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Re-cap of the Annual General Meeting and Registration
Day A strong turn out for the 51st annual racing season at Hamilton's asphalt arena, Flamboro Speedway, gathered at the Royal Canadian Legion in Waterdown, Ontario for the Annual General Meeting and Driver Registration day, held Sunday February 5th. There was much anticipation after meetings held in the fall, following the close of the anniversary year, where rules and officiating were hot topics of discussion. After weeks of speculation and rumor the speedway announced the official decisions for 2012 including: changes in personnel, changes to the rules in all divisions, changes to the weekly handicap and feature lineup, the debut of a new weekly class, the debut of a new long weekend series, the debut of a new sponsor partner, changes to weekly payouts and changes to end of season rewards. All drivers, teams and fans were welcomed warmly to the meeting and thanked for their continued support and passion for grassroots stock car racing. John and Frank Casale were introduced as co-owners and promoters of the speedway. Don Cox will return as Race Director, Glen Hils returns as Tech Inspector and Brenda Shunamon returns as Head Scorer. A new addition to the officiating team was announced. Replacing Ding DeLeeuw on the stand in 2012 as Head Starter of Flamboro Speedway will be Dale Shunamon. Dale is well recognized around the speedway having grown up at Flamboro Speedway. He is a 2nd generation official, following his father Chip Shunamon to the top of the ladder. Dale has extensive flagging experience of his own, commanding the colours at Ohsweken Speedway and across Ontario with the Can-Am Midgets tour. "We know Dale has a great talent for show on the stand and will be a solid addition to the on-track staff. A fresh set of eyes is welcome, and we're confident he will work well with the Race Director and staff to provide a safe, fair and competitive atmosphere on the track." Rule books were made available at the speedway meeting and all rule books have been made available online at www.flamborospeedway.ca under the Competition tab as downloadable and printable PDF documents. All drivers and teams are encouraged to read the rule book and familiarize themselves with the content. Ignorance of a rule or procedure will not be considered a valid defense. Rule adjustments have been made in all divisions. Any questions may be directed to Don Cox, Race Director. Some highlights include: Mini Stocks have been opened up a little to increase the level of competition and bring the Flamboro class closer to a competitive position with cars from surrounding speedways. Thunder Cars: have also been opened up with similar intentions. Expect higher speeds this year from both divisions. Thunder Cars were also informed that they will be moving to the 8-inch Hoosier tire, but the price per tire will remain the same as the 7-inch at $135 per tire. Drivers may use up their 7-inch tires with no penalties or adjustments. Any new 7-inch tires - not scuffed, not mounted, with stickers still in place - will be accepted at the speedway in April for exchange. Late Models were told that there were small adjustments to their rules, but no major changes to be announced. The FWD Pure Stock class was officially announced at the meeting, inviting new drivers and cars to participate in the racing program. Pure Stocks will roughly run bi-weekly, trading weeks with the F4 Modifieds. The FWD Pure Stock class is a division designed for beginner racing, with a bare-bones car and budget. The division is open to front wheel driver four-cylinder and small six-cylinder cars. See the rule book for technical details. An FWD Pure Stock membership will only be $50 for the season. FWD Pure Stocks will be the exclusive division permitted to leave their race car at the speedway provided they understand and agree that the speedway is in No Way liable for any theft or damages to the car while left in the speedway's care. FWD Pure Stock teams who choose this option will also be permitted to enter the speedway and work on their cars Only during regular operating hours. Trespassing and illegal entry to the speedway will not be tolerated. Changes to the weekly handicap/lineup were also shared. In 2012, a driver who misses a night in the schedule will be penalized on their first night back. For drivers who miss an event (invitational shows do not count), on the night they return they will start at the back of the fast car heat race for their division. Should they qualify to the feature in their heat race they will forfeit their handicapped position. Regular night feature races will take qualified cars (12 or 18) and organize by performance handicap, low to the front, high to the back. Performance handicaps are calculated as total points earned by the driver, divided by number of feature events that driver has raced. Once the lineup is organized, the previous week's feature race winner will be moved to the back (if they are a qualified car). Then any drivers who are on their first night back after missing an event will be moved behind the feature winner. This rule will apply to all home divisions. Feature Race Lineup, Qualified Cars Example: Example step 1: lineup by handicap: Smith 78.0, Jones 79.5, Barker 85.0, Johnson 90.0, Edwards 92.5, Gordon 95.0, Stewart 102.00 In the example, Edwards
is the feature race winner from the previous event. He is
moved to the back. In the same example,
Jones was not in attendance at last weeks event. He is moved
to the back, behind Edwards.
Driver Handicap Calculation Example: Biffel has a score of 625 points. He competed in 5 of the 8 feature races run this year. His handicap is 625 / 5 = 125.00 Kenseth has a score of 625 points. He competed in 6 race nights, but earned a DQ 0 points, 0 monies on night 6. His handicap is 625 / 5 = 125.00 Neuman has a score of 625 points. He competed in 6 race nights, but failed to make the feature race on night 6. He got 50 show up points. His handicap is (625-50) / 5 = 115.00 Wallace has a score of 625 points. He has run in all 8 feature race this year. His handicap is 625 / 8 = 78.125 Driver points go to the driver. You must compete in the main event for your score to count in the handicap. There are no team scores. First night handicap is 0, start at the back.
The split system of Owner and Driver points will continue at Flamboro Speedway in 2012. Drivers will earn points for their individual performance as outlined in the rule book. Driver points are used to determine driver handicap, and will be ranked to determine an overall Driver Champion. Owners points are awarded for the car's participation and performance. There is no limit to the number of different drivers who can earn points for a Car Owner; however, all drivers must have a valid Flamboro Speedway membership/license for that division. Owners will be ranked to determine an overall Owners Champion. Drivers compete for trophies. Owners compete for prize monies. Perfect Attendance is awarded to the Car Owner. Penalties may be assessed to Driver and Owner separately in points and in money at the discretion of the Race Director. This flexibility will allow the speedway race management team to review infractions and determine who is at fault and who is responsible, one or both. For example, should a crew member jump the wall during an event and earn the team a penalty, if in the opinion of the Race Director the Driver could not have prevented this action and should not be held responsible, he or she may be permitted to keep the Driver Points earned for that event, and the penalty may be only assessed against the Car Owner. This thought process may also apply to technical infractions. The alternative ruling may also be applied. For example, should a Driver's actions earn him or her a Rough Driving penalty or suspension that penalty may, at the discretion of the Race Director, only be levied against the Driver, permitting the Car Owner to enter the following competition provided they employ a different driver who is in good standing with the speedway. Flamboro Speedway promoter John Casale also introduced a new series of long-weekend special events. A number of Sunday racing shows titled "Redneck Racing Showdown" are scheduled in 2012 for May 20, July 1st, and August 5th. Each event will feature racing by the FWD Pure Stocks, Mini Stocks and/or Thunder Cars, a Junk Car Duel, Small Car Figure-8 Demolition Derby racing, Boat Racing, and a Car Stunt. Details will be shared when the schedule is posted. The complete racing event schedule is expected to be published in mid-March. As recently shared online, Practice Day will be scheduled for Saturday April 14th, and opening day for Mini Stocks and Thunder Cars will be April 21st. Late Models will make their debut on April 28th. All divisions will receive nights off through the season. Late Models are expected to have off one night per month, usually the Saturday following a Triple Crown event.
Grisdale Racing
returns to sponsor the 10th annual Grisdale Triple Crown tournament
for Late Models. Dates for the 75 lap invitational special
events will be June 9, July 7, and New sponsor partner Ray's Towing & Recovery was announced as title partner to the Thunder Car racing division. Ray's has been involved with three teams in the past seasons as well as providing the damage control crew and auto wreckers to Flamboro Speedway. Ray's Towing joins Hoosier Racing Tires as a presenting sponsor to this fan favourite class. Point fund monies remained consistent in all divisions. Weekly payouts increased for all divisions, as part of the perfect attendance bonus was redirected for this season. Late Models will earn $1,000 to win a regular night main event; Thunder Cars will race to win $400, and Mini Stocks for $150. In turn, Perfect Attendance winnings were set at $300 for Late Models, and $200 for Thunder Cars, available to all qualified Car Owners. Drivers were asked to complete the media page in the registration pack and return that information to JP for use on the website in Driver Profiles and for use at the speedway during events. Speedway announcer and webmaster JP along with OntarioOval.com authors Randy Spencer and Larissa Spencer will once again be producing a weekly souvenir program magazine, the Race Night Review. Car Owners and teams are invited to submit advertisements to promote their business, the services of their sponsors, or any special events or activities. The program will be in the same format as 2011, a 5.5 x 8.5 folded magazine with colour cover and greyscale printed pages. Full page ads are $300 for the season; or $100 for a business card size ad. Donations for weekly draw prizes are also encouraged with appreciation. Click here for the Race Night Review flyer See you in April! Following the meeting the driver registration price is now $125 per driver for Mini Stock, Thunder Car and Late Model divisions. FWD Pure Stock registration will rise to $75. To submit your registration you can download and complete a copy of the driver / car owner registration form by clicking here, or using the link under the Competition tab. All drivers participating in Flamboro Speedway regular season events will be required to be registered with the speedway and have a valid racing license. Registration rules are available here for your review. New edition 2012 Flamboro Speedway rule books are now available at the speedway, and include all 4 divisions. Rules are also now published as PDF documents available under the Competition tab. |
