New Format Unveiled for Winter Dirt Games USAC Sprint Finale
Ocala, Florida (February 3, 2022)………The USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car portion of Winter Dirt Games XIII will take on a different look for its $10,000-to-win Saturday night, Feb. 19, finale at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla.Over the first two nights of USAC Sprint Car events at the 3/8-mile D-shaped track on Feb. 17-18, total points will be calculated, which will “lock-in” the top-five in total combined points into Saturday night’s feature event.
The program for the USAC Sprints on Saturday night will have no qualifying, and will instead consist of three qualifying races, each 10 laps in length, lined up “straight-up” based on points from the first two nights. The lineup will snake with 6th overall in points on the pole of the first qualifying race, 7th in points on the pole for the second qualifying race and 8th in points on the pole for the third qualifying race, and so on.
The top-four finishers from each qualifying race will transfer to the feature. Those finishing 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, or 9th in each qualifying race will be placed into the semi-feature. Those finishing 10th on back in each qualifying race will be placed into a 10-lap C-Main, if needed, where the top-3 finishers will transfer to the semi-feature and occupy the final three starting positions of that race.
The winning drivers of each qualifying race will transfer into a dash with the top-5 locked-in drivers. Starting positions for the dash will be drawn for with the qualifying race winners selecting first when they stop for their winner’s interview, followed by the lock-ins. Positions 1 and 2 on the front row for the feature will only be available in the draw to the five drivers previously locked in. The finish of the 8-car, 4-lap dash will determine the first 4 rows of the feature.
The top-5 finishers from the 12-lap semi-feature will transfer into the night’s feature, filling the final five positions in the feature starting lineup.
Saturday’s feature will consist of 22 cars (not counting up to two provisionals) and 35 laps, as determined by the finishing order of the dash – 1st place finisher starts 1st, 2nd place finisher starts 2nd, and so on. Thursday and Friday night feature races will be 30 laps in length.
If Thursday’s or Friday’s events are canceled, Saturday night’s event will retain the standard format.
Winter Dirt Games XIII begins with the 2022 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget openers on Feb. 11-12 at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla. A dedicated practice night will precede the festivities on Feb. 10.
The second half of WDG brings on the beginning of the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car season Feb. 17-18-19 at Bubba Raceway Park. A practice night on Feb. 16 for the series precedes three consecutive full nights of racing.
On race days, pits open at 4pm ET, front gates open at 5pm and cars on track at 6pm with qualifying and racing immediately following.
Race day tickets will be available at the gate on race day. No pre-order is necessary.
For practice nights, on-track action runs from 7-10pm ET. Grandstand admission is free for practice while pit passes are $20 apiece.
All nights of Winter Dirt Games XIII can be watched LIVE on FloRacing.
THURSDAY & FRIDAY POINTS BREAKDOWN:
On the first two nights, 100 points goes to the fastest qualifier each night, decreasing by one-point throughout the remainder of the field.
For heats, the winner will receive 60 points, with each position decreasing by 4 points throughout the balance of the field.
In the D-Main (if needed), transfers will not receive points. Non-transfers from positions five on back will receive points, starting with 25 for the fifth-place finisher and decreasing by 1 on back through the rest of the field.
In the C-Main (if needed), transfers will not receive points. Non-transfers from positions four on back will receive points, starting with 60 for the fifth-place finisher and decreasing by 2 on back through the rest of the field.
The semi-feature will once again have no points for the top-six transfers. The seventh place finisher will earn 90 points with each position decreasing by 2 points throughout the pack.
For the feature, 200 points goes to the winner and decreases by 5 points throughout the top-five. For positions 6-10, the points will decrease by 4 for each starting with 176 for 6th. From the 11th place finisher on back, the points will decrease by 3 for each position, starting with 157 for 11th.
QUAL HEAT D C B
100 60 – – –
99 56 – – –
98 52 – – –
97 48 – – –
96 44 25 60 –
95 40 24 58 –
94 36 23 56 90
93 32 22 54 88
92 28 21 52 86
91 24 20 50 84
90 20 19 48 82
89 16 18 46 80
88 12 17 44 78
87 8 16 42 76
86 4 15 40 74
85 14 38 72
84 13 36 70
83 12 34 68
82 11 32 66
81 10 30 64
80
79
78
77
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
(Dave Olson Photo)