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ADRC: Series amends handicapping rule

ARDC AMENDS HANDICAPPING RULE FOR 2005 Hazleton, PA - March 9 - At the recent ARDC Board of Governors meeting, club officials amended the handicapping rule in an attempt to insure more competitive and exciting racing action for the fans. ...

ARDC AMENDS HANDICAPPING RULE FOR 2005

Hazleton, PA - March 9 - At the recent ARDC Board of Governors meeting, club officials amended the handicapping rule in an attempt to insure more competitive and exciting racing action for the fans.

Although the 2005 American Racing Drivers Club rulebook has been printed and the rules have been posted on the ARDC web site for a few weeks, the Board felt strongly that this amendment was necessary, and the new handicapping procedures will be in force throughout the racing season.

"Our mission is to provide competitive and entertaining racing at each track that we visit," explained ARDC President Ron Lauer. "If we do that, it's more fun for our drivers, it's more fun for the fans, and we stand a very good chance of being invited back. That's why we felt this change had to be made. If it doesn't work out this year, then we will discuss it and possibly make additional changes to the handicapping rule in the off-season."

Due to the average car counts of the past few seasons, officials expect to run only two heat races at tracks that want the midgets to compete in qualifying events and a single feature. The top seven cars out of each heat race will be handicapped according to the ARDC point-averaging system to determine their starting position for the main event. The only exception to this procedure is that the winner of the previous feature will start no better than 14th. Exceptions to this rule are those drivers using a temporary permit and rookies who have not competed in at least three events. Drivers using a temporary permit will start behind those who have earned handicapped status, while rookies will start to the rear of the field.

Several tracks on this year's schedule have requested that the midgets run twin features with no qualifying heats. In those instances, the first feature will be lined up according to the normal handicapping system; from the driver with the lowest point average to the one with the highest point average. Again, drivers using a Temporary Permit and rookies who have not yet competed in at least three events will start behind those who have earned a point-handicapped starting spot.

After the first feature of the evening, the points will be recalculated and the normal handicapping system will once again be utilized to line up the second feature.

ARDC opens its 66th year of midget racing on April 23 at the Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, PA. The mighty midgets will compete in twin 20's that evening, running one feature with wings and one without the airfoils on top of the rollcage. For the opener at Lincoln, the line-up for the first 20-lapper will be determined by a blind draw. A total inversion, based upon finishing position in feature number one, will produce the line-up for the second main event.

At present, the ARDC teams will run 10 - 12 events in which they can leave the wings at home. There are three events on the docket that will be a "double feature" format, with one race being topless and one race with wings. And there are two events where the wings will be mandatory for the entire evening.

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