Earning your start position for BITD.

[Pinnacle_Pete]

We finished 10th at Parker last weekend. Knowing that the bitd normally takes the top 10 for the last race to start the next race of the series, we thought we were in good shape. I emailed BITD this morning to make sure we would be starting 10th at the mint 400 and there reply was,

"We are doing just the top 3 for 2018"

So any one outside the top 3 with be in the draw for every race in 2018.

Just posting here to let racers know and to see what everyone’s thoughts are about this change.

 

[///Airdam Clutches]

wow only top 3? with the finishing order and so many of my customers in top 10 at parker i was looking forward to a run-away race at the mint but if only top 3 move up and everyone else gets the draw thats kinda a kick in the go'nads compared to the last two years that i think everyone has become accustomed to.

 

[bluediamond]

I commented on this subject on Carvers insta page the other day. It's way past time to start qualifying in my opinion. I get it that the class is not a full time job and know one is a professional so taking an extra day off would make it tougher on some teams . And I realize teams still can come from the back like at worlds but with the amount of cars showing up now and the money teams and sponsers are spending atleast having an optional qualifying run would help. Just my two cents.

 

[702sandman]

If there's no qualifying I'd say put everyone in a draw. It's such a big advantage being upfront versus coming from 40th lol I'm ok with it either way it just seems like there's got to be a better way to have the faster people running up front. The push to pass button doesn't seem to work in most cars or people just ignore it, but then again people start pushing it when they just start to see a dust cloud instead of actually being on someone's ass before pushing it.

 

[racer570]

That sucks Peter. I haven't heard about the change.

 

[///Airdam Clutches]

i was testing in parker for two days before the race, on a small section we have used many times in the past. parker has always been a heavy sand and usually offers fast racing with minimal dust. this year from the rains i suspect, my testing area was no sand, all hard packed like its been flooding and settling and drying. one loop on my 3-4 mile section and it was so dusty you couldnt make a second lap. two laps and you had to wait a half hour for the dust to move away to be able to see. it sucked. the first two hours of the race was exactly the same, no wind, dusty as hell, and from the pits i could tell you couldnt see anything out in the course. after about 2 hours of this, right before the leaders came in for the end of lap 1, the wind picked up minimally and helped move the dust a bit better BUT at that same time the sun started going down which put that glare in your eyes where you couldnt see crap anyway in the dust. it was rough, anybody that started back behind 20th place had a near impossible task of moving up. the dust was worse than i have ever remembered parker, and the class is getting bigger each race. qualifying would help lots of guys be up front but guys pushin hard at a qualifying round would more likely inflict damage to their cars trying to push hard at a qualifying round and not have the means or ability to fix the car before the next day race day. i dont know of a good way to handle it, or an easy way to make everyone happy, but i can say that being in the back at the start of this race put you at a huge handicap.

 

[702sandman]

I agree Adam, my daughter started 44th and ended up 12th at the end of the race. We honestly just were hoping for a top 20 due to the start position and the dust. Qualifying would be awesome but would require a additional day and I'm not sure if that works for a lot of people.

 

[ROTR]

It would be nice to know about a rule change ahead of time, everyone in the top ten was counting on clean air for Mint.

 

[baja specialist]

It would be nice to know about a rule change ahead of time, everyone in the top ten was counting on clean air for Mint.

Everyone in the top 10 was counting on clean air........ Am I missing something???

 

[ROTR]

Quoted from up above.
"We are doing just the top 3 for 2018"
So any one outside the top 3 with be in the draw for every race in 2018"

Last year BITD took the top ten from the previous race and that was the starting order for the next race.

 

[tatum]

Dont the golf carts start behind other classes at the mint?

 

[baja specialist]

Dont the golf carts start behind other classes at the mint?

That's kind of what I was thinking. The only guy on the track that has clean air is the first "car or truck" off the line, everyone else is in dust.

 

[BiggJim]

That's kind of what I was thinking. The only guy on the track that has clean air is the first "car or truck" off the line, everyone else is in dust.[/QUOTE

Ding Ding Ding! There is no clean air At the mint unless you are leading the race

 

[SimsMotorsports]

I don’t care what you all think, but Starting up front in the UTV class is a huge advantage no matter how many classes start in front of us. Every car/Truck you put between you and the other utvs behind you sure does make a difference. Especially when you can get passed them in an open spot and your next opponent behind you gets stuck behind them. Very similar to a car accident, as the front vehicles pass the accident within ministers cars a mile back take twice as long to pass the same accident. It’s a hardcore slinky effect and it’s the same in desert racing. Earning a forth place finish at Parker I’m not happy to hear this especially knowing that if this rule was made before Parker I would have pushed a little harder to get that 3rd

 

[JoeyD23]

Seems odd there was no communication about this.

 

[Team Green]

I'm not even racing and I heard the change was being made for 2018. They needed a blanket policy that worked for all classes since so many classes don't have 10 cars entered.

There are arguments that make since from both sides but with a class(es) this big in UTV racing some special attention to rules may need to be addressed. I'll start holding my breath now for you guys.

 

[Mach1 Motorsports]

If BITD was going to change this they should have done it BEFORE the season started. This stinks of favoritism and big corporate money influence. Many teams made their strategy based on this past practice. I know we could have pushed harder but saved the car and the team. It was intentional for this privateer team to have a conservative strategy, and it worked for us...until BITD decides to arbitrarily change things. This needs to be codified in the rules. What will stop them from changing it back when the factory teams all finish in the top 10??

 

[ROTR]

They needed a blanket policy that worked for all classes since so many classes don't have 10 cars entered.

Since the number of cars is so different in each class wouldn't a sliding scale work?
Say 20 cars and under the top 3 or 5 get starting positions, then 20 and more get the top ten?

 

[Mach1 Motorsports]

We would propose the top 3 from overall standings earned the top 3 positions for Parker. The rest do 1 qualifier for Parker. Then the results of that finish dictate the starting order for the Mint. And the finish of each race determines the start for each subsequent race.

 

[staggs]

how about they just start the mint400 on the lake bed 120 what ever wide and land rush. That is a crappy move nothing said about it at the drivers meeting in parker or nothing. I will email about it but I am sure they wont change it.