Grade Points

Did NHRA change the grade points deal or does that only matter if you are a nobody. I remember the last time I said somthing they said well thats becuase that car was a top team last year and they hired a new Driver. A rookie driver BS. Now how about a new team and a Rookie driver what the who the and why the oh thats right MONEY changes the rules. I shake my head and what are the rules.Bead locks for ALCOHOL cars that is what I heard. Good Luck JIM

 

It used to be that the first event was open since no one had points, SOOOO many cars show up that it takes forever to get throught the event and then there is parking situation. I understand that they go by points gathered the previous year, regardless of class and upgrade...... I came to this sad revelation this year after I talked a owner into going to session 2 at Vegas and then to Pomona afterwards....and we don't have the points.
Oh well it was a great getaway anyways, will check before hand next time.
Hal

 

If your talking about who I think your talking about, she has at least 6 grade points from running S/C last year...

 

What about Dariens car with Perl at the helm?

 

There are owner points and past champion previsions in the rule book from what I understand. That allows an owner to get a new driver and still get into races.

 

I can tell you after studing the 07 rule book I cannot find one mention of grade points. If someone out there can please let me know where. If this is true then NHRA can do whatever they want at National events as for as who they allow in. I can tell you that it states clearly that points are awarded to the driver only and cannot be transfered. It has always been my contention that points earned in another class did not count. Also grade poindts were awarded one per division race attended and you must make a qualifying run. I can't even find on NHRA's site where you can view a drivers grade points. For something this important you would think it would be in print and clearly spelled out. The only think I can think of is that this is the way NHRA wants it. Never heard of owner points in the rules even though I have no objection to it.

 

Money

Well done Nitrohawk OH NANCY were are you hehehe

 

Got this off the D3 site
<a href="http://www.nhra.com/apcm/templates/news_template.asp?articleid=2537&amp;zoneid=8"> how you get Grade Points
</a>

 

Okay Jim, I'll write this, but please, no one miss construe what I'm about to say. I'm a racer just like the rest of us (well most of us that post on here) that has earned my way, like most of the rest of us, so this is just my observation and some of the knowledge I have since I did the transistion from S/C to Flopper.

even with 6 grade points, how can you get in when the field was closed Long before a license was issued? would the power's to be have looked the other way for you or I without the deep pockets?

Also, did they look the other way for Steve Harker at the finals in 06 and he was top 10 national according to a rule that since he was "Out of points, he couldn't compete because the field was already too full" I wonder if there could have been an alternative to that scenario, and I'm not saying if someone didn't show.

And with Chris--the field wasn't full yet and his entry filled it up so his, to me, makes sense.

I realize there is nothing in the rule book, thanks Bob for that research, so what is the entry grade point system for? The reason I was able to enter so many races last year with 5 G.P.'s was because they averaged it to the previous 3 years and when I didn't run S/C for the 3rd year, I ended up with a "5" grade point average. Now if you take that for someone who only ran one year, it doesn't apply. Also, if you run for sake of argument, S/G 6 division races during 05, then you want to switch to Comp for 06, as long as you DON'T run any S/G in 06 until you're Ready to run Comp, you start in Comp with 6 grade points. However, if you start the season in S/G and then switch, I was told that you have to start over. That's the reason I never ran the dragster again in 05, because I didn't want to kill my grade points knowing that I was getting the flopper.

So if there is nothing in the rule book, then my guess is it defaults to the Entry list system on line that is "the rule".

Well, that's my take on the situation, not pointing fingers, just stating facts of what it took for my transition and what I was told directly from the power's to be....................

 

Way to go F/C GIRL

I coudn't have said it any better than that Nancy and this is exactly what I am talking about. I have your back. MONEY isn't everything but it sure makes a difference at times. We all wish it didn't but it does. Hats off to you Nancy for saying this, I speak for myself and other low dollar teams we do get are chance to shine somtimes so keep your eyes open, Why yes those are my parachutes that your looking at TREEMAN aka JIM

 

Nancy Matter

Empty your personal messages. You got mail.

 

It can be done with only 1 point!

I know one S/C racer that got in this weekend with only 1 grade point. He monitored his computor till someone withdrew and he hit the 'in' button at the correct time.

click 'submit' in link below below;
http://www.nhraeventreg.com/ListEventStatus.asp

John Gates
Santee, Ca

 

I did Jim, hasn't come through yet,
And J-Drag, very nice of you to comment, and you are Absolutely correct If The Field is Not Full already OR if it is Full, then if you have a Gold, Silver or Bronze card is the only way you are still Supposed to be able to enter.
Kind regards,
nancy

 

Nancy it does not state in the rule book how owner points work or even if they exsist. I have also looked for them but if you were to talk to Gram Lite or other N.H.R.A. officials they will tell you that they are out there and that there are provisions for letting past champions into any race and I cant seem to find that either I know your not happy on how it worked out but it happened and you all need to just let it go and stop wanting to blame deep pockets N.H.R.A let it happen.

 

Deep Pockets

I am the one who started this post so don't blame anyone but me. Deep pocket or not the feild was CLOSED and that happend to me 2 years ago 22 cars allowed and that is it I had the grade points so skip a rope its BS. Its MONEY NHRA or not. JIM

 

Jim I was not trying to single out Nancy I was trying to respond to her post on grade points. I dont know why you are so bitter Jim I guess your not a big budget team so blame the guy who has one it just makes sense he must have bought someone off!!!! To late it happened and its over now so let it go.

 

King of the Jungle!!!

In the movie the Lion King the old baboon was teaching the young lion king and he hit him up side the head with his staff. The young lion king said "what did you do that for". The old baboon said " don't worry about it thats in the past". I don't know about the rest of you but I get tired of getting hit upside the head!!!!!

 

To Alky Racer, you did single me out, why? I didn't point any fingers at anyone, but rather stated my observation of the situation and that it was a closed field. Isn't this an open chat for information and opinions? So, my post, if you read it correctly, was more about the way I TRANSITIONED From one class to another, and how the grade points worked for me, further more, I never said anything about the Owner and owner grade points, only how you can transistion grade points year to year and how Steve Harker (who even had a PIT SPOT in Pomona) couldn't run at the finals, HMMMM, I only stated facts.
Besides, I thought this post was a dead issue. I've got a hot rod to put together and marketing stratagies that I'm involved with. Obviously what I wrote even with the disclaimer I did in the Very First Paragraph, was Misconstrued. Hmm, I wonder why that is...........................

NitroHawk -- Love that saying, I worked on Lion King at Disney and it along with Aladdin were two of my Favorites to work on. So "keep your arms and legs inside the ride, We're Outta Here".
Jim, please check you PM again.

 

Nice post Nancy! I did not see you point a finger at anyone!
Alky Racer, What is wrong with low budget race teams?? We have been one for 26 + years and having more fun that alot of people!! You never know when one of us "low budget" teams might jump up and bite someone!!

 

01/21/2005


To meet demands on pit space and scheduling at national events, NHRA developed its grading system to accommodate the growing number of Sportsman competitors who wish to participate. Online event registration in 2005 has been modified to accept entries eight weeks prior to each event for racers with a Grade 6 or greater. Grade 5 racers can register one week later, Grade 4 racers a week after that, and so on until the category is filled. The process for earning grade points follows:

Drivers receive one grade point per Lucas Oil divisional event or National Open attended (grade points are also awarded for the Top Comp category in Division 6, Super E in Division 7, and Top Sportsman in Divisions 1, 2, 3, and 4). The grade points earned in the previous year or the current year, whichever is greater at the time of event registration, will be the driver's accepted grade.

A racer who competes in multiple categories can combine grade points. For example, a racer who competes in Super Gas at two events and in Super Comp at two events will have a combined grade point of 4 and may register as a Grade 4 contestant in any single NHRA Sportsman category. When combining grade points, this total cannot be divided for two separate categories (i.e. 10 grade points in Comp and 3 grade points in Super Comp equal a combined grade point of 13, but CANNOT be allocated where 8 grade points go to Comp and 5 grade points for Super Comp, equaling 13).

Grade points earned in any grading class -- including NHRA Sport Compact competition -- can be used for national event entry in one of NHRA's seven Sportsman categories, excluding Super Street; to compete in Super Street at a national event, grade points must have been earned in Super Street. A racer who has earned grade points in Stock, for example, can use those to apply for entry in any of the other six categories as long as NHRA competition license requirements have been met. It is the contestant's responsibility to make sure that grade points for all events attended are awarded.

A racer who has specific questions about NHRA's Sportsman grading system are encouraged to speak with his or her division director.

Provisional entries
NHRA's Sportsman grading system allows for the following provisional entries:

NHRA Gold, Silver, and Bronze Card holders. These contestants are guaranteed national event entry for the specified racing season. Gold Card holders are national and divisional champions on the Lucas Oil and Jr. Drag Racing League levels and divisional champions in the Summit Racing Series. (A racer who wins championships in different categories may earn more than one Gold Card, but one who wins national and divisional titles in the same category does not receive two Gold Cards.) Silver Card holders are the numbers 2 through 10 finishers nationally who did not earn a Gold Card in the same category and the numbers 2 through 5 finishers divisionally in Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car who did not earn a Gold Card. A Bronze Card is awarded to the numbers 6 through 10 finishers divisionally in Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car who did not earn a Gold or Silver Card. The Silver and Bronze Card is for entry to national events only.

Defending event champions: The defending event champion will be guaranteed entry to the event that he or she won. For example, the Super Comp winner at the 2004 Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals is ensured entry into Super Comp at the 2005 Mile-Highs. Entry is not guaranteed in any other event or category.

Former national season champions: Former Professional or Sportsman national champs will be confirmed entry to any national event in any category. In addition, a Pro driver who earns a top 20 finish in the current or previous season will be given Sportsman entry to any national event.

Car owners: Owner grade credit may be awarded in cases of driver change. The owner must have grade points from the previous year for the vehicle being entered (points can be based on multiple drivers for said vehicle). Ownership will be verified using national event entry forms and divisional and National Open tech-card payee information. The owner grade points cannot be a combination of multiple vehicles and will be calculated from the previous year only. Owner and driver grade points cannot be combined, and multiple owners of same-vehicle grade points will not be combined. Owner grade points cannot be used on a second car; a driver must have sufficient grade points for a second car to compete.

Top 10 title contenders: As the racing season nears its end, a contestant within the top 20 in any Sportsman category that rewards a national championship and remains in contention for a possible top 10 year-end position is guaranteed entry to NHRA's final four nationals events: in Dallas, Chicago, Las Vegas, and Pomona.

Driver changes will not be permitted for any provisional entry that registered after the event was closed either by reaching class quota or entry cutoff date.

These provisional policies do not excuse the contestant from any late fees or insurance surcharges. For example, if a Gold Card holder gains entry at the gate for an event, the $100 late/gate fee and $40 insurance fee will apply.

Hardship entries
To accommodate certain hardship cases, as determined by NHRA, or a racer who returns to active competition, an average grade is calculated by combining the racer's grade points from the three previous years and dividing that number by three (total number of years). For example, a racer who competed in one divisional event in 2004, five in 2003, and six in 2002 has a total of 12 points, which, when divided by 3, equals a grade point of 4A ("A" for the averaging calculation). Hardship grade points cannot be combined with any category.

Foreign contestants
Grade points will be issued for participation in select foreign events: FIA European Championship, Australian Drag Racing Championship, Nordic Drag Racing Series, and Japan Drag Racing Association Championship. Each entry application must include written confirmation of participation in the series from the host country's sanctioning organization.