Lucky Dog Racing: Truck Series Rules & Regulations

TRUCK SERIES RULES & REGULATIONS
2023 Edition

About the League

The purpose of Lucky Dog Racing: Truck Series is:

1. Provide an entertaining competitive league for fans of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

2. Allow members who aren't able to get into the Cup or Xfinity Series yet, a place to play.

3. Act as a stepping stone and training ground before playing with the Xfinity & eventually Cup members.

3. Provide a database of members for the Cup & Xfinity leagues. If any member leaves the Lucky Dog Racing: Xfinity Series during the year, a Truck Series member may be called up to replace them. Members in the Xfinity Series can eventually be called up to the Cup Series.

Xfinity Series call-up clause

If you join Lucky Dog Racing: Truck Series, there is no guarantee that you will be called up to the Xfinity or Cup Series. It all determines on availability. 47 members are all that we allow in the Cup Series and 50 in the Xfinity Series. If nobody leaves or is removed, there is no room for any Truck Series members to join. If, however there is a spot that opens up, the following factors determines who will be called up.

1. After the 5th race of the year, the highest member who is within the top 10 of the Truck standings, will be asked to join the Xfinity Series. If all members within the top 10 are already in the Xfinity Series, the first eligible member on the Xfinity Series waiting list will be called up. During the off-season, after the top 10 members are called up for openings, the waiting list will be used. Members are ranked by the date in which they join.

2. Once a member is selected, an email will go out to that individual informing them of the opening. From the date that the letter is mailed, that individual has 5 days to email it back to the President.

3. If the individual does not return the letter back in time, the next eligible player will then be asked. The first player will have to wait until the next opening is available before they will have a chance again.

4. IMPORTANT: Once a player is given the opportunity to join the Xfinity Series, and they fail to act on it... they will not be notified of any future Xfinity openings. They will only be notified if they email the President back and inform him that they wish to join again at the next opportunity. There will be no reminder emails sent to them. The member can be placed back on the waiting list, however they will be placed at the bottom.

5. At the end of a season, the Xfinity series may expand with additional spots. The highest finishing member or members at the end of the season will be called up to the Xfinity series. The league will determine if the series will expand the following season by the amount of membership turn-around during the previous season. The Xfinity series will eventually be capped off at 55 members.

Truck Series league operation

1. The season is divided into 4 segments. You will pick one segment truck for each of the 4 segments.

2. You must use one segment truck in each of the top 4 classes during the season.

3. Each week you will also choose 5 Truck Series drivers from 4 different classes and one wildcard class.

4. You receive points for how well your driver does for each race. Some points will be added and some may be subtracted. See the Points breakdown below.

5. Your points from each race will determine where you finish in relation to the other members. Those points will be converted into a scoring system that NASCAR uses and will be used within the standings.

Navigating the site

You should be visiting the site at least once a week to see where you placed the previous week, where you are in the standings, and to submit your picks for the next week. You should also visit it to read up on any latest news or rule changes. This section will explain each link on the site's menu:

Truck Series Picks Form - This is where you will go each week to make your picks. Select your 5 drivers from the 5 classes and hit submit, simple as that!

View League Truck Picks - After the deadline has passed, everyone's picks will be posted here. You can view yours and all the other members as well.

Schedule/Results - This page displays the schedule for the current season. After a race has been completed, you can click on the race link to see the results.

Segment Driver & Scores - This page lists all the scores for the segment drivers throughout the season. You can also view this page to track which segment drivers you picked and the different classes you have used already.

Lucky Dog Truck Drivers - This lists the members competing in the Truck Series league.

League Standings - This shows the standings for the Truck Series League. It shows how many starts, wins, 2nd place, 3rd place, top 5's top 10's and provisionals each member has.

Message Board - This is the message board for the league. Members can post whatever they like. Sometimes the President will post important messages too. It is encouraged that you visit the board often and communicate with other members there.

Official Rules - The rules & regulations for the Truck Series league, where you are now!

League Entry Form - This is where you can find the entry form to join any of the leagues that Lucky Dog Racing has to offer.

Main Truck Page - Will take you to the main page of the Truck Series league.

Main Page - Will take you to the home page of the main league. The main page features the race results from the last race. Click the top of the rankings where it says race results to go the expanded version. The main page also shows the top 10 drivers in the league, latest news, and other feature columns.

Truck Series Rules

Creating a team

Choose a name for your team. Please pick a decent sounding name, nothing vulgar. Please choose something racing related. The President of the league has the right to reject any name you choose. Please keep in mind that the team name that you choose for yourself will be used in the Xfinity and Cup league if you eventually get called up!

Pick a sponsor, truck number and manufacturer. You can only choose a number and sponsor that has not already been picked by another member.

Members are restricted to running just one team per player. Each team must have their own email. Picks must be made by that person alone. If there are 2 or more members in a household that use the same computer, please inform the President of this. If an investigation determines that one member is running 2 or more teams, those additional teams or all teams may be removed.

After your team is created, it is then your responsibility to pick drivers for each race. Failure to do so can result in the removal from the league.

Segment trucks

The season is divided into 4 segments, each consisting of 5-6 races. For each segment you must pick a new segment truck. You must pick a driver in a truck from each of the top 4 classes once during the season. Once you choose a truck, you can not pick it again even if it moves to a different class. If there are different drivers in the same truck then you will receive points regardless of which driver is racing that week. You can pick your 4 different trucks in any order throughout the season but you must make sure that one truck is used from each of the top 4 classes. Segment truck driver points are scored differently than your core drivers.

All league members will select new segment trucks at the start of each new segment. It does not matter how many races you have used your segment truck for. If you are joining the league late in the season, you must pick a new segment truck with all other league members even if you have used that truck for just 1 or 2 races!

If a member does not change their segment truck at the appropriate time, they will receive -5 points for that driver in the truck for each race until they pick a new truck.

If a member chooses another truck in a class that they have used already, they will receive -5 points for that driver in the truck until they pick a new truck in a different class.

Segment trucks can not be changed under any circumstances until the next segment begins! You should research that the truck you are choosing will be running in all of those races.

Picking core drivers

In addition to your segment truck, you will choose 5 core drivers each week. Drivers are divided into four different classes by owners points. The top 3 classes will consist of five drivers each. The 4th class will consist of the rest of the drivers in the field. You will choose one driver from each of the top 4 classes, with the option to choose a fifth wildcard driver from any of the drivers in the field. All drivers that are attempting to make the race will be listed on the picks sheet. You can not use the driver of your segment truck as a core driver! If you choose that driver as one of your core drivers, you will receive 0 points for that driver. Essentially, if you pick the same driver as your segment truck driver, you will only have 4 core drivers that week.

Usually by Monday evening, the Truck Series race entry list is made available and the league will link right to it on the picks page. Once the picks deadline has passed, everyone's picks will be displayed on the site by the next morning.

Weekly submission form

You must submit your picks each week. Failure to do so will results in penalties, please read below. Please be careful choosing your Truck picks before the race entry list is released. Some drivers that you choose may not be attempting the next race. If a driver that appears on the picks form is not attempting the race, you will not be docked any points for that driver. Occasionally a driver might slip by the President when creating the picks form. You should make it a habit to double check the race entry list. You will be docked for a driver if you keep the same picks from the previous week and one of your drivers is not on the new entry list or picks form.

Pick deadlines

The deadline for each race will be posted every week and weekly letter will be emailed to the league once the picks form has been changed over. Once qualifying has begun, you may not change your picks under any circumstances. Even if qualifying is rained out or delayed, the deadline will remain the same for the league.

Lateness of picks & provisionals

If your picks are not received by the deadline for the race, you will be considered late and will not be able to submit them afterwards. When you miss the deadline, your picks from the previous race will be used. The first time that you miss you will receive half points from your drivers used the previous race. The second time you will receive zero points. The third time you will removed from the league and unable to rejoin that season.

If your missed picks from the first week result in a top five finish, you will not receive playoff bonus points. If your missed picks result in a win, that win will not be counted towards making the playoffs.

If you are a new member signing up for the league after the start of qualifying, you won't be docked any points but you will be unable to pick the pole-sitter. Also, if you are late sending in your picks, in the case of tiebreakers with another member, you will receive the lower seed. Late picks will be considered provisionals and will be listed on the standings. If you know that you are going to be away the following week, you can submit your picks early for the next week or two. Just note which races you are submitting for. If you are going to be away for an extended period of time, please e-mail me and we can work something out.

Drivers not making the field

If you pick a driver and he doesn't qualify into the race you will not receive any points for that driver. All the drivers attempting to make the race will appear on the race entry list and on the picks form.

EXCEPTIONS: 1. If a driver that appears on the entry list gets sick, injured or by some other circumstance can not race that weekend, you will get the points of the substitute driver that will drive the same truck. If the truck is not run at all that weekend, you won't receive any points. In any case, if it happens before qualifying, you have the option to switch your driver.

2. If a driver does not qualify for the field in his designated truck, but gets into the race through a driver switch after qualifying, you will NOT receive the points for that driver. Essentially you are choosing the truck #'s, not the driver.

3. Segment truck - If your segment truck driver attempts to qualify for a race but does not make the field you will receive 0 points. If your segment truck driver does switch to another Truck after qualifying but before the race, you will not receive the points of that driver. Only members who picked the original driver of that Truck will receive the points. If a driver appears on the initial entry list but gets sick or injured that weekend, you will receive the points of the replacement driver if the Truck is run. If your segment truck does not race the rest of the segment, you must wait until the end of the segment to change it.

Scoring

The league follows the same system that NASCAR uses for both points earned by your picks and where you place at the finish of the race. Depending on the amount of players in the field at the start of the season, The race winner will receive that amount of points. With a 55 truck field, the winner will receive 55 points. Second place will receive 5 points below that. Each position will decrease by one point from there. The final five drivers will receive one point each.

Finish	Points	Finish	Points	Finish	Points	Finish	Points	Finish	Points	Finish	Points

1	55	11	41	21	31	31	21	41	11	51	1
2	50	12	40	22	30	32	20	42	10	52	1
3	49	13	39	23	29	33	19	43	9	53	1
4	48	14	38	24	28	34	18	44	8	54	1
5	47	15	37	25	27	35	17	45	7	55	1
6	46	16	36	26	26	36	16	46	6
7	45	17	35	27	25	37	15	47	5
8	44	18	34	28	24	38	14	48	4
9	43	19	33	29	23	39	13	49	3
10	42	20	32	30	22	40	12	50	2

In addition to the points allocated:

* The top 10 drivers from each of the first 2 segments in a race receive bonus points on a 10-1 scale.

* The race winner receives five bonus points.

* The pole sitter receives three bonus points. (These points are unique to Lucky Dog Racing. If qualifying is rained out, there will be no points awarded for the driver that sits on pole)

Maximum points for a driver: 60

Segment Truck Driver points use the same scoring system, however there are higher bonus points and penalty points. Here are the points that are added or subtracted to your drivers score:

SEGMENT TRUCK DRIVER RACE POINTS BREAKDOWN

Result	Points
Race winner	+3
Top 5	+2
Top 10	+1
Finishing between positions 21-30	-1
Finishing between positions 31-36	-2*
*Can not finish with less than zero points

Race rankings & tiebreakers

After each race, the spot that each member finished in will be displayed. If two members finish with the same amount of points, the member that picked the highest finishing segment driver will get the higher spot. If the segment trucks are the same, the member that picked the highest finishing driver that the other member does not have will be ranked higher. If two members have the exact same picks, the member that is higher in standings will get the higher spot. If a member sends their picks in late, they will be awarded the lowest seed in a tiebreaker.

Truck Series Playoffs

Lucky Dog Racing uses the same playoff format that NASCAR uses but will allow for more drivers. 16 drivers will qualify for the Playoffs which will take place over the final seven races of the season. Drivers can qualify for the playoffs by winning races in the first 16 races of the season, however they must be in the top 25 of the standings before the playoffs begin. Drivers can also make the playoffs by finishing in the top 10. The top 10 finishing drivers will be locked in while the remaining 6 spots will be winners inside the top 25 in points.

Prior to the start of the playoffs, all playoff drivers will have their points adjusted to 2,000, with additional playoff bonus points earned in the first 16 races.

At the end of the regular season, the top 10 finishing drivers will receive playoff bonus points to use in the playoffs. The driver finishing in first place will be declared the regular season champion and will receive 15 bonus points in addition to the playoff bonus points that he earned during the season by winning races or finishing in the top 5. Second place will receive 10 points. Third will receive 8 points and will decrease by one point down to 10th place.

The playoffs are divided into three rounds. The first round (races 17, 18 & 19) starts with 16 drivers. If a driver in the Playoff Grid wins a race in the first round, the driver automatically advances to the next round. The remaining available positions 1-6 that have not been filled based upon wins will be based on points. Each will then have their points reset to 3,000.

The second round (races 20-22) starts with 8 drivers. If a driver in the top eight in points wins a race in that round, the driver automatically advances to the Championship 4. The remaining available positions 1-4 that have not been filled based upon wins will be based on points. Each will then have their points reset to 4,000.

Additionally, drivers who are eliminated in the first two rounds will have their points readjusted. Each eliminated driver will return to the playoff-start base of 2,000 (plus any regular season wins bonus points), with their accumulated points starting with race #17 added. This will allow all drivers not in contention for the Truck Series title to continue to race for the best possible season-long standing, with final positions 5th-through-8th still up for grabs.

Four Drivers, First-to-the-Finish Championship Finale The 23rd and final race of the season will be the Truck Series Championship. Simply stated, the highest finisher in that race among the remaining four eligible drivers will win the Truck Series title.

Race errors

Occasionally there may be an error in the race results. The President is only human after all! It is stressed that you check each week that the correct drivers are posted that you picked! Do this when the starting lineup is posted to the race entry list after qualifying is completed. You should have the e-mail that I replied to after I received your picks. This is your proof for what you have picked. Send it to me if you see something wrong with your picks. Please make sure you send it to the loudemian@gmail.com address!

You should also check the computations after the race has been completed. Make sure your drivers were scored correctly. E-mail me ASAP if you see a mistake. There will be a 1 week grace period that any errors from a completed race can be fixed!! After the next race is completed, the previous race's results are frozen and can not be changed.

Community forum policy

All members have the option to read and post messages in the community forum. A member must first register a name before they can do so. Freedom of speech is always allowed on the board, however constant harassment against a member is not. Smack talk is allowed, however taking constant personal shots at a member is discouraged. If a member feels that they are being unfairly treated by another member, they have the right to bring this to the League President. This includes public posts and private messages. The President monitors the board as he sees fit. Firstly, a verbal warning will be emailed to the member to stop the personal harassment. If it continues, a suspension anywhere from a week to a month from the board will be instituted along with a month long probationary period. During the period, if the member continues the harassment against the individual, a long term suspension will be instituted. This ban could last anywhere from a month to the rest of the season depending on the severity on the harassment. A member WILL NOT be kicked out of the league for any behavior on the boards.

League dismissal & re-entry prohibition

The league will only dismiss a member during the season for the following reasons:

If a member does not submit their picks for 3 weeks in a row they will automatically be removed from the league, unless there is an extraordinary circumstance that prevents otherwise.

If a member misses a total of 4 weeks of not submitting picks they will be removed, unless the council votes them to remain due to an unforeseen reason. A member may be allowed back into the league the following year if space permits and they can provide a suitable explanation. If they are allowed back in and it repeats again, they will permanently be banned from the league.

A member may also be removed from the league if they are found to be guilty of any detrimental actions that affect the entire league. This would include attempted sabotage of a league member's picks or trying to coerce other members to leave the league. These actions will be discussed and voted on by the Lucky Dog Planning & Leadership Council to determine the fate of that member's status in the league. The President also has the right to deny anyone entry into the league or to re-sign the following year for whatever reason he sees fit. These reasons may include problems during the previous season such as harassment of members, sabotage, bashing or degrading the league in some way.

Only once a member is accepted into the league after the start of the season will he have the rights and privileges that all members share.

Member rights

Once a member is accepted into the league for the season, they have the rights and privileges of all Lucky Dog Racing members.

1. All members have the right to submit picks each week for whatever league they are in.

2. All members have the right to partake on the community forum or Facebook group.

3. All members have the right to freedom of speech as long as it is not considered personal harassment to another individual. Members have the right to share their ideas or changes to the league.

4. All members have the right to bring a change, idea or concern to the President or any council member. That member has the right for that issue to be voted on by the council.

5. Members have the right to remain in the league without being forced out for any reason except for not submitting picks or for attempts to sabotage the league. Freedom of speech is allowed except when it is used to sway members away from the league. A member may not submit picks under another person's name in an attempt to sabotage their picks for the week.
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6. All members have the right to play in a fun and safe environment. If a member is harassed by another player, they have the right to inform the President and appropriate actions will be instituted.

Rule changes

The president has the right to change or amend any rule during the season. Most likely any change that occurs will happen before a race and will not affect the outcome of the previous one. Any rule change will be voted on by the league council and then posted on the site or e-mailed to all members. Most major rule changes will usually take place during the off-season.

17 Feb 2004