For Immediate Release:
National Dirt Racing League, LLC
www.theNDRL.com
National Dirt Racing League Rule Book Amended, Stiffer Penalties Announced
Pittsburgh, PA (May 21, 2013) In light of recent developments within the dirt late model community, NDRL officials have made changes to their official rule book, section 12.17 Tires. Changes made to the rule book include stiffer penalties for lab tested tires that do not conform to their manufacturer’s benchmark.
Previously, a driver’s tire that would come back from the lab and not conform to the manufacturer’s benchmark would lead to the driver being disqualified from that event and forfeiture of all monetary winnings and NDRL points. The driver would also suffer a $1,500 fine for their first offense and be responsible for reimbursement of all lab testing costs. The amended rule for a first offense now calls for the same driver disqualification, forfeiture of all monetary winnings, NDRL points, and reimbursement of all lab costs with the addition of a suspension of at least 90 days and a fine of 50% of the winner’s share of the total purse of given event.
Should a driver be caught with tires that are not in compliance with NDRL rules a second time, they will be banned from competition at any NDRL sanctioned events for one (1) full year and subject to a fine of 75% of winner’s share of purse for said event and reimbursement of any lab costs to NDRL prior to being eligible to race in any future NDRL events. Should a driver be caught with tires that are not in compliance with NDRL rules a third time, said driver and team (or team owner) shall be banned from NDRL competition for life and subject to a fine of 100% of winner’s share of purse for said event. Both offenses also carry the driver disqualification, forfeiture of all monetary winnings, points, and reimbursement of all lab costs.
‘This issue has become a serious problem in our industry and we will not tolerate breaking of these rules from anyone,’ NDRL Owner John Kennedy stated. ‘First and foremost, depending on what is being used in these tires, it’s extremely dangerous for anyone coming in contact with it. Whether it is physical contact or just breathing in the fumes these chemicals release when in use, it may make for an unsafe environment.’
Kennedy continued by saying, ‘I also feel that by breaking these rules, you as an owner, driver, or race team, are stealing from other competitors by attempting to give yourself an unfair advantage. It’s not fair to fellow competitors and most importantly, it’s unfair to our industry’s dedicated fans that spend their hard earned money to support what we all love to do.’ Kennedy went on to say, ‘A fan should be able to leave our events knowing who won the race or where their favorite driver finished that night. They shouldn’t have to read in a press release a week later that what they saw in person isn’t what the final outcome really was.’
‘Everyone in this industry, from the track owners to promoters, officials, drivers, crew members, car owners; everyone works extremely hard to build a strong reputation with their peers within the sport, when someone breaks a rule like this it does nothing but tarnish that reputation for all involved. NDRL president Jason Shank said, ‘The driver’s reputation obviously takes a huge hit but so do the series’, tracks, promoters, officials, and sponsors reputations. When these rules are broken, it’s a huge black eye for the entire industry.’
‘By increasing the penalties for these infractions we hope to open some eyes within our sport about how big of an issue this is,’ Kennedy said. ‘I speak on behalf of the entire NDRL team when I say, we as an industry, need to work together to put a stop to this type of rule breaking. I believe that we, as an industry, should enforce a ban against these rule breakers regardless of where they get caught.’ John continued, ‘Nothing is stopping these guys from competing somewhere else if they are banned from a certain track, series, or sanction. We have to work together; I believe unity is a solid place to start.’
From the date of this rule amendment and moving forward, a driver disqualified for using illegal tires during competition by any other series or track, will be banned from racing with the NDRL as if the violation had occurred at an NDRL event.
For more information on the revised NDRL rule book and the National Dirt Racing League please visit www.theNDRL.com.
Official NDRL’s ‘Let’s Get Dirty Tour’ Sponsors:
VP Race Fuels: The Official Fuel of the NDRL’s ‘Let’s Get Dirty Tour’
Slavic Custom Racing Shirts and Decals: The Official Merchandise Supplier of the NDRL’s Let’s Get Dirty Tour’
Bug Band: The Official Insect Repellant of the NDRL’s ‘Let’s Get Dirty Tour’
Official NDRL’s ‘Let’s Get Dirt Tour’ Associate Sponsors:
American Racer Tires, Bell Helmets, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Capital Race Cars, DirtonDirt.com, Driven Racing Oil, Genesis Racing Shocks, Hoosier Racing Tires, JNJ Motorsports Media, Keyser Manufacturing, MSR Mafia, and Responsible Racers.