HCR SIM RACING RULES

LEAGUE SPECIFIC RULES

CUP GN THUNDER

GENERAL RULES

The following rules will be followed at ALL HCR series events.

Basic Rules
Follow these 5 Basic Rules and you should have no problems.

(Penalties)

1) No Flaming - No Exceptions (Penalty System)

Flaming - Angry reaction to the actions of another driver including sarcastic "Thank You" messages. If you have a problem with what someone did, shut up during race and post race chat and contact me after race.
NO FLAMING OR NEGATIVE CHAT WILL BE TOLERATED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!! THAT INCLUDES RACES, PRACTICES, AND QUALIFYING. A chat log will be kept for each race.
Flaming is defined as any badgering, swearing or chatter referring to an on track incident. This could be anything from "wtf, "lmao" to "not mine" to anything said sarcastically or anything negative. If your not sure about what your fixing to say then please do not say it. Any breach of this rule is grounds for suspension or expulsion from the League. No one wants to hear this stuff period.

2) NO INTENTIONAL WRECKING DURING PRACTICE, HAPPY HOUR OR RACE! (Penalty can range from loss of ALL Championship Points to Expulsion from League at HCR's discretion. If it is decided that an incident is "Intentional Wrecking", the minimal penalty will be probation, loss of all points for that race and a 1 week suspension from all HCR events)
Intentional wrecking AT ANY TIME will not be tolerated. That includes during practice, under green, under yellow and AFTER the race.  

3) CONTROLLERS All driver are required to have an analog Racing Wheel to drive in ALL HCR events. Using the keyboard, is not acceptable nor permitted!!!!

4) Be Nice and Drive Clean. (Smiles and Giggles)

5) The mostest importantest rule in all of HCR Sim Racing is:
HAVE FUN!!!

RACE RULES

Race rules include, but are not limited to:

RESPECT FOR YOUR FELLOW DRIVERS: No cursing, arguing, or accusing on-line. NO intentional wrecking or paybacks. No wreck-less driving.

STARTS AND RESTARTS: You must remain within 2 car lengths (.5 seconds) of the car in front of you. The pole sitter/leader will determine pace lap speed. NO scrapping\scrubbing of tires during pace laps . No hanging back in the field during starts or restarts. No jumping before green flag.
ALL DRIVERS GO ON THE GREEN FLAG ONLY!! There will be ABSOLUTELY NO ANTICIPATING THE START!! A "flying" restart will be determined by anyone 5 mph over the pace speed when the green flag drops, AND they use that additional speed to gain positions. If you are too fast, but fall in line, no penalty will be assessed.
If you are off the pace at the start or restart...pull low and ask others to pass you high. DO NOT RIDE THE HIGH LINE FORCING DRIVER'S TO PASS LOW BEFORE THE S/F LINE!

RESTARTS: ALL LAP CARS, ARE TO BE LINED UP ON THE INSIDE LINE! The only time you are to be in the outside line is when there are 10 or less to go in a race! Lap cars are to line up BEHIND the lead cars IN A SINGLE FILE LINE!!  No Excuses!

LUCKY DOG: On every caution the first driver a lap down or more will receive the "Lucky Dog" except for the following conditions:

1. He was not involved in the incident that brought out the yellow flag.
2. There is more than 10 laps left in the race.

If you are the first car a lap or more down, type "LD" or "Lucky Dog" in chat. Then pit on the first lap the pits are open to receive an "End of Longest Line" penalty. You will be given your lap back shortly after the race goes back to green. If another driver gets an EOLL penalty after the Lucky Dog, he is to line up behind the LD.

OVER-AGGRESSIVE DRIVING: While HCR encourages drivers to drive hard, there is a fine line between driving hard and driving stupid. Diving into Turn1 on Starts and Restarts thus causing wrecks will NOT BE TOLERATED and will be dealt with according to the HCR Penalty system. There are no "No Passing" rules, but this does not mean you can throw caution to the wind on starts and restarts. The proper way to pass is to initiate the pass on the straight and execute through the turn.

PUNTING: "Punting" is the action of hitting an opponent in the back end when he is slowing into a turn. While this happens to everyone from time to time, however, habitual punting will be dealt with. You are responsible for the front of your car! Do not assume that a car in front of you will slow into a turn in the same fashion you do. If you have closed in on a car you need to brake a bit sooner than usual to avoid punting him.
"Bump drafting" or "moving" another is risky in the game of N2K3 racing and you need to use good judgment if you are drafting.

BLOCKING: Blocking is defined as a change in ones racing line in a clear attempt to cut off and prevent a faster car from completing a pass. Use your head when blocking other cars.
Blocking is allowed but if you block - don't whine about it when you find yourself in the grass or wall (next to the guy that put you there).

PASSING - GENERAL RULES: The driver initiating the pass is responsible for executing it safely. The car being passed is to maintain their line.
The responsibility for being patient and waiting for an opportunity to make a clean pass rest on the driver attempting to make the pass Even though it may be the smart thing, the courteous thing, and the sportsmanlike thing to do, no one is obligated to simply move aside to allow another car to pass. Every driver has the right to continue to race his established racing line.
Apron passing on a straight or in a turn to gain position on any track is not allowed. Any driver doing so will be penalized with a black flag.

PACE LAPS: While following the pace car, maintain a constant pace speed. If the pace speed is 60 mph, do 60 mph. Do not speed up & slow down repeatedly. Everyone will stagger their cars under caution until one to go.
The leader is to maintain the pace speed from the time the pace car leaves the track until the green flag flies. The leader will start the race!

CAUTION LAPS: When a yellow flag comes out, HOLD YOUR POSITION AND LINE and slow down only after crossing the start finish line. DO NOT SLAM ON YOUR BRAKES OR STOP after crossing the line, rather brake safely and form up behind the pace car QUICK AS POSSIBLE on the back straight. Don't worry if you pass the pace car briefly while slowing, as long as you're in proper position by the time you get back to the start/finish line the system will not penalize (black-flag) you.
(WHEN THERE ARE 10 OR LESS LAPS IN A RACE YOU CAN RACE BACK TO THE START\FINISH LINE!!!!!)
There is absolutely no excuse for crashing into another car while under caution. Anyone violating this rule will be dealt with severely.
While following the pace car, maintain a constant pace speed. If the pace speed is 60 mph, do 60 mph. Do not speed up & slow down repeatedly. Everyone will stagger their cars under caution until one to go.

BLACK FLAGS: The only time a admin will clear a Black Flag, Will be if the track the race is held on has a problem that wasn't found during Testing, or during Practice for the race being held on the track!  If you ask a admin to clear a Black Flag, The admin will record lap and then Clear the Black Flag! After the race the replay will be reviewed to see if it was a legit or false Black Flag! If found the Black Flag was legit in giving to the driver! Then a penalty of -5 LAP DOWN will be given to drivers final standing for that race!
Black flags cleared: Only if it's for major confusion under yellow or Emergent cutting through pit road or passing left - to avoid an accident. The game Nascar 2003 will black flag or penalize you if you violate the rules of the game! This includes improper pitting, merging into traffic, pace lap and caution lap procedures!

NASCAR Racing 2003 Season will black flag or penalize you if you violate the rules of game. This includes improper pitting, merging, pace lap and caution flag PITTING: KNOW THE TRACK PIT ROAD SPEED. There is no excuse for not knowing.

Do Not drive though others drivers boxes\stalls!!!!!!! (no one behind you pitting! - OK to pull into box\stall)
Drivers must enter pit road in the Right Hand lane. There will be No passing on pit road.  The only time you cannot pass on pit row is coming into the pits during a caution. you may race off however.
Exiting your pit stall move to the outside lane as soon as you can to avoid other cars exiting their pit stalls.
When entering pit road you are pacing. Bumping another car or harassing another car to speedup will not be tolerated. Violation will result in a black flag or ejection.
On pit road drivers must maintain at lest 1/2 car length behind the car in front.
Know the blend lines and use them. Use your mirrors to see where others are before blending.
Enter and exit signals must be given.

BAD CONNECTION: If your connection is bad, i.e. you are warping a lot, you must slow down and pull to the bottom of the track. If your connection does not get any better, pull into the pits. If your connection corrects itself then you may continue the race, if not - please stay off the track. If you continue to race you are going to cause an accident - others cannot see you and you cannot see them. RULE OF THUMB: If one car is blinking out - he is warping...If everyone is blinking out - YOU ARE WARPING. If you see every car blink in and out, type "W" or "Warp". If others type it also you will know it's the server, if not then it is your connection.
If complaints continue about a warping driver and that driver does not take the appropriate action on his/her own, at the discretion of the admin, you may be asked to pull your car out of the race.
If a warping driver continues to race despite a request to remove that car from the field the admin will eject that driver. This may seem harsh, but again, the goal is to have a clean, fun, safe race, and it is everyone's responsibilities to make that happen. Real racers have technical problems. So can sim racers.

RACE COMPLETION: After the completion of the race do not wreck the winner or other cars if you are unsure if the wish to participate in such activities. Many drivers like to do burnouts after winning a race and others prefer to just drive around and pit. Be sure the other driver is a willing participant before engaging in "post-race demo". All drivers are encouraged to save a replay of the race in case of inaccurate scoring or a possible protest against you.

DO NOT DRIVE BACKWARDS ONTO PIT ROAD AFTER THE FINISH OF A RACE!

LAPPED CARS: Cars about to go a lap down can race the leader for up to 3 laps. After that, they should show the courtesy of allowing the leaders to pass safely.

All traffic not on the lead lap should IMMEDIATELY move out of the way of cars on the lead lap if there are less than 10 laps remaining. This also applies to traffic on the lead lap about to be passed by the leader.
Lap cars are encouraged to let cars on the lead lap pass. Lap cars are defined as cars "not on the lead lap". The only exception is if lapped cars are racing for position. Racing for position means you're within 2 car lengths of a car either 1 position ahead or behind you. In this situation, it's the responsibility of the leader to make a safe pass.

AUTO CHAT: Use your auto chat to send messages that will tell others of your intentions.
Examples:
"Your Name" Pitting Pass High >>>>>>(mandatory)
"Your Name" Exiting Pits Pass High >>>>>> (mandatory)
"Your Name" Pass Left <-<-<-< (optional)
"Your Name" Pass Right >->->-> (optional)
"Your Name" Damaged-Pass with care (optional)
"Your Name" Lifting - Slow traffic (optional)
"Your Name" Sorry (optional, but strongly recommended)
"Your Name" Thanks (optional, but strongly recommended)

During green flag racing, only send important/official messages such as entering/exiting pits or pass LOW/HIGH. Use of entering / exiting pit messages is mandatory under green.
NO chatting during qualifying.

TEAM SPEAK: While it is not required, it is highly encouraged that you log onto Team speak during race. While on Team speak, please keep unnecessary chatter to a minimum during Qualifying and Race conditions. During caution you can chat, but clear the channel if you hear a Race Admin trying to talk about race procedure (ie. Lucky Dog and such)
You can be on Team Speak without a mic.
Chatting under yellow after everyone gets in line and at pace speed is permitted. All non-race chat needs to stop as the leader gets to turn3 before the restart.

If you can’t say it in church - you can’t say it HERE. If your warned by officials\admins to stop, PLEASE STOP!

HCR Reserves the right to penalize drivers for any incident not mentioned here that is deemed detrimental to the enjoyment of the racing experience to others. Basically, just because an action is not listed here, does not make it a proper thing to do. Meanie has 5 Lil Meanies. Race others as you wish to be raced.

Protests & Penalties

Penalties may be pending based on actions seen by officials in race and/or protests filed by other drivers after the race has been concluded. Penalties issued after actions are reviewed include, but are not limited to:

-Driver given warning and put on probation (First offense for Flaming )

-One lap penalty in race offense occurred

-Five lap penalty in race offense occurred

-Deduction of points

-Disqualification and forfeiture of nights points (Second offense for Flaming + suspension from all HCR events for 1 week)

-One race suspension (without use of provisional) at next regular race on schedule

-Removal from league (Third offense for Flaming)

Driver in question will be notified before penalty(s) will be handed out in order for the offending driver to explain his side of the incident/infraction in question. Everyone will be treated as fairly as possible. Penalties will be handed out as a last resort in the best interest of the league. The severity of the penalty will be based on the severity of the incident/infraction, the offending driver’s conduct history and is at the discretion of the League Director. Decisions on penalties will be final and there will be no appeals.

PROTEST PROCEDURE: Accidents are a part of racing and will happen to all drivers regardless of their skill level. There may come a time, however, when a driver feels that he was intentionally wrecked or the victim of another member driving "over his head" and causing problems. In order to ensure that one belligerent driver doesn’t ruin the fun of others, we have a protest system in place. When a driver feels he has been wronged, it is surely a time of high emotion and distress. However, please practice the following guidelines:

Do not complain about another driver while the race is still in progress. Other drivers are still racing and are entitled to do so without the interruption of bickering.

Wait until the race is over and then check the replay. If you still feel the other driver is at fault, then send him an email and politely ask him for his side of what happened. Most drivers will admit when they make a mistake.

Don't get into an argument with the other driver. Arguments solve nothing and only create further animosity between competitors.

Remember that anyone can make a mistake, however, if you feel you must file a protest, you MUST do so following league protest procedures.

Protests that are not filed within 24 hours of the beginning of the event will not be considered for review.

Please use common sense when deciding if it’s necessary to file a protest. The best stock car drivers in the world make mistakes and online drivers are no exception. Keep in mind that filing multiple needless protests can result in penalties to the driver filing the protests. Also keep in mind that if you file a protest and after review of the replay it appears that you are at fault, you will be subject to a penalty.

The scoring provided by NASCAR Racing 2003 will be deemed final.

In addition, HCR asks that every driver keep a replay of the race in its entirety. Many times, racing incidents are the result of warp. If the director only has the replay of the driver who is protesting you, and it appears on the replay that you are at fault, you could suffer a penalty for an incident that was caused by warp. The only way to ensure that you aren’t the victim of this scenario is to have a replay for the Rules Committee and the Director to review. While we can’t enforce a rule that all drivers keep a replay, we strongly advise you to have a replay in order to defend yourself. You can delete it after 72 hours of the completion of the race. If you haven’t been asked for it by then, you likely won’t be asked for it at all.

Protest decisions, and any resulting penalties, will be made by the League Commissioner, the League Commissioner and two non-involved league members or three non-involved league members. An attempt will be made to render all decisions within 72 hours of the start time of the race.

Miscellaneous Items

CAR FILES: All car files must be uploaded using your RPM Profile Editor at least 24 hours before a race in order to use that car in that weeks race. (If you just finished your paint a hour before the race, upload it and use it next week. Carl Edwards rules. Don't make other drivers leave practice to go get your car file) If a new driver joins within 24 hours of a race, his car file will be emailed to the league, so check your email before every race.

RESTARTS: A race will only be restarted for the following conditions:

1. A massive wreck wipes out 50% or more of the field in the first 3 laps. (50% is not an estimate...If there 15 cars in the field and 7 wreck, there will be no restart)
2. A server spike causes a wreck in the first 3 laps.
3. A warping car causes a wreck in the first 3 laps. The warping car will then be required to park it until his connection improves.

DISCONNECTED DRIVERS: If you are disconnected during a race, you may reenter the race. No laps will be given back!   

SERVER FAILURE: If for some reason a race is interrupted by a server failure, the race will be restarted immediately (if time allows) or on another date.
If half of the field gets booted it's considered a "mass boot".. If this happens before the halfway point, the race will be rescheduled. If it happens at or after the halfway point, the race is official.. Official standings will be recreated from the race server's replay if an official export is not generated

League rules may be changed or modified at any time without prior notice to league members. Any changes made will be in an effort to enhance the playability of the game for the enjoyment of all league members.