted well in advance of the actual event.           We race within the same rules as dictated by NASCAR with only a few exceptions. In the event that the game can not automatically apply current rules (racing back to the yellow, etc.) it is the driver’s responsibility to comply with the TSR rules. Any “ignoring” of your responsibility could result in penalties handed down by the Race Admin. Race practice will end at the designated time; if you can’t make it on time, which means 15 minutes prior to the close of the practice session, you may not be allowed to qualify. If you don’t make it, you will receive a DNS for any races that you are not present for. There will be a 10 minute period for a Drivers’ Meeting after practice ends and a brief warm up session to allow drivers to find their pit stalls, take a quick refreshment break, etc. Races WILL NOT BE RESTARTED unless the following conditions occur. We all get booted off a server. If after qualifying, a driver gets booted. We may restart to allow a booted driver the opportunity to rejoin the race. In such a case we will go to warm up and back to the Race once this driver rejoins. This will only be done ONCE per race. The Race Admin may call any exceptions. A red flag caused by a major wreck, which eliminates most of the field. This will only happen VERY early in a race due to time constraints. The Internet is not always stable. If we are receiving poor connections, then we will vote whether to race or not. If a wreck happens in the first five laps – this will only happen ONCE and will only happen if the majority of racers vote to restart. Be advised that if one driver consistently causes early yellows, that driver will be penalized. The Admin will call any exceptions on whether or not to restart.   In the event that a race is restarted due to a wreck, the Race Director will determine fault and assess 1 spin to the offending driver. If you have more that two spins in any race, you will park your vehicle. A spin which does not bring out a yellow or involve another vehicle does not count as a spin. If an Admin throws a yellow, the driver will be assessed the yellow. If no one claims the yellow, the replay will be reviewed and penalty points will be assessed. No more than two ‘Admin’ yellows will be allowed for any driver. We race on the honor system here. If you cause a spin, claim it. If you spin more than twice in a race, park it when you bring out the third yellow. Again, please don’t wait on an Admin to tell you to park your vehicle. If you are unsure of who caused a wreck and it would be your third spin, you may continue to race if you so choose. However, if Admin later determines that you caused the incident and assesses you a third spin (and you chose to keep racing), you will receive last place points for the event less 40 points, and if the race is still going, will be asked to park your vehicle immediately.   Flaming: Flaming will not be tolerated at any time (PERIOD – DON’T DO IT!!!!). We’re all friends here and there’s no cause for it. The quickest way to kill a league and respect for each other is to create a flame war on the track or on Team Speak . This flaming rule includes on-line and off-line, during a race and after. “WTF” or any other aggressive chat during a race will be considered flaming and is grounds for ejection. We know that tempers flare, and understand that, but any formal protest needs to be handled through email with league administration. The only chat after an incident should be an apology, anything after that is grounds for ejection. League administration will review the race after its completion and assess any additional penalty points necessary at the discretion of the administrators. One verbal warning to remind the offending driver about our no flaming rule. Second offense, verbally or with text chat, they will be assessed a black flag. Third offense, a one week suspension will be assessed. No points will be added for that driver during the suspension.   Chat Rules: Please avoid chat during green flag racing. Use you auto command keys where appropriate to signal pitting, exiting pits, off pace, pass or passing high/low, etc. Thanking someone for moving over to allow you to pass is allowable, but please us “TY”. You may chat during yellow flags, but not on the lap before the race goes back to green.   Practice: Online Practice is limited and is not a time to see how hard you can dive into the turn. If you haven't done that in off-line practice, you don't belong in the race. It takes 2-3 laps to heat up your tires and another 2-3 to see what tweaks you need to make. Try to space out as best you can and be extremely cautious in practice. Everyone is trying to test their setups, just like you are. Practices is a time to add final tweaks to your Setup, find a good racing line, and learn how the vehicle reacts in certain situations like being out front, in the draft, side by side, etc. Although practice is usually light hearted fun, please be courteous to those that are attempting to get practice in on the track. Intentional wrecking of each other, sitting on the race surface, and other actions that would not normally be acceptable in the race, are NOT acceptable during practice. If you are bored and waiting for qualifying or the race to begin, volunteer to help someone that appears to be struggling. It will make the racing better and that driver will be less likely to lose control and possibly wreck you during the race.   Qualifying: TSR prefers drivers to attempt to qualify. We discourage SAND-BAGGING. That is taking a back position to gain an advantage. Equally setup vehicles performance wise should be grouped together. Faster vehicles running up on slower vehicles cause cautions. REMEMBER – NO CHATTING. If you don’t want to qualify or you have been penalized with a “Start from the rear” penalty, please do not talk on Teamspeak or text chat.   Drivers’ Meeting: The Drivers’ Meeting will take place after the qualifying session. STAY OFF THE TRACK until an admin says the track is open. THERE WILL BE NO CHATTING FROM ANYONE DURING THE DRIVERS' MEETING. In addition, the Race Admin will be introduced at this time. If you don’t know who they are, it is OK to ask at the end of the meeting. After the Drivers’ Meeting there will be a 10 minute warm-up session so you can prepare for the race. We suggest you: ·         Locate your pit. Is it at the end of pit road? ·         Which vehicles are pitting in front or behind you? ·         Grab some refreshments. ·         Take a bathroom break!   In the event that someone loses connection during Warm-up, we will wait 5 minutes for them to reconnect. If they choose to disconnect for whatever reason, we will NOT wait.  If a driver loses his connection and returns, that driver will get all but one of the laps back, up to a maximum of ten laps.   Race: All races will have a full pace lap with the yellows on for each series and race format. Any driver causing damage to other vehicles during the pace lap or subsequent yellows will be dealt with severely. If a driver damages someone under the yellow that driver will serve an EOLL penalty, also that driver will have a 25 point deduction from their total points in that event. Drivers that can not hold the low or high line should not be 2x2 racing. Use common sense. If your vehicle is pushing this should be a signal to pit and make adjustments adjust your lift/braking points to change the way the vehicle takes the corner or go to the back and ride it out. Drivers that push out of lane in the corner or off the corner are at fault. Drivers running low 2x2 that exit the corners in the middle of the track will be at fault if there is an incident. The outside line must deal with the wall, the middle is their exit point. Drivers running the middle of the track are most likely at fault if there is a wreck. Please stay out of the middle of the track. Think about it, you’re in the middle the driver behind or in front of you has no clue as to where you are going into the next corner. Will you be high or low, telegraph your intentions by choosing a lane even if you are not 2x2. Low line drivers must enter the corners and tri-oval in lane 1 early enough for the outside line to come into lane 2 and make a good entry for the corner. That is proper etiquette. Drivers filling holes down low or on the outside must do so in a safe manner as not to cause a major check up. Never assume that a driver is going to let you in, you must be clear and faster in order for the hole to be filled successfully. The passing vehicle must do everything within their power to ensure that the pass is made safely. If there is an incident, the passing vehicle will be looked at first for being at fault, if it is determined that he/she did all they could to avoid the incident, then the passed vehicle will be looked at. If the passed vehicle does not give the passing vehicle the room required for the pass then the passed vehicle shall be at fault. Do not “pinch” other drivers either high or low. “Pinching” is holding another vehicle high or low and not giving them room for error or warp. Damaged vehicles or vehicles with missing gears are to go low on all restarts if there is a hole to get there. We suggest that if you already know you are not going to be able to hold onto the draft during a restart, drive thru pit road under yellow as often as possible to relegate yourself to the back. Also, if you are well off the pace, consider dropping down out of the racing line as faster vehicles approach to avoid an incident.    Starts/Restarts: During pace laps and cautions drivers should be able to maintain a constant interval with the vehicle in front of you and maintain pace speed .2 to .3. Stagger the pace line with the vehicle in front of and behind you until one to go, allowing lapped vehicles to move to the inside. Then tighten up single file for the restart and maintain pace speed .2 to .3 till the green flag is displayed.  Remember NO PASSING TO THE LEFT BEFORE THE START / FINISH LINE. All vehicles positioned as an EVEN number should place themselves to the right or towards the top of the track, (i.e. if your in position 2, 4, 6 etc.) Continue to stagger positions throughout the entire field. Maintain a constant speed. If the pace speed is 70mph, please do 70mph. Not 80mph, 60mph, or 90mph. Brake checking is not allowed. Brake checking is the act of tapping the brakes/or slowing your vehicle just before a restart to force the vehicles behind you to also brake. There will be no contact with other vehicles during the caution. If you can’t control your vehicle under yellow, you definitely can not control it under green. Hitting a vehicle under yellow constitutes 1 spin towards the 3 spin rule. If you hit someone hard enough to cause damage under yellow, you will be asked to park your vehicle. NO laying back to gain an advantage to pass someone. Drivers caught doing this will receive a Black Flag penalty. Drivers caught doing this and causing a wreck will be asked to leave the race. Jumping The Start – Jumping the start is defined as speeding up in anticipation of the green flag being displayed. The leader starts the field. The leader must maintain pace speed until the green flag is shown. Accelerating before the green flag is displayed will result in a Black Flag Penalty drive through, under green flag conditions. Three Spin Rule: There is a 3 spin rule. If you can not control your vehicle and spin 3 times, you are to park your vehicle for the remainder of the race. This also applies if you assist someone else in spinning whether it is caused by warp or unintentionally bumping someone. Race as cleanly as possible here. If you do not abide by this rule, you are subject to suspension, probation and/or banning from the league. This rule is usually self-imposed but you may be told to park your vehicle. Any driver that fails to park the vehicle after they have been told to park will be removed from the race, and possible suspension from the league. If any of the spins considered by the driver are contested, that driver may have a legitimate protest and the replay will reviewed immediately after the event. Accidents/Contact:  Contact between other drivers is discouraged. In most cases accidents involving contact between drivers is avoidable. Patience and exercising veteran driving skills helps a lot here. TSR encourages the driver at fault to claim responsibility. Furthermore, we expect the responsible driver to secure the EOLL penalty. You must continue to pit, (and speed) each caution lap. You must be the last vehicle at the EOLL when the green flag is shown. Double File Restarts and Yellow Flags: There are a couple of things with the double file restart that everybody needs to be aware of to insure that they work smoothly.  Don't try to fall to the inside line until 1 to go. (As it is in NASCAR) Double file restarts allow those a lap down an opportunity to make up a lap. Over-aggressive driving that leads to taking the leaders out or purposely driving them high up the track to make up a lap will not be tolerated and will result in a drive through penalty under Green Flag Conditions. Racing back to the yellow. We follow NASCAR’s Lucky Dog rule. Do not race back to the yellow UNLESS THERE ARE LESS THAN 10 LAPS TO GO WHEN YOU CROSS THE LINE TO TAKE THE YELLOW. Hold your position until well past the start finish and slowly decelerate. DO NOT hit the brakes at the start/finish. You can coast past the pace vehicle, and any other vehicle as long as you don’t cross the start/finish line once the yellow has been displayed. Park it on the apron if need be, to let the field catch up to you. If you slow suddenly when the yellow appears, drivers will determine that you have problems and will pass you for the position. We are only slowing enough to maintain position and stop “actively” racing.   In order to receive your free lap you must do the following: A Race Director will call out your vehicle number. You will be instructed that you have received the free pass. On the 3rd caution lap, you must drive through pit road in order to get yourself at the end of the field. Speed down pit road to ensure the EOLL. You do not need to go 100mph, 5 mph over the regular pit road speed is sufficient. YOU MUST BE THE LAST VEHICLE OF THE LONGEST LINE. If you pit with the leaders, and you are a lap down, you are ensured the EOLL, without speeding. With the 1 to go signal, you may not pull to the inside line. When the green flag is displayed, we will then award you 1 lap. If you are not at THE END OF THE LONGEST LINE (EOLL) you will not be awarded a Lucky Dog free pass.   Not eligible to receive a LUCKY DOG free lap. If you spin yourself to bring out the caution. If you are the instigator of a crash which results in a caution. If you are part of the crash (this is in NASCAR too). Failure to be at the end of the longest line (i.e. you ignore the Race Admin request for you to pit). 10 laps or less remaining in a race (NASCAR has the same rule)         Vehicles with damage that wish to allow the racers behind them to pass on a restart should chat "Pass me high" and restart at the lowest line possible. NR2003 will not issue a BF if a racer passes high. League type racers should always yield if damaged or have a missing gear. Drivers off pace vehicles should pass through the pits on 1 to go to ensure that they are behind the faster vehicles and are not an impediment. With 10 laps to go, Lapped vehicles must go down the pit single file restarts. If there is a yellow with 10 or less laps to go: ·        All lapped vehicles and damaged/off-pace vehicles must pit once to insure a single file start. (The game simply doesn’t recognize the 10 laps to go signal) ·        Penalty - one lap deducted from your overall finishing position. Pitting:          Under Green – When pitting under a green flag, you are required to use your Autochat keys to alert the rest of the field of your intentions to pit Or with Teamspeak.  A correct entry to the Autochat key would be “Car #3 is Pitting, Please pass me high”.          Under Yellow – When pitting under yellow we do not require you to use your autochat keys, however, you are required to catch up to the rest of the field in a timely manner and maintain pace speed when entering pit road .2 to .3. This will alleviate Black Flags from happening when passing a vehicle coming onto pit road. The standard .2 to .3 second interval is required when you come around the first time pits are open. This will also allow pit strategy to come into play late in the race. Fake Pitting: If a driver chooses to fake pit, all the yellow flag condition penalties for contact will apply.  Yellow Flag Rule (TSR):  A yellow flag will be thrown by an admin, if an accident occurs on the track that involves any of the following: 1. Driver spinning into the grass 2. Smashing into the wall from contact or loss of control 3. Disconnection from warp or related internet issues   In some cases the yellow flag does not come automatically. TSR will use as many actual NASCAR rules as possible. TSR will recognize any situation that would cause NASCAR to throw a caution.   NOTE: The Yellow Flag rule is not to be abused. Should it appear a driver caused a yellow to help a teammate, or advance a teammate’s position, that driver and his team leader can plan on a visit the big yellow hauler after a review of the replay following the event. There may be up to a maximum of a 50 point deduction if this type of racing is suspected. Latency issues (Internet Connection) Latency or high 'pings' cause 'warp' (the inability to predict where a vehicle is in real time) Maximum allowable latency on our race server will be set at 400 ms. During practice: Should a driver's latency or 'ping' be higher than this amount that driver will be notified by other drivers that notice the vehicle 'warp'. Unless this improves that driver will be NOT be allowed to qualify and race. Should the latency not improve, that driver will be asked to stay off the track, and receive last place points for the attempt to run the event. Rough Driving: Rough Driving Simply put, it is not tolerated. Any driver caught cheating will be removed from the league. Any driver caught retaliating for a wreck, will be put on probation and issued a 200 point deduction in points. A further violation will result in suspension. These are measures to insure safe and fair racing on the track. The penalty will be a Black Flag thrown by the Race Admin. General Rule: Aside from any rules listed, any actions detrimental to the league will be grounds for termination. A simple majority vote by the league Administrators is all that is needed to remove a driver from the league. Please remember that racing here is a privilege, not a right. A driver can be dismissed from the league with or without cause at any time. Protests: (Verbiage Removed – We’re all here to race for fun. If you have an issue, please discuss it privately with the Race Admins and we will address it to the best of our ability). In the event you are able, please save your replay. Incidents look different on different computers.   Rulings: All Admins rulings after a review of the race replay are to be considered final. Replays may not be reviewed during the event. Possible assigned penalties will be black flag, probation, point reductions and finally suspension. If a Race Admin is involved in the incident, then other League officials will be used as necessary. Once an action has been decided on, it is final. There is not an appeal process.   Probation: While we don’t like to do it, we will use probation if a driver consistently causes accidents or ignores league rules. When you're on probation, you should make an effort to be the cleanest driver on the track. ANY violations during probation will result in a minimum one race suspension.   Driver Suspension: In the event that a driver continues to cause issues after being placed on probation, league administration’s next course of action will be to issue a suspension of at least two races to that driver. When he/she is on suspension, that driver should take the time to reflect on why they are on suspension and what they can do different when their suspension is over. While on suspension, they will be asked to assist with administrating two week’s worth of races before they will be reinstated as an active driver. Also, they may continue to practice with the league before each race, but may not participate as a driver. While assisting he/she will receive last place points per race. If they are reinstated from a suspension, they will still be on probation for two more weeks.   League banning: This league is designed to promote parity among the drivers (i.e. anyone can win on any given night), good clean racing and be a fun sim-racing evening for all involved. Show up on time, drive by the rules. To earn respect drivers must give respect to their fellow drivers. You will make some really good friends in the process. Please don’t do anything that would get you banned. We don’t want to see it happen.   Points: Generally speaking, each race within a particular series will be scored under the same point format. Some series will use the Sprint Cup system, while other series (IROC for example), may use a different point system. As such, the specific points system each race is run under, as well as any special rules for that series, will be posted on the web site related to that series.   Provisional: What is a provisional, and why do they exist? A provisional is designed for the rare occasions when "real life" events such as vacations, family obligations, work conflicts etc. cause a driver to miss an event. Provisional points are awarded to help keep drivers who have to miss a race every now and then in the points battle as much as possible. How does it work? Each driver just has to ask for a provisional, before the race or when he knows he will be gone. What about getting booted? If you show up to race, but get booted before qualifying or the race, for example, you will be scored as a DNS and awarded the last place points for the event. This does not count as a provisional. Provisional points only apply when you are not able to attend the race at all. How does a driver use a provisional? A provisional is not automatic. The best way is to post a message (an email to the Admin of the series requesting a provisional for a specific race. A driver can also request a provisional by sending an email. The provisional request must be submitted prior to the start of the race or races in question. A provisional can be requested at any time before an event. How many points will I get for a provisional? Provisional points for each specific series will be 50 points related to that series. Non-Notification of provisional? If a driver does not request a provisional then that driver will receive no credit for that race. It only takes a few moments to send an email. We know that valid life problems and technical difficulties may preclude a driver from asking for a prior race provisional. Such situations must be presented to the League Admins for consideration based upon the facts. Reversal of the 'Non Notification' clause will not be overruled for questionable or unverifiable reasons or excuses.   Substitute Drivers: Can I have someone else drive for me at a race? Yes, but there are rules. Substitute Driver must practice in that series the night of the event. They may not show up too late to qualify and try to run the race. If a driver from outside the League is going to be used, they MUST be approved by the Admin of the series before they race. At no time should you give the server password to anyone without the express permission of the Admin of the series. PENALTY: Release of the server password without consent of the Admins is expulsion from the league. No Substitute Drivers In Last 10 Races in CUP or CTS For more information or questions please post your question in the forums or email any of the league admins.

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Published on: 2008-03-18 (609 reads)