Time Trials

Driving a car hard on a closed course carries real risk, and no set of rules removes it. What these rules do is set a floor. Meeting the floor gets you through tech. Going beyond it (a better seat, a newer helmet, a rated harness) is always welcome and usually worth it.

The driver owns the car's readiness. Before you arrive, make sure the car can take sustained hard braking, cornering, and acceleration without something coming loose or letting go.

Safety levels at a glance

We sort cars into three safety levels. Level 1 is the baseline and covers every car. Level 2 and Level 3 stack on top of it for cars that are faster, lighter, or built to race. Two things decide your level: what tires the car runs, and how far it has been modified. The driver's preference does not come into it.

Finding your level in four questions

1. Slicks or any non-DOT tire? Level 3.
2. Purpose-built race car (open wheel, sports racer, tube frame)? Level 3.
3. DOT tires rated under 200 treadwear? Level 2 if the car has more than bolt-on mods, or if the rating is under 100 regardless. Otherwise Level 1.
4. DOT tires rated 200 or higher? Level 1.

"Bolt-on mods" means the kind of parts you can install in a driveway with hand tools: intake, exhaust behind the cat, springs, shocks, sway bars, pads, wheels. Engine swaps, forced induction added to a car that did not come with it, moved fuel tanks, and cut or tubbed bodywork are beyond that line.

Two partial triggers. These do not change your level but add specific Level 2 items:

• Fuel system changes. A replaced or modified fuel tank, fuel cell, or fuel lines means the driver wears a Level 2 suit, gloves, shoes, and underwear, and the car carries Level 2 fire suppression.
• Convertibles needing a roll bar. The bar itself must be built to the Level 2 roll bar spec. See Convertibles.

You can always fit Level 2 or 3 equipment to a lower-level car. Doing so does not raise your level, but each piece still has to be installed right and will be inspected. A car with a Level 2 roll bar may strip carpet and trim behind the front seats; a car with a Level 3 cage may strip everything but the dash.

Section I: Drivers

Who can drive

• Hold a valid government-issued driver's license.
• Be physically and mentally able to handle the demands of competition for every session you enter.

No prior track experience is required. First-timers are welcome.

Drivers under 18

A minor needs approval from the Event Lead before the event, a parental consent and liability release signed by a parent or legal guardian, and a driver's license that does not require a supervising passenger.

Helmets

Wear a helmet on course every time. It must fit snugly, the chin strap must be done up, and it must be checked at tech before the car is cleared to run. Any of these ratings is accepted at Level 1:

Open cars with no windshield (formula cars, sports racers, exocars) require a full-face helmet. Cars with a smaller-than-stock windshield require a face shield or goggles. Regular eyeglasses do not count.

Footwear

Shoes that cover the whole foot. No sandals, no slides.

Passengers

No passengers during scored runs. The Event Lead may allow a passenger in an unscored session. When an in-car coach rides along, the coach's seat and belts must be as good as or better than the driver's.

Conduct

• Everyone on site, including crew and guests, is expected to behave like an adult and a sportsman. Drivers answer for the behavior of the people they bring.
• No alcohol for drivers. None before, none during. If you have had a drink, you are done driving for the day. Guests may drink; crew do not drink in the pits until the track is cold.
• No Schedule 1 substances (marijuana included) and no drug, prescription or otherwise, that impairs your ability to drive safely.
• No firearms in a vehicle on course.
• No drones.

Section II: Safety Level 1 (every car)

Eligible vehicles

Most four-wheeled vehicles that pass tech can run. The car must have an even number of wheels per side, a working muffler, and a low enough center of gravity: it must be wider than it is tall, measuring width at the average track and height to the highest point. Vehicles taller than they are wide are excluded. Street registration is not required.

Tech inspection

Every car is inspected before it runs. The driver fills out and signs the tech form and hands it in. Anything found unsafe keeps the car off course until it is fixed.

Aftermarket seats, belts or harnesses, roll bars, and roll cages get a closer look: the inspector checks for secure installation and correct fasteners (backing plates on a bolt-in bar, for example). The driver is responsible for the installation matching the manufacturer's instructions and for the materials being adequate. Change any of that equipment later and the car needs to be re-inspected.

Inspection checklist

Convertibles

Every convertible needs rollover protection. We strongly recommend an aftermarket roll bar built to the Level 2 spec for all of them, but the minimum depends on the model year.

2005 and older. Any one of these:

• Factory rollover protection documented by the manufacturer. Reinforced A-pillars, a reinforced windshield frame, fixed factory hoops, or pop-up bars all qualify if the manufacturer calls them rollover protection.
• A commercially made roll bar or cage that its maker describes as suitable for track use. Decorative style bars do not qualify. Anywhere the bar could meet a helmet must carry at least 1/2 inch of firm, non-rebounding padding (SFI 45.1 or FIA 8857-2001 padding preferred).
• A roll bar built to the Level 2 spec.

2006 and newer. A roll bar built to the Level 2 spec, unless the car meets one of these exceptions:

• It has documented factory rollover protection or a commercially made track roll bar or cage, as above.
• It has four cylinders or fewer, with the original drivetrain, including any factory forced induction.
• It has six cylinders, naturally aspirated, with the original drivetrain.

Section III: Safety Level 2

Level 2 applies to modified production cars on DOT tires rated under 200 treadwear, and to any car on DOT tires rated under 100. It is Level 1 plus everything below. In short: a race seat, a roll bar, a five-point harness, fire suppression, and a driver in fire-rated gear.

Roll bar

A roll bar is a main hoop behind the driver, a diagonal, and two braces. It has to stand up to the car's weight coming down on it and to the car sliding on it. The requirements:

• The hoop is one continuous piece of tubing, bent smoothly, with no crimps or wall failures.
• The top of the hoop sits above the top of the driver's helmet in the normal driving position.
• The two uprights are more than 15 inches apart inside. Full cockpit width is better.
• Two braces run from the top third of the hoop, parallel to the car's sides and at the hoop's outer edges, rearward where the car allows. A diagonal brace keeps the hoop from folding sideways: usually bottom corner to opposite top corner within the hoop, or from the base of one rear brace to the opposite top corner. A V between the rear braces is acceptable on convertibles built in 1990 or later.
• Tubing is seamless or DOM mild steel (SAE 1010, 1020, 1025) or 4130 alloy. Minimum size depends on the car's weight without driver, with a 0.010 inch tolerance on wall thickness:

• Welds are full penetration, craters filled, undercut no deeper than 0.01 inch. An inspection hole of at least 3/16 inch, drilled in a non-critical spot at least 3 inches from any bend or weld, may be requested.
• The bar mounts to the frame wherever possible. On a unibody car, floor mounting plates are through-bolted to a backing plate of the same size and thickness on the other side of the panel. Bolted plates are at least 3/16 inch thick with at least three bolts each. Welded plates are at least 0.080 inch thick and ideally run up onto a vertical surface such as a door pillar. All hardware is Grade 5 or better, 5/16 inch minimum.
• Removable bars must be as strong as fixed ones: telescoping joints at least 8 inches long, each secured by two bolts (one bolt if the other end is welded to the hoop).
• Padding of at least 1/2 inch of firm, non-rebounding material anywhere a helmet could reach. SFI 45.1 or FIA 8857-2001 padding preferred.

Seat

A one-piece bucket racing seat, solidly mounted, that holds the driver fore, aft, and sideways, with proper routing for a five-point or better harness including the sub-strap. Stock seats may not be cut or modified to take a harness. Aftermarket seats go in per the maker's instructions. Matching equipment on the passenger side is strongly recommended.

Harness

• Five, six, or seven points, with separate shoulder straps.
• Labeled SFI 16.1 or 16, or FIA 8853/1985 with amendment 1/92, 8853/98, or 8854/98.
• Two-inch shoulder straps only in combination with a head and neck restraint.
• No cuts, fraying, or abnormal wear. Retiring a harness at its expiration date is strongly recommended.
• Straps routed through a harness bar must be wrapped and locked the way the harness maker shows.

Fire suppression

A fire bottle, extinguisher, or plumbed system, mounted in metal quick-release brackets where the belted-in driver can reach it. Minimum capacity is one of:

• An on-board system built to road-racing standards.
• Halon 1301 or 1211, 2 lb by weight.
• Dry chemical, 2 lb, with a gauge showing charge, rated 10BC or 1A10BC.

Helmet

Level 2 drops the older and motorcycle ratings. Accepted: Snell SA2015, EA2016, SA2020, or SA2025; SFI 31.1 in 2015 or 2020 editions; FIA 8859-2015, 8860-2010, or newer. In any car without a DOT windshield, or with a smaller-than-stock windshield, the helmet must be full-face and a shield must be worn.

Driver clothing

• A driving suit rated FIA 8856 (1986, 2000, or 2018) or SFI 3-2A/5 or higher. An SFI 3-2A/1 suit is acceptable only over fire-resistant underwear.
• Gloves of leather or fire-resistant material, with no holes.
• Fire-resistant socks.
• Shoes with leather or non-flammable uppers covering at least the instep.
• A fire-resistant balaclava if you have a beard or mustache.

Recommended at Level 2

• A head and neck restraint, wherever the seat and belts can work with one.
• A driver's-side window net or arm restraints.

Section IV: Safety Level 3 (race cars)

Level 3 applies to any car on non-DOT tires and to cars built from the ground up for racing: formula cars, sports racers, specials, and tube-frame chassis. It is Level 1 and Level 2 with a full roll cage in place of the roll bar.

Roll cage

• Layout. A main hoop behind the driver spanning the full cockpit width, a front hoop, side protection, a diagonal in or behind the main hoop, a horizontal bar at shoulder height, and two rear braces to the chassis. Open cars also run two forward braces to the front hoop.
• Height. In closed cars the main hoop hugs the roof and B-pillars. In open cars it clears the driver's helmet by at least 2 inches.
• Mounting. Production-chassis cars attach the cage at six or more points inside the passenger compartment. Tube-frame cars build the cage into the frame. Welded plates 0.080 to 0.25 inch thick. Bolted plates at least as thick as the tube they carry, backed by a matching plate, with Grade 5 or metric 8.8 hardware of 5/16 inch or larger.
• Tubing. Seamless or DOM mild steel, 4130 alloy, or Docol R8. No ERW, and no mixing mild and alloy steel. Sizes follow the Level 2 weight table, with 1.00 x 0.060 permitted below 1,000 lbs. Bend radius at least three times the tube diameter.
• Welds. Full penetration, continuous around the tube, free of cold lap, porosity, and cracks.
• Padding. At least 1 inch wherever the driver could contact the cage.
• Homologated cages. An FIA or MSA certified cage with its identification plate and paperwork is accepted as built.

Accepted logbooks

A car carrying a current logbook from NASA, BMW CCA, PCA, or POC runs on that logbook. A vintage car with a logbook from CSRG, SOVREN, SVRA, VARA, VMC, VDCA, HSR, or AIS runs under its own body's safety specs.

Questions

If you are not sure which level your car falls under, or whether a particular roll bar or seat qualifies, email info@stackedontrack.com before the event with photos. It is much easier to sort out in advance than at tech.