Street Battle Participants, Racemasters, and all other NTRA racers
(and gawkers too).
First I would like to think Alan and the Maple Groove Crew for hosting
the Street Battle event. It was some great coverage and excellent photos
detailing the event. However, as recent post show there is a problem.
NTRA suggest that Racemasters at a minimum visually examine all cars
prior to a race to see if any infraction of the rules are observed. This
proceedure was done in this case and no infraction was observed. The race
proceeded in regulation fashion and Dave632 was declared the winner. It
is the suggested and usual practice of many Racemasters to perform a more
thorough examination of the winning car to determine that no rules were
violated which cannot be detemined by visual inspection. In this case the
after-race tech of the winning car did not take place. It is the rare but usual
practice that protest come from a participant of the race. In an attempt to
bring this issue to a resolution, I am force to put on my Director's hat and
formally issue the protest myself for the sake of the integrity of NTRA.
Racemaster Alan has made a more detailed inspection of the car in question
and these are the findings:
X3 chassis rules reads as follows.
All cars in this build shall use AFX or MAGNA/X-Traction chassis. Chassis’
may have any and all of the following: de-burring, clearance, polishing,
hardening and/or blueprinting. None of these treatments shall cause the
chassis to weigh less than original. A slight chassis rake is permitted when
the rake is the result of undersized front tires, or larger than stock rear
tires. The top plate shall not be altered or cut or drilled. Chassis base
shall not be cut drilled or modified in any way.After further examination of car in question it was found to have the following
infraction:
Body mounts modified (not readily noticeable with body attached).
Guide pin rules reads as follows.
Only one guide-pin, in original location, is permitted. Guide- pin may be
secured additionally with glue, or heat-bonded to chassis. Lengthened guide
pins not recommended, as they bottom out the slot of a standard track.After further examination of car in question was it found to have the following
infraction:
Chassis modification made to relocate guide pin.
These two infraction alone are sufficient cause for disqualification and is
ruled as such and the win awarded to the next runner-up (providing the car
passes post-race examination). Unfortunately, at this point it is not reasonable
to re-run the race. With regard to points and wins, all cars that suffered a lost
to disqualified car will be awarded proper points and a win.
These findings and ruling attest to the worthiness of the car in question only.
It should not be supposed that intentional cheating on behalf of the racer nor the
Racemaster has occurred. But rather oversight and human error are more likely.
An incident such as this should be a learning lesson and not cast a blemish upon
this group. NTRA hopes all will find this a satifactory resolution and the integrity
of NTRA remain intact.
Cordell - aka ninjatek
NTRA Race Director
