From FAST Public Relations
MAUMEE, OH (4-11-10) –In an effort to further level the playing field for lower budget teams who compete locally in the Kistler Racing Products Fremont/Attica Sprint Title (F.A.S.T.) Championship Series, the F.A.S.T. Staff has revised and added rules that will eliminate a few of the unfair advantages that larger teams with larger budgets are able to afford. Not all teams at the local level have big sponsors and truck loads of equipment at their disposal. Most teams struggle just to compete each week and with the rising costs of parts, fuel, tires, and other necessities, F.A.S.T. has made rule revisions and additions that make sense not just on a local level, but should be implemented nationally. The series does not dictate the rules of competition that each track has implemented, but F.A.S.T. has it’s own rules regarding the award of points for the Kistler Cup trophy and $60,000 in cash and prizes that will be distributed again in 2010.
Both Fremont Speedway and Attica Raceway Park track rules allow drivers to change cars during the course of an event if their primary car is mechanically unable to finish the night. In other words “ride swapping” is allowed by track rules if you do not have a back up car of your own. However, if you use a back up car or swap rides to another team’s car, you must start at the tail of the B-main. F.A.S.T. will not award points to any driver once a change is made to a different car than the one they started the event with. “I feel that once a driver crashes, breaks, or blows up and repairs cannot be made, then its time to put it on the trailer and try again next week,” said series co-founder Bryan Autullo. “I’ve seen too much cheating and funny business going on over the years and using another team’s car to finish a race, in my mind, is cheating.” Since not every team is able to tow a back up car to the track and not every driver is going to get the opportunity to finish a night in someone else’s car, F.A.S.T. will not award Championship points to any driver once the switch is made to another car. The driver will maintain F.A.S.T. points for that event up until the switch is made. Using another car to finish an event allows the driver to accumulate track points and purse money only.
“The other thing I really wanted to do is put a stop to “ride buying” where driver’s pay another team to scratch from the event so they can sneak into the A-main as an alternate,” Autullo continued. “There is no more blatant form of cheating than paying another team to scratch from an event. If you didn’t race your way into the A-main event, no points will be awarded for the A-main finish.” F.A.S.T. will implement a new rule for 2010 that states “If a driver transfers to the A-main as an alternate due to another car scratching from the event, that driver will not receive A-main points. F.A.S.T. points will be awarded to that driver up through the B-main event.” Transferring to the A-main as an alternate still allows the driver to accumulate track points and purse money, but no F.A.S.T. Championship points will be awarded to alternate starters in the A-main event.
“I think every track in the country needs a rule like this,” said Autullo. “Over the years I have seen it time and time again where a driver pays off another driver or two…or three…to scratch so he can get into the A-main to keep up his championship points. I am tired of people saying you can’t stop it if you can’t prove that it happened, so we made a rule that simply makes it irrelevant. If you have a bad night, put it on the trailer and try again next week!”
“One of our goals when we started this F.A.S.T. Championship Series was to make things fair and unbiased for the local, limited budget teams who race at these two great facilities. In order to do that, you have to give everyone the same opportunity to show what they’ve got on the race track, not out behind the hauler making deals,” said series co-founder Scott Porter. The F.A.S.T. series was founded to help local teams maintain their racing careers by building a point fund that will help them continue to compete by supplementing their budgets with additional money on top of the two track point funds. “We put this deal together to help our local racers and to increase the level of competition in Northern Ohio,” added series co-founder Chris Kettman. “We’re trying to plug all the holes in the rules that allow guys to cheat or look for loopholes to skirt the rules. It’s been exhausting because for every rule there is a guy trying to find a way to work around it.” Autullo concluded by saying, “So, as far as F.A.S.T. is concerned, if we’re putting up the cash and prizes, we are going to see to it that we eliminate, or at least reduce, the loop holes and gray areas in the rules. We’re not in this to award guys for finding ways to get around our rules.”
The quest for the 2010 Kistler Cup begins on Friday April 23 at Attica Raceway Park and continues the following night at Fremont Speedway. Visit www.fastondirt.com to find out more about the F.A.S.T. Championship Series, the drivers, the rules, the schedule, the sponsors, and more.
FAST on Dirt, Inc. would like to thank the following contributors to the 2010 FAST Championship Series point fund:
Kistler Racing Products, Engine Pro, JE/SRP Pistons, Design Graphics Group, Inc, KS Sales & Service, Engler Machine & Tool, Oliver Rods, Henry MotorSports Inc., J&F Construction, Black Swamp Media Group, MyHeroCards.com, Kears Speed Shop, Computer Man, Inc., SCS Gearbox, RockAuto.com, Hoserville Ohio, Hoseheads.com, Level Performance, R&R Auto Wrecking, Reebar Diecasting, The King’s Den, FSR Radiator, Real Geese, Buckeye IT Services, High Vista Video, Racers Racing for a Cure, Gressman Powersports, NAPA (Bryan, OH), Gaerte Engines, Action Photos, PostNet (Fremont, OH), New York Life (Jeremy Shambaugh), Young’s RV Center, October Hills Farms, and OC Shocks
Also, a very special thanks to all of our contingency award sponsors:
R2C Filters, OC Shocks, Weld Wheels, Competition Suspension, Ti22, All Pro Heads, Rod End Supply, Hepfner Racing Products, TQ Fiberglass, Speed Meets Art, Racing Optics, Rocket Headers, Wings Unlimited, VRP Shocks, Kinsler Injections, RAM Engineering Midwest, PRO Shocks, ButlerBuilt, Permatex, Zemco Headers, Kinser Filters, Outerwears, DMI Race Components, Keizer Wheels, Linders Speed Equipment, Saldana Racing Products, XXX Race Components, Randy’s Racing Filters, Hinchman Indy Uniforms, VMAC/BR Motorsports, KSE Steering, CGS Imaging, Golden Graphics, Goofy Golf, African Safari, and Ghostly Manor