Class Age in regards to a Points Season

[racecar99]

Just wanted to know what the exact rule is in regards to a driver turning the age to move up before the points season is over? Should this driver be allowed to use the last 2 races as there drops or should they have to use 2 drops from when they were the correct age to perticipate in that class?

[sfreitas20]

James could probably confirm if this is correct or not, but it would depend on which points you are referring to, National, East Coast or Local Track.

The rule doesn't specifically say anything about drops.  Here is the rule:
Drivers who turn 9 during a racing season must move on their birthday.
Exception: If you qualify for an event when you are 8, you may finish the event.
Driver must move after the conclusion of the event.

For the Gen Next (National) series the rules said the best 5 out of 10 events counted, so as long as you ran 5 when you were still under 9 you wouldn't have to run the rest to still be scored as a Jr for the points.  The East Coast Challenge rules are similar with regard to that and it is your best 4 races out of the 6, so as long as you run 4 of them when you are under 9 then they count.

The local tracks is going to tougher because they clubs/tracks have the ability to handle this as they see fit.  Here in Tampa, you can drop the remaining dates after your birthday.  A driver two seasons ago won the Jr Honda championship in Tampa when he was nine because he amassed enough points before his birthday so he could drop the rest and still win it.

I hope that helps.

[racecar99]

I will wait for the official answer from someone who knows what the rules are not just coping and pasting what is printed some where.

[sfreitas20]

That is what I would recommend too.

[miketsmith]

You may want to ask James this question. I heard thru the grape vine that the rule may change for the Jr division in 2011. This past season we lost a lot of Jr drivers half way thru the season and it hurt the numbers toward the mid to end of the season. Several drivers lost a good chance of maybe winning or having good finishes because of the existing rule. I also heard the other organization is looking hard at this also. I heard that maybe if you turn 9 after April 1st, then you can stay in the Jr for the remainder of that year. Don't quote me on this for I just heard this and think it would help the Jr division. We are moving up either way even though we have another year of Jr to run.

[sfreitas20]

I definitely agree that is a rule that could be adjusted in the future, but I think a point that is often missed is that a driver that turns 9 during the season can move up for the first race. 

There are good and bad to both situations.  For example, a driver that turns 9 mid year but has raced since he was 5 years old would benefit more by being moved to Sr at the beginning of the year because their skill level should be on par with the Sr division more than the Jr division.  At the same time a kid that starts racing when he/she is 8 probably would benefit from staying in Jr that extra time because that jump to Sr is a huge jump.

If they do change it for next year, I would like to see some consideration for how long the kids have been racing.  We need to help those kids that start late because they are facing a huge learning curve.

[Jeff Lapcevich]

I think that part of the problem with picking a cut off date other than the childs birthday is that other parts of the country race in different seasons so what works here in the east may not be the ticket in California or Arizona. Either way, there is always going to be someone who benefits and someone who loses I think.  I have four children, 2 with birthdays in the spring and two late fall so I figure it all works out.

[dmmc]

I agree with Mr. Freitas on this one.  If they can handle it, move them up when they are 8.  My 11 year old's birthday is in July, so we had to make this decision a few years ago.  His first year in sr. was rough, but he learned a lot, and actually got involved in fewer crashes because the sr. class drivers were ,for the most part, more experienced.   A lot of equipment gets torn up in jr. classes due to inexperienced drivers.  If the jump is going to make a big enough points difference to cost the driver a championship, then he or she could have moved up at 8 and been just fine.

[CrewChief6]

You may want to ask James this question. I heard thru the grape vine that the rule may change for the Jr division in 2011. This past season we lost a lot of Jr drivers half way thru the season and it hurt the numbers toward the mid to end of the season. Several drivers lost a good chance of maybe winning or having good finishes because of the existing rule. I also heard the other organization is looking hard at this also. I heard that maybe if you turn 9 after April 1st, then you can stay in the Jr for the remainder of that year. Don't quote me on this for I just heard this and think it would help the Jr division. We are moving up either way even though we have another year of Jr to run.

You're moving up too??? Bummer.

[sfreitas20]

Tell me about it Lyra!  I really hope some new drivers show up soon or AJ and Isaak aren't going to have many kids in their classes.  I might have to seriously consider picking up a 160 for AJ since he will be 8, but then that is one less in Jr Honda.

[CrewChief6]

Tell me about it Lyra!  I really hope some new drivers show up soon or AJ and Isaak aren't going to have many kids in their classes.  I might have to seriously consider picking up a 160 for AJ since he will be 8, but then that is one less in Jr Honda.

Isaak's only 7. We can't even race 160 for another 9 months! Plans for next year will be ... interesting.

[Karnes29]

Hey sfreita20 looks like to me you can't say anything right on here. LOL

[sfreitas20]

Yeah, I don't know anything...I am just lucky to have drivers that know how to drive so they make me look good.   

[miketsmith]

Yes, we ran our 160 last week in our local race and Chandler actually drove very well. As much as people told us we were crazy for getting into the Jr Stock, that really helped him more than anything. The Animal class is another good class, but it still isn't as good as running the Jr Stock class. We just think that for him, moving on up will only help him. As the other gentleman said, if you can run in Sr early than do it. We will obviously miss running against all of you but will certainly watch as each of you race. Chandler really runs the Lt W/F very good. He has picked up on the throttle control quick. He can only practice it unless I can get a wavier for him to run it next year. I think you have to be 9 to run in competition. If I am wrong than someone please let me know.

Thanks,
Mike Smith

[sfreitas20]

Mike, 

I asked James about the WF rule just last week.  The rulebook states that a driver can run WF at 9 years old and after a year of "unrestricted" racing.  However we asked the question last week about Sr Animal counting toward the one year even though it is a restricted class.  We were told it would count and it also will be updated for the 2011 rulebook to reflect that.

See ya in a few days.