nat. points

[dt 01]

after looking at race results i have thought about how i feel we need a new point system....i dont think it is fair to have a 1st 2nd 3rd so... on to count the same in overall National points in 4 to 5 boat fields as like 8 or 14 or whatever...has anyone ever thought the same .....maybe we could have like a bonus points on weekends if a class has over 6 boats or 8 or whatever the number would be....to me in stock where only your 15 race's count it sure seems like A big advange to only have 4 or 5 boats in your class every weekend.....

[Bill Huson]

Yes . . .

Many moons ago a point scale was proposed that rewarded drivers who raced in full or near-full heats as opposed to those who scored a win in a minimum entry heat, not to mention minimum entry heats where one or two boats were in the race to *make* the field legal.

Cool point system, but: More work for the scoring crew, and of course more work for the APBA cubicle bunnies in Detroit. And last but not least, way to many negative vibes and votes from those who made their awesome point totals racing in dinky heats.

[DrRick34-0]

The best idea I ever heard for this reasoning was back in AOF in the late 90's.
Unfortunately it was never approved. The rule goes like this: If there were 8 boats in a race, then the points went 8,7,6,5, etc. If there were 20 boats in a race then first was 20, second 19, third 18, etc. So you had to go to a lot more 4 and 5 boat races to be a high point, and the big races really helped your high point status.
Just thought I would throw this out there, and again it never was approved but i thought it did have some merit.

Rick Miller
34-0

[Kev43V]

It seems to me, that the classes with 5 or 6 boats in a region will then have none.

[dt 01]

It seems to me, that the classes with 5 or 6 boats in a region will then have none.

i understand that point that's why i was saying maybe just bonus point's if more boat's show up or you go to a larger race...why punish the bigger region or race....if a guy jumps or breaks one heat in a csh race with more than 12 boats he will not even make the final...if you only have 4 or 5 boats you could still get 2nd or 3rd place points just doesn't seem fair to me... only talking about Nation points not club or region points.

Dave Trisko 68R

[Kev43V]

By your description then. I would have to say that the point system as it is, helps keep the boat counts per class even. why punish the smaller classes? that is what you plan would do.

[Joe J]

This very subject has been discussed on this website a time or 2 as well.

I personally think that changing the system will hurt the smaller regions.

Joe

[dt 01]

change

i'm not the a guy saying change is a must or whatever ..just some thoughts i had after looking at the race results...then noticed a lot of the guy's up top in nation points only run against 4 or 5 boats every weekend....i know everybody has there own views on this i wanted to hear some....so far i think a bonus or what Rick is talking about could be good idea's....and Bill's look's like a very fair way to get NATION point's but i know that would be alot more paper work...

[aojesus]

points

Just my opinion,.....
Someone racing in a 4 boat field pays the same APBA membership fee as the racer racing in a 12 boat field. He/she also pays local club dues, entry fees, travel expenses e.t.c. as does the person with full fields. Regardless of the boat count they have payed up and showed up.

[PopPop]

In this day of computers it is very simple to set up an XL spreadsheet that would automatically compute points based on the number of entries at the national headquarters. Simply move the decimal point ie 400 = 40.0 225 = 22.5 etc etc. Them multiply by the number of entries.
First place; 10(entries) x 40 = 400, 6(entries) x 40 = 240
This is not rocket science. And it is fair!!!!!!

[Racerkyle20]

Yep it's tough

Region 10 this year has been tough in bigger classes, CSH in particular, with 12-15 boats a race regularly. This weekend should have elims in that class in Olympia...I don't really have an opinon on this subject yet casue i havn't thought about it that often. If your in a points chase and in a big region with lots of boats that means you just have to be more careful in how you race (as to not jump the gun, hit a buoy, etc). It almost prepares you for nationals...if you're going. That's how i've thought about the bigger boat count in CSH this year. Racing with 11 other boats will get me and others ready to race harder at nationals with full feilds. If someone comes out from a smaller region with less compitition you might not be ready for full feilds or used to it.

With that type of race week in week out the person in larger feilds is probably going to be more prepared at nationals. You may not like the points you can sometimes receive at races, but if you finish 4th (and the two of the three in front of you are a J Michael Kelly or Mike Perman) your doing pretty good against good compitition.

Kyle Bahl
20R

[ricochet112]

Does any other racing organization do a sliding scale for points? Every other type of racing that I've ever seen has the same points for all classes no matter the size or number of competitors. We do have bonus point races; NAC, Divisionals and Nationals, and there are usually more boats at these races.

I'm a fence sitter on this. It would be nice to reward those who have to be 10-12 boats each weekend, and it would be another chore and more work for those volunteers that do our scoring

[sam]

I can think of a reason not to change to point per boat scheme:

it penalizes the less popular race sites, making them that much harder to break even on costs and possibly loosing the site altogether. Too many times racers looking for hight points will say ... "I'm not even going to bother to go to that race, I'll only have a chance at 120 or 160 points at most ... why should I go?" This kind of sentiment is more common than many wish ... too many drivers are looking for points rather than having fun and supporting clubs.

Leaving the scheme as it is, increases the reward for drivers to attend and support all their 'local' races. We need maximum attendance and participation at every possible site to keep racing viable

[Graham 18ce]

One we are doing up here is hosting a Charity Race Series that is a set number of sites. Anyone can pay to join in and you can select one class or all your classes. Bonus points are added based on number of boats in the heat and additional points are added for the people who hit every race in their class.

Every year we end up a Crystal Lake, NY with 2 or 3 guys all in different classes trying to figure out who is going to win.

The bonus points are not added to hurt the smaller classses, just aid the guys in the big classes to even the field. if you are running 4 or 5 boat heats and you are fast you are easily picking up you 400 or 300 points every day. if you are fast in a 10-15 boat classes you might only be picking up occasional wins and common 4-6 places spots but you are working harder to get the results.

just something we tried and it seems to be working very well. the fast consistant guy is always going to win, doesn't matter if it 4 boats or 15 boats, this just keeps it closer.

[Skoontz]

I'm with Joe and Sam (the red lined paragraph) on this. At one point, region 12 was huge and anywhere in the country that a region 12 boat showed up, it was usually going to be hard to beat. Then the numbers dwindled down from the invent of the canoe with handle bars and a squirt gun. Now, region 12 stock outboard racing is, hate to say very dead. Implementing a sliding scale system would punish the local racers, cause them to drive farther, eat more fuel, and, eventually, loose precious race sites by lack of interest along with the governmental knit wittery currently dealt with.

I always wondered however how come gun jumpers are DQed rather than being pushed back a lap.