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Section 9 - COMPETITION RULES

9.1 - Track Set-up

  1. All officially sanctioned contests must have a dirt pulling track meeting the following requirements:

    1. Minimum of 35 feet wide

    2. 100 ft of shutdown room at the end of the track.

    3. Ideal track length between 300-350ft

  2. Track is defined as the area within 35 feet in any direction of contest course boundaries, including staging area at the start end and the run-off area at the finish end of the track.

  3. No one is allowed on the track except for track officials and contestants when a vehicle is under the green flag.

  4. At all times during competition (from the time session starts until it is over), there will be limited access to the track area at the discretion of the track officials.

  5. Spectators must be kept 20 feet from the track with a barrier.

  6. Track chalk line will be set for a minimum of 320 feet up to the maximum of area allowed. The white out of bounds lines to be the same length

  7. No alcohol allowed on the track during the pull.

  8. At the discretion of the Head Tech Official a full pull distance can be set.

    1. During the drivers meeting it will be announced that this could be a potential situation.

    2. It must be communicated to all pullers in the class that there will be a full pull mark.

9.2 - Vehicle Operation

  1. If a senior track official feels that a vehicle is unsafe, he has the right to not allow the vehicle to hook.

  2. All vehicles are required to drive into position on the track under their own power and leave the track under their own power at the discretion of officials.

  3. Any pulling vehicle left running with operator not in the seat will be disqualified

  4. Driver must remain seated during a pull.

  5. Driver must have complete control of the vehicle at all times.

  6. No riders on pulling vehicles.

9.3 - Pull Order

  1. Contestants must pull at the position drawn within three (3) minutes of the time that the track and sled is in readiness.

  2. Any delay will mean disqualification.

  3. An official may drop a contestant having mechanical problems to a later position. (Must come back as soon as the mechanical issue is resolved.)

9.4 - Scaling & Hitch Checking

  1. All contestants must weigh at the scale provided by the sponsoring organization and must abide by the weights shown on those scales.

  2. It is recommended that one of the top 5 vehicles in the points standings is the first vehicle over the scale for the class. This will allow the Head Tech to make any decisions that might be needed to adjust the allowed maximum weight for the class based on any discrepancy from the scale being used.

  3. All fuel and liquid tanks must be full and safety equipment (i.e. fire suit & helmet) must be on board before crossing the scales.

  4. Air pressure in tires and/or air suspensions should be set to approximate settings to be used on the track before the vehicle crosses the scale. If air pressure needs to be changed, it is recommended that a tech official, the class representative, or a person designated by the class rep oversees the change to confirm that the hitch height is not over the maximum for the class.

  5. Anyone who is suspected of changing air pressure in tires or suspension will be subject to having their hitch remeasured by a tech official. If the hitch height is found to be illegal, they will lose points and money for that event.

9.5 - Hooking and Unhooking to the Sled

  1. All vehicles must be in neutral, or park (transmission selector) while being hitched and unhitched to the sled.

  2. No portion of the vehicle or weights shall interfere with the sled, chain, or hook during pull or while being hooked or unhooked from the sled.

  3. All vehicles will have a workable reverse but can be manually rolled to or from the sled in case of mechanical failure only.

9.6 - Competition Procedure

  1. Once the class has started, it cannot be stopped except in the case of mechanical difficulties with the sled.

  2. A sled can be re-weighted at the discretion of the sled operator and/or track officials.

  3. Contestants may have sled spotted on starting line wherever they desire. The contestant must notify the officials in sufficient time to have the sled spotted in the desired location as the sled is returning to the starting line from the previous pull.

  4. All pulls must start with a tight hitch. No jerking of the sled allowed.

  5. Contestants may not start the process of attempting a competitive run until the starting official, typically the 100 ft official, gives the green flag.

  6. A vehicle may only use power from its competition engine(s) to make an attempt. Auxiliary engines, starter motors, or external power sources are prohibited.

  7. All competitors are allowed two (2) attempts to move the sled a measurable distance.

    1. A measurable distance is defined as .01 feet when measuring with GPS.

  8. Contestants will be allowed a second pull if the first pull does not exceed 100 feet.

    1. If the driver attempts to stop within this distance but goes past to avoid being bumped by the sled, the contestant will be allowed a re-pull.

    2. The driver must raise his hand up when backing out of the throttle.

  9. A vehicle must be stopped immediately upon signal from a tech official or stopped by the sled. The pull shall be considered over when the forward motion stops, with no re-pull allowed if stopped by sled.

  10. If a contestant does not stop at any time when signaled by a tech official, the contestant will be disqualified.

  11. All pull distances will be measured by GPS measuring device or laser.

9.7 - Test Puller

  1. The contestant who draws the lowest number will be the test puller with the following options:

    1. Take the hook.

    2. Drop the hook and re-hook immediately.

    3. Drop eight (8) places and re-hook, (Pull after the original #8 puller), no dropping to last.

    4. While unhooking from the sled, contestant must confirm to the official that they are accepting or declining that pull. If the puller does not confirm, the hook will be considered automatically official.

  2. If the weight machine (sled) needs further adjustment (reset) the following will happen:

    1. If a tech official or sled operator makes a change to the sled after the first hook, the first puller may re-hook immediately, drop eight (8) places or go to last. (If more than one contestant has made a hook before adjustment (reset sled) they will follow the test puller in the same numerical order as before the sled was reset.

    2. The next contestant that hooks to the sled after reset will start the class and be measured. NO MORE TEST HOOKS.

9.8 - Sled Breakage

  1. If the sled breaks down during a class and cannot be repaired within a reasonable time, the class will be pulled over starting with the number one puller.

  2. When the same driver is driving two or more different vehicles in the same class and they draw back-to-back numbers, the second vehicle will automatically be moved back one position.

9.9 - Disqualifications

  1. If a vehicle goes out of bounds, touches the out of bounds line or lands out of bounds, the vehicle will be disqualified unless the vehicle has the first hook option.

    1. Out of Bounds is marked with a chalk line

  2. Any weights or safety equipment lost while hooked to the sled will be cause for disqualification.

  3. Excessive loss of liquid by a vehicle while in forward motion during a contest will be cause for disqualification, unless due to internal breakage.

9.10 - Pull Off

  1. In a pull-off there can be a floating finish, the contestants must pull as far as they can, and each will be measured.