Greetings QSAC Racers,
As we are approaching the running of the FIVE STAR HOBBIES QSAC National Championship at DFW Speedway, we are closely evaluating our entry count as well as time considerations for the event.
As of May 3rd, we have a total of 91 pre-registrations for the event. In the words of DFW Speedway representative, Mike Sadler, this is both a blessing and a curse. Both QSAC and DFW are very excited to have the car count, but in fairness, we are also anticipating more entries and can easily see the entry total exceeding 100 if not an even bigger total for the event. Currently, we are almost 1.5X what we have previously seen for entry count (we were close to 70 at all three previous National Championships in Clover, MPR, and LPR). While steps have been taken each subsequent year to fine-tune and streamline the week’s events, those that were in attendance at any of the previous National Championships can confirm that it was very challenging to say the least. Time constraints along with weather issues and concerns have made the task challenging. When you start to walk through the schedule of events (practice, heat races, and the mains) and evaluate time required, it quickly becomes apparent that there needs to be a shift away from “the way we have done things”. Additionally and historically, whenever QSAC has put on a National Championship, or even going back to the previous National Championship Series, the events have usually brought with them rain or inclement weather throwing further issues with schedule into the fray.
What does all of this mean to you, the racers? We have done a great deal of evaluation and soul searching about the best way to provide all of the racing possible, while doing our best to minimize roll-over from one day, to the next, to possibly the next day after. We feel the best way to accomplish this is implementing three core changes to the itinerary for the week.
1. Adding hours of available practice on Sunday, June 6th.
2. Eliminating morning practice sessions on the Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday race days.
3. Starting Tuesday and Wednesday’s racing promptly at 9:00 AM each day.
3. Consolidating the traditional two rounds of heat races into one round of heat races, but adding length to the heat races compared to what has been run in the past; both at NCS events and at the previous National Championship events since 2017.
While practice is being removed from the Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday schedules, we are opening up more practice on Sunday. Uncontrolled practice will be available from 9:00 AM until 7:00 PM on Sunday, June 6th (NOTE: the sessions will be not be controlled, but will be broken down into sessions for each class at a time interval TBD).With the available practice on Sunday and Monday, we will be putting more of an emphasis on racing. While this does not guarantee that things will go picture perfect, we believe this will provide both the host track operators and the racers in attendance the greatest chance for a successful event and the greatest opportunity for all the events to be run to their respective full length completion.
With the removal of the practice sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday, we will have an altered method for setting the heat races for Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday’s heat races will be set by using the racers fastest practice lap from the second round of controlled practice on Monday (staggered as normal; fastest starts #1 in heat race #1, second fastest starts #1 in heat race #2, etc., etc.).Wednesday’s heat races will be set by the finishing order of the Tuesday mains (staggered as normal; winner starts #1 in heat race #1, second place starts #1 in heat race #2, etc., etc.).
Regarding the choice to move away from two rounds of heat races to one round of heat races, we looked back and carefully evaluated where time is “lost” or “wasted”. When evaluating race duration, we start with an ideal (but unrealistic) baseline of “at race pace, how long does it take to run a race at a distance of ‘X’ laps”. Once we have that value for a given lap count, we triple it. Triple it? Yes; we triple it. Tripling it takes into account the following: brake check, a couple of hot laps, cautions, waiting for a racer, waiting for a marshal, etc. Is this an exact number? Unfortunately; no, it is not an exact number. However, it is the best we can use as a baseline when we go back and examine races we have ran or been a part of previously. We have allotted a time window of 5.5 hours for the single round of heat races. If/when we get more entries; we fully anticipate that the time window of 5.5 hours will need to expand. Objectively, even with some the numbers we have used in calculating things, staying within the anticipated time window of 5.5 hours is going to be challenging as it will require each racer to be attentive, ready, and then immediately being prepared to serve as a marshal after their heat race is complete.
In the transition from two rounds of heat races to one round of heat races, we are combining what would have been two 30 lap heat races into one 60 lap heat race. We firmly believe this should provide a great opportunity for a race to unfold and allow racers from the back a chance to advance their position while not feeling a sense of urgency (due the race only being 25 or 30 laps).By going to one round of heat races, we eliminate the start/stop/wait process that would normally be experienced twice. Additionally, we WILL be stepping up our game with regard to the timeliness and manner in which we keep the races moving. If a racer is not in the que in the Hot Pit area ready their race, we will roll without you; period. Additionally, if a racer that just completed their race is required to marshal, and is not there to perform their task of marshalling, they will receive a reduction of one (1) lap from their just completed race. If we are making these changes to the event, we are also going to do our part to keep the program moving along.
Additionally, looking at the entries and lap counts that we have established for the mains for Tuesday and Wednesday, we anticipate that the total time needed to complete all of the mains will be close to 7 hours; this is due to the need for three C mains (at the moment). We believe this is a bit more aggressive of a time window allotment for the mains, and will definitely need racers to be promptly ready when their race is ready to take to the track.
While this is a departure from previous events, given the exceptional circumstances we will be facing, we believe this to be the best choice for all that will be in attendance as well as those that will be running the event during the week.
We welcome constructive questions and concerns, and will do our best to provide a very timely answer. QSAC and DFW Speedway stand united in this approach and are beyond excited for this event to take place in June. We look forward to seeing everyone and wish all the racers safe travels on their trip to DFW Speedway.
Thank you,
Denny Andrews, QSAC Co-Chair
Todd Bishop, QSAC Co-Chair
Curtis Babbitt, DFW Speedway Representative
Gerald Babbitt, DFW Speedway Representative
Mike Sadler, DFW Speedway Representative
Wayne Babbitt, DFW Speedway Representative
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