General Rules | Sportsman/Pro Stock | Super Stock | Late Model | 4 Cylinder
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2008 Berlin Raceway Rules and Regulations

* Changes from last year's rules are noted in red.

RULE BOOK DISCLAIMER

The rules and/or regulations set forth herein are designed to provide for the orderly conduct of racing events and to establish minimum acceptable requirements for such events. These rules shall govern the condition of all events, and, by participating in these events, all participants are deemed to have complied with these rules. NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY OF SAFETY SHALL RESULT FROM PUBLICATIONS OF OR COMPLIANCE WITH THESE RULES AND/OR REGULATIONS. They are intended as a guide for the conduct of the sport and are in no way a guarantee against injury to or death of a participant, spectator, or official.

The race director or his representatives shall be empowered to permit minor deviation from any of the specifications herein or impose any further restrictions that in his opinion do not alter the minimum acceptable requirements. NO EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED WARRANTY OF SAFETY SHALL RESULT FROM SUCH ALTERATION OF SPECIFICATIONS. Any interpretation of or deviation from these rules is left to the discretion of the officials.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND THIS SPORT IS DANGEROUS.

A. No alcoholic beverages or controlled substances are to be consumed before or during races by anyone entering the pit area.

B. Drivers must be at least 16 years of age with a valid driver's license or ID and birth certificate and have a minor participant form notarized and signed by a parent or legal guardian.

C. Berlin officials reserve the right to reject or allow the entry of any driver or car.

D. Rule changes or interpretation of rules is at the discretion of track officials.

E. Punishment for deviating from the rules is at the discretion of track officials, but may include docking of points, docking of laps, docking starting positions, docking of prize money, being placed at the back of the field, loading your car for the night, suspension and more.

F. The decision of track officials is final.

G. All car haulers/tow vehicles over 10' tall will be parked outside the pit area. No standing on top of car haulers or tow vehicles during racing action.

H. Parking assignments may change depending on the event.

I. Berlin Raceway officials reserve the right to deduct from your prize money any fees owed to the track for Raceceiver or other safety systems, pit stalls, etc.

J. Only track officials are allowed in the tech building; it is off limits to drivers and crews.

A. The driver assumes responsibility for the actions of his or her pit crew. Drivers may be issued penalties for pit crew misconduct. Such penalties, if applied, may extend to the car as well as the driver.

B. Unsportsmanlike driving, rough driving, or unnecessary bumping is prohibited and may result in removal from a race. Flagrant and/or repeated unsportsmanlike conduct on the track or in the pits may result in suspension. This suspension may span the winter hiatus and be completed in the following season.

C. Unsportsmanlike, violent, or abusive behavior use of improper language toward officials, competitors, and/or fans is prohibited and subject to suspension or exclusion.

D. Fighting in the pits or on the racetrack premises at any time is prohibited and subject to suspension or exclusion.

E. General misconduct in the pit area may result in penalties.

A. Before any car may take part in any race, it is subject to inspection by Berlin officials.

B. During Tech inspection and throughout the night, different things could be checked on different cars at the official's discretion. The argument that you have to check every car if you are going to check mine will not apply.

C. Starting positions may be determined by time trials, handicap system, last chance race, points, or draw. Each division will normally draw for qualifying order for each race date.

D. The qualifying order is also the technical inspection order. Failure to comply with timely presentation for technical inspection will result in penalty. Failure to draw within the announced time limit will result in the assignment of a qualifying number.

E. If you choose to take only one qualifying lap, you will start at the back of the field.

F. Car/driver must meet minimum total weight and percentages on the scale at inspection. If weight and percentages are not met on the first attempt, the car/driver must be reweighed and meet minimum requirements before qualification will be allowed.

G. Technical inspection is intended to assure minimum compliance with the rules. Where compliance is not met, Berlin officials may direct that repairs or alterations be made before being allowed to qualify. Officials may reject the entry of a car into the evening?s program when appropriate alterations cannot reasonably occur in the pits.

H. No crew members are to touch their car while it is in tech without the permission of officials. This includes both pre-race and post-race tech inspections.

I. Once a car has cleared Tech, it must conform to all the rules at any time while the car is staged for qualifying, during and after qualifying, staged for any race, and during and after the race. If it is determined by a Berlin official that the car has been intentionally altered (including but not limited to: moved or removed weight, raised quarter panels or moving the spoiler back), Berlin officials reserve the right to disqualify the driver for the night with no money or points for the entire night.

J. Hoods and deck lids must remain on the car after the tech inspection and prior to the qualifying attempt. No cars shall be jacked up during this period. Portable air tanks may be used to set tire pressures during this time.

K. A driver may qualify only one car in a division unless permission is secured from a Berlin official. A driver must start the last car he/she qualifies.

L. If a car does not arrive at the track by the time qualification begins, Berlin officials reserve the right to place the car at the back of the heat races and any feature race.

A. No mirrors.

B. Must have 4 legitimate working brakes.

C. Lead ballast:
1. Painted white and marked with car number.
2. No cement, mercury, or liquid-style weight.
3. All weight must be bolted to car, no welding of weight will be allowed.

D. One drive shaft hoop on forward half of shaft.

E. Driveshaft must be aluminum or painted either silver or white.

F. All cars must be equipped with a working starter.

G. Battery cannot be located in the driver's compartment. Must be located behind rear firewall.

H. No driver-operated adjustable devices other than one brake bias and one panhard bar for SS/PS/SP. Late models are allowed any manual adjustments, limited to chassis; no body adjustments.

I. Panhard bar can only be manually operated and cannot be lengthened or shortened (up/down adjustment only).

J. No clip-on wheel weights on outside of wheel. Stick-on weights, if used on outside, must be glued and taped down (no outside wheel weights allowed on 4-Cylinders).

K. No aluminum Heim joints (rod ends) allowed.

L. All flanges must be facing inward (except rear panel) and must be no more than 1".

M. Mufflers are mandatory. 90 DBA max. This is a township ordinance and will be enforced.

N. Mufflers must be flush with doors or recessed; they cannot protrude. A flange kit is recommended at door.

O. No antifreeze in radiators. Environmentally friendly coolant or lubricant (other than antifreeze) allowed.

A. Tire tampering is prohibited. Tampering includes but is not limited to: soaking, switching with other drivers and siping. Scrubbing by hand with a wire brush is allowed. Penalty for tampering is driver suspension from competition for a period of four consecutive race dates on the first offense and eight consecutive race dates on a second occurrence. All points earned to that point in the season will be expunged. This suspension may span the winter hiatus and be completed in the following season.

B. Tires and rims must be clearly marked with driver's car number (and driver initials if another car has the same number) before entering impound.

C. Berlin Raceway is not responsible for tires left in impound longer than 30 days.

D. Tire impound rule for SS/PS/SP - All four tires must be impounded after your feature race within 15 minutes.

E. No banking of tires.

F. Tires must be purchased and mounted at the race track.

G. Tires must be purchased before qualifying and must be powdered and date stamped for that day's race.

H. Must run all racing events on the tires you qualified on unless prior approval is received from Race Director.

I. Any tires that are intended to be used the next race must be impounded at the tire barn and remain at the track.

J. Officials may allow additional tires to be purchased based on damage to existing tires (existing tires will be destroyed).

A. At no time shall any non-competing member, crew member, owner or other person associated with a race car be permitted on the racing surface following the start of a race and prior to the final lap without the express permission of a Berlin official. Violation will result in the car being placed at the rear of the field and a one-lap penalty assessed. This rule is in place for your crew members' safety. EXCEPTION: During a red flag or major caution period, one crew member may be allowed on the track at the discretion of track officials.

B. Berlin officials reserve the right to request a doctor's release at any time.

C. Driver and car changes are permitted only prior to the start of a race, defined as when the field takes the starting grid on the frontstretch (no changes during or after pre-race warmup laps). After that point, no change of drivers is permitted. Driver changes may occur only if both the driver and the car have qualified for the race. Points earned will be awarded to the driver. If a driver wishes to change cars prior to the event start, scoring officials in the pit tower must be notified of the change prior to the start of the race. If this does not occur, the car may not be scored. The driver who switches cars must start last in all events for the night.

D. Drivers are permitted to race in more than one division on any given night as long as they go into a higher division (i.e. a Super Stock regular may only move up to Late Model) instead of moving into a lower division. Drivers may race in two divisions simultaneously for a maximum of six races. Teams must be completely prepared to have both cars ready for both events without the driver's assistance. The transition between divisions must be seamless and not affect the racing program in any way. This does not apply to Pro Stock and Sportsman divisions, in which drivers must declare which division they're racing in when they draw for qualifying order. At no time can a driver race in both Pro Stock and Sportsman on the same night. Drivers running in a different division, either higher or lower, must follow the tire rules pertaining to that division.

E. All repairs or adjustments to cars must be made in the pits. This includes portions of the race run under yellow or red flag conditions. Violation will result in the car being placed at the rear of the field and a one-lap penalty assessed.

F. Cars may only exit the pits from turn four under racing conditions.

G. No electronic communication devices are permitted within the car other than issued by the track.

H. Any driver who does not obey the flag rules and/or lights will be subject to disqualification.
Black Flag - Pull into pits for consultation
White Flag - One lap remaining before green/checkered flag
Checkered Flag - End of race
Green Flag - Start of race
Yellow Flag - Caution, go slow and hold position
Red Flag - Danger, race stopped

I. Under a yellow flag a car will be placed at the rear of the field if:
1. The driver exits the car
2. A restart is delayed by a driver or crew member
3. The car leaves the racing surface
4. The car or cars were the cause of the yellow flag's display. Berlin officials will make the decision of which cars were "involved" in each yellow flag situation and which cars will be placed at the rear of the field. All spin rulings are the judgment of race officials. Routine "Spinner/Spinnee" rule is not in effect. Instances where an act is viewed as rough or blatant may result in two or more cars being sent to the rear of the field. Spinning to avoid an incident may result in regaining your position prior to the caution at the discretion of race officials.

J. Under red flag condition, a car will be placed at the rear of the field if:
1. A crew member enters the racing surface without permission from officials (also assessed a one-lap penalty),
2. The driver exits the car without Berlin official's permission, or
3. If a restart is delayed by a driver failing to take his position in the car.

K. If a driver refuses the official's order to take a certain position on the track (i.e. go to the back of the field), resulting in a delay of the race, he/she will be black flagged and/or disqualified.

L. When both the yellow and checker flags are displayed simultaneously, drivers should be alert for track problems but race to the finish line. In this scenario, scoring will NOT revert back to the completion of the previous lap. The yellow/checker will not be displayed when cars will have to drive through a wreck.

M. When the black flag has been displayed to a racecar, scoring of the car shown the flag will stop until the car returns to the track from the pits after the required consultation.

N. The official "start" of a race is when the field takes the green flag at the start-finish line. When determining the official start, one lap DOES NOT have to be completed. A race may be started but be under caution with no laps complete. However, scoring for position does not begin until one green flag lap has been complete. No driver changes are permitted after a race has officially started.

O. A driver meets rookie qualifications for his/her division if he/she raced in six or fewer races in previous seasons in that division.

A. An appeals process is in place for drivers to appeal their suspension. Berlin officials will determine the place and time for the hearing. The decision of the appeals panel will be final on any and all suspensions.

A. It is mandatory that driver's helmet meet SNELL 2000, SA95 series or more recent standards, and that drivers wear double-layer suits of fire resistant material OR single-layer suits with full coverage fire resistant underwear that effectively covers the body from the neck to ankles and wrist. Full coverage fire resistant gloves are mandatory.

B. Approved race car helmets only. No motorcycle helmets; no M-designated helmets.

C. All cars will be equipped with a minimum 5 point seat belt harness (six point harness mandatory for Late Models) constructed from 3" wide belts. A six point seat belt harness is strongly recommended for all other divisions and will be mandatory in 2009 for Super Stocks. Six point seat belt harness must be properly installed with six separate bolts. Belts must have crotch strap, two piece shoulder harness, and metal to metal central release. Restraint system must also be securely attached to the roll cage structure.

D. A taut drivers side window net with quick release is required.

E. It is recommended that all drivers use a safety neck restraint.

F. Driver must be able to enter / exit both doors through window openings.

G. Rear windows must be completely see-through (no decals or lettering).

H. An approved head restraint will be located directly behind the drivers head with the driver normally seated.

I. All roll bars near driver must be well padded.

J. All safety equipment must be less than three years old.

K. Safety shoes required (fire resistant racing shoes).

L. All foot boxes must be enclosed for fire protection.

M. All fuel cells must have two straps (1" solid by 1/8"). Four straps are highly recommended.

N. Tethered fuel cell caps are mandatory.