17 year old racing at National Event? (2 Viewers)

[Prix-Mo]

From NHRA.COM
Zach Beard to pilot Morgan Lucas Racing A/Fuel Dragster:

Morgan Lucas has confirmed his Lucas Oil A/Fuel Dragster entry for the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals Top Alcohol division will be with 17-year old Zach Beard in the cockpit.
According to page 94 IN 2008 rule book all competitors at a national event need to be 18 years old.
Is his B-day before Indy?

 

[d'kid]

From NHRA.COM
Zach Beard to pilot Morgan Lucas Racing A/Fuel Dragster:

Morgan Lucas has confirmed his Lucas Oil A/Fuel Dragster entry for the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals Top Alcohol division will be with 17-year old Zach Beard in the cockpit.
According to page 94 IN 2008 rule book all competitors at a national event need to be 18 years old.
Is his B-day before Indy?

re-read the third paragraph... I read that as 18th BD falls within the season... and I think Lee's kid has his ticket already...

d'kid

 

[Prix-Mo]

Re: 17 year old racing at Natioal Event?

That paragraph is pertaining to an 17 year old getting a pro license TAD is a sportsman class.

 

[clwill]

If you check the license application (http://www.nhra.com/contacts/forms/licenseapp.pdf) you will see that you only need to be 16 to get a non-pro license. And as noted, page 94 does provide contingencies for 17 year olds to race get a pro license.

The interesting thing is that the paragraph on page 94 (section 4:10:4) says "All Competitors at NHRA POWERade national events must be a minimum of 18 years of age." Then the next sentence lays out the ways a 17 year old can get a pro license. So this makes the rulebook a little contradictory, with the distinction between licenses and participation at national events. Under certain conditions a 17 year old can get a pro license, but can't participate at national events?? Hmmm...

I'm sure the Lucas folks worked this all though with NHRA, but the rulebook is far from clear on this issue.

 

[clock guy]

He turned 18 last Friday

 

[T.Smith]

How many divisionals do you have to attend to race at a national event?

 

[The Counterfeiter]

How many divisionals do you have to attend to race at a national event?

Depends on who ur Daddy is? -

 

[Julie7549]

He turned 18 last Friday

Thanks, Jeff. Nice to know the rulebook, in this instance, is being fairly applies. We have a young kid in D-7 who couldn't race at the Winternats because he didn't turn 18 until spring.

P.S. How are the kids?

 

[clwill]

How many divisionals do you have to attend to race at a national event?

Depends on your "grade points", which you earn by attending divisional races. They open registration for national events first to people with n grade points n weeks in advance, then n-1 points n-1 weeks away, and so on. If the race isn't filled for your class, you can get into a national event with no grade points...

 

[Bob]

Depends on who ur Daddy is? -

Sorta. Car ownership comes into play in some cases, and it doesn't need to be your daddy.

 

[Prix-Mo]

Thanks Jeff, that's why I asked if anyone knew when his b-day was.

 

[john]

There are generally state laws regarding a minimum age to race that vary quite a bit.

 

[NHRAMike]

Wasn't there some kind of issue when G.T. Tonglet first started riding PSM?

 

[Mooseman]

I am confused , what is the issue behind the age issue for this kid ?

 

[The Swegian]

I am confused , what is the issue behind the age issue for this kid ?

It appears there isn't one anymore as it looks like it's been resolved.

 

[Toejam]

Depends on your "grade points", which you earn by attending divisional races. They open registration for national events first to people with n grade points n weeks in advance, then n-1 points n-1 weeks away, and so on. If the race isn't filled for your class, you can get into a national event with no grade points...

Chris, I was told that unless you finish in the Top 10 Nationally, you need to run 2 divisionals to get enough GP's to run a Natl. If that's incorrect someone please clarify...

 

[Terry]

Chris, I was told that unless you finish in the Top 10 Nationally, you need to run 2 divisionals to get enough GP's to run a Natl. If that's incorrect someone please clarify...

The grade point requirement for sportsman attendance to national events varies with the class in question and the particular event and space available. So a class that traditionally has fewer entrants will require less grade points than a class like Super Gas that usually has a lot of entrants (usually)

 

[Lori]

The grade point requirement for sportsman attendance to national events varies with the class in question and the particular event and space available. So a class that traditionally has fewer entrants will require less grade points than a class like Super Gas that usually has a lot of entrants (usually)

But has he competed in any divisional races this year? If so, which ones were they?

 

[Terry]

But has he competed in any divisional races this year? If so, which ones were they?

Good question--I'm pretty sure there are some "exceptions" in the rule book that allow participation without the requisite divisional attendance, but I don't know what they are.
Case in point (and this is not a bash, please don't perceive it that way) Dave Connolly, who participates sporadically in SC at selected national events--don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of any Pro racer that will race with the sportsmen also, but my guess is that Dave probably didn't have any divisional attendance before he was allowed to run at a National event in SC...not sure, but just guessing that there probably is a "sanctioning body discretion" type of rule or something. I bet there is someone on this board that can fill me in and straighten me out if necessary.

 

[Jude]

It's open registration now at Indy, if the class you wish to participate in is not full or someone drops out (like what happened to quite a few classes on Monday) you can get in with 0 (zero) grade points. I think you may just have an additional "late entry" fee to pay.