Rules - Road Series - Season 7
You as a driver are required to read and understand the rules below. If you have a question - please contact the Rules Admin
Midwest Motorsports mission goal is to create a fun, competitive iRacing league of drivers of varying skill level. We are all here for weekly races, but we are also a community of amazing members, always willing to help and provide tips. We have watched numerous members' skill as a sim racer increase just by racing in our league sessions, and we want YOU to be a part of what this league is all about - a community of fun, clean, competitive drivers!
At Midwest Motorsports, we allow our community to heavily weigh in on the structure and format of the season - conducting polls on tracks, format, and sometimes even the option to change the car selection!
We know that without our community, we wouldn’t be what we are!
Our league values participation and clean racing more than speed. We know not everyone can make every single race, and that's okay. However, a league is to race with familiar competitors on a scheduled basis, not when you choose to race. We are a free league, however we utilize paid content (ie. cars and tracks). Please understand our participation policy before signing up.
As you read through these rules, please take time to realize that without rules, leagues would run rampant. Rules are created to keep people grounded.
Do we expect you to operate yourself and your team under these guidelines? We very much do. Do we understand that rules will be broken at times? Of course.
If you have made it this far and want to become part of a great community of iRacers, congratulations! Now…. are you ready to become the next Midwest Motorsports member?
1.0 Code of Conduct
Treat and race your fellow competitors the same way you would like to be.
We will not tolerate racism or prejudiced comments towards another competitor, owner, or admin. This will result in an automatic ban.
Keep language as clean as possible. We all swear, but keep it to a minimum and have a level of maturity.
Tempers flare, it’s part of racing. However, don’t let those tempers flare to the extent of you becoming kicked from the league.
Intentional wrecking will not be tolerated! This is covered more in depth in the penalties section 10.0.
There will be a skill gap between the drivers on track, please remember that we all started in this service as a beginner/ novice at some point. If you notice a driver exhibiting beginner driving tendencies, feel free to offer advice, not criticism. This is a league, the more we bring eachother up, the better the racing will be.
Lastly, driver recruitment for other leagues will not be tolerated! If you want to advertise for your league, there are tons of forums to do so.
To sum up our code of conduct, everyone should be here to help one another. Please ask yourself if you can do that, if the answer is yes, WELCOME!
2.0 League Administration
League administration is what keeps this league healthy and fluent. Without administrators, we wouldn’t have a league!
2.1 League Owner
Eric Thaler
Justin Thaler
2.2 Road Series Admins (this is the ONLY living section of the Rule Book and may change at any point).
Points - Steve Hansell
Recruitment and Roster - Justin Thaler
League Content - Eric Thaler
Scheduling & Participation - Joshua Watt
Rules - Justin Gloeckner
Social Media - Dustyn Reinstetle
Admins are to assist the league owner in admin roles. They are here to help run the series, and do so as volunteers. Admins take time outside of their daily lives and should be treated with respect - it's okay to question, but do so with an understanding they also have obligations outside of iRacing.
Do NOT be afraid to challenge an admin on track. Admins are just like you, a “DRIVER”, if they do something wrong, you should submit an incident.
If you have any questions regarding specific league information, please DM the appropriate admin.
2.3 Stewards
Stewards are a group of league or non-league members who the admins deemed to be “unbiased” when making decisions on racing penalties. These Stewards are to act as no-one knows who they are. Only Stewards and admins will be in communication. Once an issue has come to an agreement from a Steward, a member of the admin team will discuss the penalty or further action with the parties involved.
3.0 New Members
New members are ALWAYS welcome! No matter what point they enter during a season. Everyone is encouraged to compete with us.
Please note our participation rule in section 11.1.
3.1 Equipment
We require that you have a working headset and mic so we can communicate with you during races should something arise. We also do not allow users utilizing gamepads, keyboards, mouses, touchscreens, etc. to race as these are unpredictable and hard for competitors to race around.
4.0 Registration
Drivers are responsible for completing all stages of their registration to its entirety. Registration is mandatory, and acceptance into the league relies solely on a completed registration. Midwest-Motorsports has a simple three-step registration processes outlined below:
Fill out the sign-up located on our website for the Road Series - Midwest Motorsports Website
Please only submit ONE sign-up submission. Check to make sure car choice and number are what you want before submitting.
Join our Discord server - Discord Link
Join our league within the iRacing UI - iRacing League Link
Again, all three steps above MUST be completed in order to be accepted into Midwest Motorsports.
4.1 Discord
This platform is used for communication/information purposes. This is where ALL communication with you and the other members will take place. Please familiarize yourself with this platform and ask an Admin for help if you don’t understand. We do our best within Discord to make it as user friendly as possible.
5.0 Choosing Car Number
5.1 Car Number Selection
Your car number selection cannot be changed once your sign-up is submitted. This car number must be run for the entirety of the season. Only available numbers will be shown on the sign-up. The number “1” is reserved for the current champion to run at their choice.
5.2 Car Manufacturer Selection
You will select your car manufacturer during the sign-up process. Drivers can elect to change manufacturers once during the season for a deduction in points. For manufacturer changes during the season, see the Penalties - Section 11 for stipulations.
6.0 PRO/AM Class Designation
Midwest Motorsport’s Road Series will feature a PRO/ AM class split designation.
Current Midwest Motorsports drivers will be placed within the division utilizing the following procedure from the previous Road Series season:
PRO Division Placement:
All returning PRO drivers will remain in the PRO division
Any returning AM drivers with an overall race win in the previous season will be promoted to PRO
AM promotion to PRO during the end of a season will be based on admin decision
AM Division Placement:
Returning AM drivers not placed in the PRO division will remain in the AM division
New members will be placed within a division utilizing the following procedure:
At the end of the previous season, the median iRating across all current Midwest Motorsports Road Series drivers will be calculated
Any new driver above the league median iRating will be placed within the PRO division
Any new driver below the league median iRating will be placed within the AM division
Road Series Average iRating = 1,672
7.0 Race Sign In
Every race will be posted in #race-sign-in. You must react in order to obtain all points. Please react using the below Emoji’s:
Joining the race = 🏎
Not Joining = ❌
If we do not see a reaction, we are just going to assume you are NOT making the race.
If you are not racing that week, there is no need to contact an admin, just react appropriately.
At any given time a safety car is to be deployed, @RaceControl will be joining the track in the FORD MUSTANG GT3. DO NOT select this car when joining a session, as you cannot withdraw and rejoin in your car selection.
6.1 Race Sign in and Attendance Policy
Race sign in closes five minutes prior to the race server opening. This allows our admin team to collect the list of drivers in a timely manner, and conduct an internal roll call.
** See penalties section for regarding attendance policy **
8.0 Racing
If required a quick drivers meeting will be held with all drivers. This will start with approximately 5 minutes left in the practice session of the server.
It is your responsibility as a driver to attend these drivers meetings. During these meetings, conduct for pit road entry and exit, along with other important track notes are discussed.
8.1 Setup
iRacing’s fixed setups will be used. Setups for each track will be posted on the schedule for each week
8.2 Weather
Weather will be “Realistic"
*Select races will have guaranteed rain
8.3 Practice
Sessions are set to open at 7:00 PM Eastern Time
Practice will be open to all competitors before qualifying. Rules are enforced during practice and monitored by @RaceControl
Practice will be 10 minutes in length for endurance weeks. Endurance week practice will be 5 minutes
8.4 Qualifying
Qualifying will start at 7:10 PM Eastern Time for regular race weeks, and 7:05 PM Eastern Time for endurance weeks
Qualifying will have iRacing strict scrutiny rules
All qualifying is open
During qualifying, the standard for clean, respectful driving still applies. Provide a manageable gap between yourself and the car ahead. Just because you may be faster than the car ahead, does NOT justify you pressuring/ pushing the other driver. Another competitor's lap is just as important as yours.
Race will proceed immediately following the qualifying session
8.5 Race Length - Standard Weeks
Race will be 1 hour in length
8.5.1 Race Length - Endurance Weeks
Select weeks on the schedule will feature endurance races.
Endurance weeks will be set for the following format:
Practice - Qualifying - Endurance Race
Practice length: 5 minutes
Qualifying length: 15 minutes
Endurance race length - 1 hour 40 minutes
8.6 Fuel Load & Tire Sets
Fuel load will be 60% for all manufacturers
Tires will be unlimited
The race will require pit stops due to reduced fuel load
Faster drivers may burn through the allotted fuel at a faster rate than the slower drivers. This makes it so drivers will need to strategize, and attempt to be more efficient if they do not wish to pit at some tracks.
8.7 Repairs
There will be one fast repair available per race
8.8 Start
Rolling starts.
Leader to choose start after the pace car enters pit lane
@RaceControl will announce pace car entry
Leader must maintain pace until he/ she deems the race to start
If necessary, a “start zone” will be designated within the drivers meeting per track by @RaceControl
No overtaking until passing the start/finish line
Drivers must stay in line until crossing the start/ finish
Drivers must maintain a safe relative distance to the car in line ahead
8.9 Cautions
Local cautions only
*A safety car may be deployed if required per @RACECONTROL discretion
8.10 Blue Flags
It is the responsibility of the faster car to pass blue flagged cars cleanly. However, lapped cars (backmarkers) are ENCOURAGED to allow the lead lap cars to overtake as soon as possible. Backmarkers are to pay attention to the relative and mirrors to know when a lead lap car is close behind. It is ENCOURAGED to use audio or iRacing text to communicate your intentions to allow a lead lap car passed (ex. “Driver ABC - I’m going to lift and pull left, pass me on the right”)
Backmarkers are NOT to impede, or hold up cars on the lead lap. As a backmarker you are NOT racing cars on the lead lap for position. Allow them to pass or a penalty will be given of -10 points per incident. Admins will issue a warning post race for any incidents noted per race for the first offense. Every offense after will result in a -10 point penalty.
8.11 Pitting
Announcing your pits will be a courtesy, if someone is near you and feel they may need a warning, please announce.
When exiting pit road, you must follow the pit line until you pass the blue cone. If you do not follow this, iRacing will issue you a black flag for an unsafe pit exit. Once you are past the blue cone, you may enter safely.
Upon entering the track with cars present, you must yield to their line.
8.12 Incidents
Incidents to incur a black flag - 15
Incidents to incur a DQ - 25
Incident points will be incurred per iRacing, therefore they cannot be protested/ removed
Remember, we are promoting clean racing here.
8.13 Black Flags
Black Flags will NOT be cleared, If you ask for a black flag to be cleared and an Admin reviews the footage after the race, and does not find a viable reason, you will be docked 10 points
9.0 Race Chat
During racing conditions, please keep race chatter quiet. Set up a private chat for if needed, to avoid distracting other teams and drivers. All drivers must be on the @DRIVERS channel when in the iRacing session. This is to insure that if communication is necessary between two competitors, that communication can be heard. Use of foul language, calling out other drivers, or excessive race chatter may lead to penalties or removal from the league. There is a race chatter channel in the series Discord, but it's not actively monitored by admins.
10.0 Reporting Incidents
If there is an incident during a league race that you were involved in that seems more than a race incident or accidental, it is the drivers responsibility to submit an incident submission for the stewards to review. If it is worth your time to complain about, it is worth a submission (both parties could incur penalties).
Incidents can be reported using the google form in Discord Channel #Incident-Submission.
Incident submissions must include the following:
Your car number
Offending car number
Lap number of incident
A clear description of the incident
A video submission from far chase camera
Other relevant camera angles may be submitted if deemed necessary.
If an incident submission does not include all required information, the incident submission will be thrown out.
Some incidents during the race may be tagged to be reviewed immediately following the conclusion of the race. This will be carried out at Race Controls discretion.
Incident reports may be submitted up to 24 hours following a race. After 24 hours have passed we will no longer accept incident requests from that race.
Once incidents are received, they will be fed to our Stewards. Once a report has come to an agreement from Stewards, an admin will discuss the penalty or further action with the parties involved. If no penalty is to be issued, we will notify you of this. If a penalty is being assigned, we will notify both parties.
11.0 Penalties
Penalties work as a point deduction within the current series your violation occurred.
At any point drivers are found to be conducting themselves in a manner that goes against the code of conduct or a rule infraction within a session, @RaceControl will notify/ issue a penalty as they see fit.
The following are league rules that will impact scoring/ starting procedures:
Race Opening Lap (All Race Weeks):
To ensure cautious driving on the opening lap:
The full opening lap will be reviewed by Race Control and the Admin team immediately after the race. Drivers found responsible in an opening lap incident (an opening lap incident is defined as any 4x contact resulting in a single car - or - multiple car incident) with others will receive a mandatory pit-lane start in the next race they participate in
Race Control will call out the driver/ drivers required to start from the pit-lane the following race
Drivers starting from the pit-lane are NOT allowed to complete qualifying laps
If you receive a mandatory pit lane start and you FAIL to start from the pit-lane, you will be issued a drive-thru penalty
Drivers penalized with a pit-lane start are not eligible to earn bonus points for “most positions gained”
In the event of a final race opening lap incident, a 75 point penalty will be issued to the driver responsible
Lane Change or Passing Before Start/Finish Line (Race Starts):
Drive through penalty issued by @RaceControl
Blue Flag Impedence:
1st offense - Warning issued
Repeat offense - Penalty -50 points
If found to be excessive impeding during a race @Racecontrol reserves the right to remove you from the session
Incident Submission:
Incident submission penalties will be assessed on an individual basis and severity of penalty determined by the stewards
Attendance Policy:
After 3 consecutive weeks of not RACING, it is suggested you reach out to an admin if you wish to remain in the league
Signing in to a week's race as “not-attending” does not circumvent the attendance policy
If an admin does not hear from you within the 4 week window, you will be removed from the league
If you sign up for a race, and you do not take part in that race, you will receive a 5 point penalty
If you do not sign up for a race, and you do take part in that race, you will receive a 5 point penalty
Intentional Wrecking:
350 point deduction, one license strike, and a one-week race suspension
If you receive this penalty and try to join the following week's race, you will be banned from the league
If a competitor is found to have committed multiple offenses during a race, they will be removed from the session and placed on probation until informed otherwise by the admin team
Strike Policy:
We will abide by a 3 strike penalty policy
Strikes can be accumulated through reported incidents, or penalties issued by admins for broken rules
Once 3 strikes are obtained, you will receive a 2 race ban. Any penalty after 3 strikes will result in a league ban
Track Etiquette:
Driving backwards on track during ANY session is strictly prohibited
Doing so may result in a penalty, DQ from session, or removal from the league
Mid-Season Manufacturer Change:
Drivers are granted a one time change of car manufacturer during the season
To request the change of manufacturer, fill out the "Manufacturer Change Form" located in the Discord server
Once a car manufacturer change is submitted, that new manufacturer choice must be ran for the remainder of the race season
The penalty for a manufacturer change is as follows:
50 point penalty
Mandatory pit-lane start next race
All League Issued Penalties Are Non-Appealable!
12.0 Points
Our points system will be driven through a custom points tracking system built specifically for Midwest Motorsports. In order to receive the no incident bonus and full points for the race, each competitor must complete 75% of the allotted laps.
Points will be issued out to the entire field. Drivers earn points based on their overall finish. The points given for a position are based on the drivers division.
Example: if a driver finishes in 4th place, lookup P4 in the chart below. Driver earns the points under their division column. If the driver is a PRO, they will earn 900 points. If they are AM, they earn 825 points.
Midwest Motorsports utilizes two drop races per season. These are automatically calculated per the following standard below:
Once 10 races are completed in the season, each driver will have their two lowest scored races dropped from their overall points. Races where the driver is absent (excluding suspension) are eligible for dropped races.
From the 10th race to the end of the season, the dropped races will be recalculated to drop the 2 lowest results across the entire season
12.1 Bonus Points
Bonus points available are listed below:
Fastest lap* = 50 points
No incidents (0x) = 50 points
Lead lap (overall, not division) = 25points
Most positions gained from start to finish** = 50points
*Scored to the drivers of the fastest lap of each division
**Scored to drivers with most positions gained within their division; Driver must have registered a competitive qualifying time and participated in formation lap; Drivers who are penalized with pit-lane starts are ineligible. In the event of two (or more) drivers tying, bonus points will be awarded to the driver whom finishes higher in the standings.
12.2 End of season Championships
The PRO driver with the most points at the conclusion of the season, will be crowned the series league champion and have the option of running the #1 for the next season.
Points Breakdown
The standard race points are below.
For Endurance race weeks, the points scale will be doubled (PRO finishing position P6 overall would equate to 1,700 points).