General: The 2007 Online 500 will be hosted on the Sierra matching servers using servers from GSXN.com. Whenever there is a problem, either with the servers, the admins are not present in the servers, or any other unforseen circumstance may arise; all drivers should check the Driver's Forums for any late-breaking announcements.     General Race Settings: Game: NASCAR® Racing 2003 version 1.2.0.1 by Papyrus Track: DaytonaMOD (version 2) AVAILABLE SOON Series: Cup (Cup physics) Mode: Simulation Forced Cockpit/Smoke: Off (Any view allowed) Driving Aids: Not Allowed Setups: Open Damage: Realistic Weather: Clear conditions, Temp and Wind determined by game     Overview: Qualifying will be held on Saturday, January 13th as a one-day ordeal. The qualifying schedule will be as posted in the Qualifying Section. Every driver will be allowed two attempts. If you choose to requalify, your second attempt will be what counts regardless if it is slower than the first attempt or not. The top two(2) fastest qualifiers from open qualifying advance to the 500, 3rd - 8th will be locked into the Twin 175s, and 9th - 200th will be seeded into Qualifier Races. The Qualifier Races will be run on January 20th. Each driver from 9th - 200th will be seeded into one of five(5) Qualifier race groups (Group A, Group B, Group C, Group D, Group E). Each group will run a total of three(3) races each scoring points in each race. The top 12 in points from each group after three races will advance to the Twin 175s to be held the following week. The final two positions will go to the top two(2)drivers with the most points from all five groups combined and also with the fewest incidents. So theoretically, someone from say Group B who finished 14th in points and someone from Group D who finished 17th in points could move on to the Twin 175s. This will reward racing hard yet racing clean. For the Twin 175s, the top 8 from Open Qualifying will be split into each race, Odd numbered qualifiers in race A, Evens in race B. The 62 drivers from the Qualifier races will also be split Odd and Even based on their finishing position in points. The top 15 (not counting the top 2 already in the 500) from each 175 will transfer to the TSW 500 main event. Qualifying: Open qualifying sessions will be held all on Saturday, January 13th. Each driver will get two attempts and can qualify at anytime. The latest attempt will be the one that is used even if it is a slower speed than the first attempt. So just as in the past, choosing to requalify will still have risks. The Open Qualifying sessions will be run one after another with one - two hour breaks scattered throughout the day. You can check the schedule below to see when qual sessions will be posted and when we will be taking breaks. You will qualify just as if you were in a normal race. You will enter a posted qualifying server (listed below) that will begin with 5minutes of practice followed by the Qualifying session. Your fastest lap ran in the Qualifying session will be what counts. Once the game scores you with a timed lap; your run will count regardless if you crashed, got booted, or anything else unforseen happens. Anyone running more than two attempts will forfeit all of their laps and be disqualified from the event. After the completion of your qualifying run, it is your job to save the replay of your qualifying run. There will be 5minutes of warmup to do so. There should be plenty of time to save your replay, so no excuses. You can always just save it, then edit it down to proper length and size at a later date. Any driver in the Top 200 after qualifying may be selected at random to send in their replay for inspection. Each driver from the top 10 will, for sure, be requested to send in their replay. DO NOT SEND IN A REPLAY UNTIL TOLD TO! INSTRUCTIONS ON SENDING REPLAYS WILL BE GIVEN AFTER QUALIFYING IS OVER. All replays will be reviewed and inspected by TSW 500 Officials. The replay must follow the below guidelines: The replay must be viewable by N2003. The replay must be of your actual qualifying run for the 2007 TSW 500. The replay must show a minimum of everything from you entering pitroad (from an empty pitroad to where your car appears on pitroad) with your foot off the gas at least for a second... all the way to crossing the start/finish line ending your final lap of your run. Again, the start of the replay must show you entering pitroad (from an empty pitroad to where your car appears on pitroad) with your foot off the gas at least for a second during the qualifying session before you take off to start your lap. The replay can show part of Practice and warmup, but please refrain from showing more than 30 - 60 seconds of each session. Any replay deviating from the above or with any other problems may be deamed as invalid and will result in a DQ. It is the responsibility of each driver to send in the replay correctly. If you have any questions, please ask either in the Forums (preferred) or via e-mail prior to Qualifying to avoid issues after you make your qual attempt. After being notified that you must send in your replay; you will be told what to name the replay, what to do with the replay, and when the deadline is for us receiving the replay. AGAIN, DO NOT SEND IN A REPLAY UNTIL TOLD TO! Remember that all announcements will be made in the Driver's Forums. No e-mails will be sent. Open Qualifying Open qualifying sessions will be held all on Saturday, January 13th. Each driver will get two attempts and can qualify at anytime. The latest attempt will be the one that is used even if it is a slower speed than the first attempt. So just as in the past, choosing to requalify will still have risks. When qualifying is over the top 2 will go directly to the TSW 500 main event. The top 8 will go straight to the Twin 175s while 9th - 200th will be seeded into Qualifier Races. The schedule for Open Qualifying is listed below:   Start Time (EST) End Time (EST) Server Morning 10:00am 12:00pm online500.com-1   Lunch Break 12:00pm 2:00pm   Afternoon 2:00pm 4:00pm online500.com-1   Break 4:00pm 6:00pm   Afternoon/Evening 6:00pm 8:00pm online500.com-1   Dinner Break 8:00pm 9:00pm   Evening 9:00pm 11:00pm online500.com-1 The top 200 in qualifying will be able to race their way into the main event. Anyone not in the top 200 will have sit back and wait for next year's event. All qualifying sessions will be monitored by an admin. Below are the rules all drivers must abide by while qualifying for the TSW 500. Qualifying Rules: The weather for open qualifying will be Clear 70° 0mph wind Once you complete a timed lap, your run will count regardless if you crashed, blew up, got booted, DQed, or anything else unforseen happens. Qualifying runs that result in a game DQ (IE: you touched or cut through the grass and the game DQed you) still count as a qual attempt if you completed a timed lap. There will be no cutting down pitroad or through the grass during any lap of your qualifying run. If you do you will be DQed from the event. All drivers must stay on the paved surface (Running on the Apron during Qualifying is allowed. However, DO NOT TOUCH THE GRASS!). Burnouts are not allowed. A burnout is considered a driver spinning the tires under acceleration which produces even a minor ammount of smoke. With a restricted engine and a high gear ratio there shouldn't be anyone spinning the tires on accident. Doing doughnuts or spinning out will also not be allowed. If you spin out, your qualifying run is complete. You are not allowed to stop on the track for any reason once you leave the pits until after your qualifying attempt is complete. Any driver stopping on the track after leaving the pits will be DQed from their qualifying run. The exception will be after you complete your run. No driving backwards or in reverse at any time. You must run your own qualifying run. No substitute drivers allowed. Any driver found to be racing or qualifying for someone else will be disqualified from the event as well as the driver being driven for. NO CHATTING DURING QUAL! If you have something to say to someone, please do it via a whisper. Chatting distracts the other qualifiers. If the admin deems you as a disruption you may be ejected. Qualifier Races: The Qualifier Races will be run on January 20th. Each driver from 9th - 200th will be seeded into one of five(5) Qualifier race groups (Group A, Group B, Group C, Group D, Group E). Each group will run a total of three(3) races each scoring points in each race. Each group of drivers will run their three(3) races pretty much one right after the other depending on when each race ends. Each group will race at the same time. You will race against the same drivers in all three races, earning pints based on your finishing positions in each race. The top 12 in points from each group after three races will advance to the Twin 175s to be held the following week. The final two positions will go to the top two(2) drivers with the most points from all five groups combined and also with the fewest incidents. So theoretically, someone from say Group B who finished 14th in points and someone from Group D who finished 17th in points could move on to the Twin 175s. This will reward racing hard yet racing clean. Qualifier Races Servers: TBA Time/Date: Race 1: Practice begins @ 7:00pm EST / January 20th                   Race 2: Practice Begins following Race 1, or no earlier than 9:00pm EST                   Race 3: Practice Begins following Race 2, or no earlier than 11:00pm EST Distance: 25% - 50 lap races Weather: Clear, Temp and Wind determined by game. Setup: Open Driving Mode: Simulation Starts: Double File Restarts: Double File Damage: Realistic Practice: 5 minutes Warmup: 5 minutes Password: TBA The top 12 in points from each group after three races will advance to the Twin 175s to be held the following week. The final two positions will go to the top two(2) drivers with the most points from all five groups combined and also with the fewest incidents. So theoretically, someone from say Group B who finished 14th in points and someone from Group D who finished 17th in points could move on to the Twin 175s. This will reward racing hard yet racing clean. GSXN.com 175's: And now, the 175's. This is just like the real life Daytona 500's Dual 150's.... with just a few more miles added on. The top 15 from each Twin 175 will transfer to the TSW 500 (not counting the top 2 qualifiers already in the TSW 500). Race B will be held immediately following Race A. GSXN.com 175's Server: TBA Time/Date: Race A: Practice Begins @ 8:00pm EST / Saturday Jan 27th                   Race B: Practice Begins following Race A Distance: 35% - 70 lap races Weather: Random Setup: Open Driving Mode: Simulation Starts: Double File Restarts: Double File Damage: Realistic Practice: 15 minutes Warmup: 5 minutes Password: TBA TSW 500: This is the main event, the TSW 500. This race is for all the marbles. This race will be held on its own day. The starting grid will be based off the qualifying held in the race qualifying session and will consist of the top 15 from each GSXN.com Twin 175 race, the top 2 fastest qualifiers from open qualifying, plus any driver taking the Past Winner's Provisional, and any remaining empty spots that may go to Promoter's Choice (Meaning, the TSW 500 Director and/or any TSW 500 admin will be able to choose any driver to fill the final spots even if they are not registered for the event). This race will be the full 100%, 200 lap, 500 mile event. The winner of this race (after all the post race protests and penalties of course <G>) will be crowned the 2007 Online 500 Champion and will receive a prize of choice from the prize list. TSW 500 Server: GSXN.com-TSW500 Time/Date: Practice Begins @ 8:00pm EST / Saturday Feb 3rd Distance: 100% - 200 laps Weather: Clear conditions, Temp and Wind determined by game Setup: Open Driving Mode: Simulation Starts: Double File Restarts: Double File Damage: Realistic Practice: 15 minutes Warmup: 5 minutes Password: TBA Rainouts: Because we race in a world of computers and the internet; unforseen things happen all the time. We have limited control over server stability when relying on internet stability as well. Because this is such a huge event where the best of the best compete in a one race showdown; the drivers and event officials all expect a certain level of quality from the connections of both the drivers and the servers.      For the most part, we usually have the most top of the line racing servers you can get. This is especially true this year as we race on GSXN.com servers. In addition, we will have SRN servers for use as backups. However, the stability of the internet is completely out of our control. Because of this, we have set up a set of procedures for each individual race within the Online 500 event. Each race is unique in its importance in the event as well as where it falls in the schedule. For this, we have set up separate procedures in case a race cannot be completed for whatever reason. Definition of an Official race Each race must hold a certain level of raceable connections to the drivers, and vice-versa. A race will only be considered official if it meets the following criteria: Race Officials determine the connections are stable enough to compete. The race completes halfway or more of the posted number of laps We have a server-side replay or standings allowing us to see the standings during each lap allowing us to go back a lap prior to any problems we may have. A race will not be considered official if: 7 or more drivers get booted at the same time before halfway. (if 7 or more drivers get booted after halfway, the race will be considered official the lap prior to the start of the booting) The server/internet crashes and we have no way of saving the server-side race replay or standings.     Please note that we reserve the right to switch to a backup server if needed. If the server proves to be stable enough for the majority of the drivers, then we will go ahead with the race. I am sorry if a few drivers' connections are not raceable with the backup server. That, unfortunately, is the way it goes sometimes with online racing. Sometimes we just can't please everyone when it comes to server connections. That is just, unfortunately, the breaks of online racing. If for some reason we cannot complete an official race in a particular race within the     Online 500 event; we will use the below procedures set up for each individual race within the event. Qualifier Races If a Qualifier race cannot be started within an hour of the posted start time, or the race crashes (server goes down) at a time during the race where it is not considered an official race; the race will not be rerun nor rescheduled and no points will be awarded for that race. If by some chance none of the 3 qualifier races can be run for that group; then the top 12 fastest from Open Qualifying that are in that particular group will advance. Explanation: The qualifier races are the most difficult races within the event to coordinate because there are multiple different races with 30+ drivers each. It will already be a long enough night with 3 races per group (5 groups), we do not need to race on past midnight. There is not enough time during the entire event to be able to shuffle races around to be able to re-run the Qualifier races. Now that everyone who does not transfer is still able to run the Last Chance races; there is still another chance for everyone to make it into the Twin 175s anyway. Twin 175's If a Twin 175 race cannot be started within an hour of the posted start time, or the race crashes (server goes down) at any time during the race and is not considered an official race, we will try and make an attempt to reschedule the race(s) needing to be rerun. We realize we will never satisfy every driver out there in a situation like this. However, we will try and please the majority in an attempt to have fun, clean and good racing. If a Twin 175 cannot be completed as per the above guidelines; we will then poll all drivers in the race(s) in question privately (no one will know how the other drivers voted). Each driver will be asked which night they could race if humanly possible: Sunday night after the original scheduled night of racing, or the following Saturday night prior to the start of the Online 500. The drivers can choose either night, or both if they are available to race both nights. We will go with what night the majority say they can race. However, we must also have a minimum of 90% of the field in the race(s) in question to agree on one night or the other. If we cannot get at least 90% of the field to agree on one night or the other, the race(s) will not be rerun and we will revert to open qualifying of the drivers in the Twin 175's to set the field for the Online 500. Online 500 We will make every attempt possibly to get the Online 500 completed sometime during the scheduled night. However, we cannot stay up until the wee hours of the night attempting to get the race in. If the Online 500 race cannot be started within two hours of the posted start time, or the race crashes (server goes down) anytime after lap 30 and is not considered an official race; we will reschedule the event to the next day (Sunday night). If for whatever reason we run into the same problem during this night where we cannot get it going within two hours of the start time or it crashes again where it is not considered an official race; we will then reschedule the event to the following Saturday night. We realize we will never satisfy every driver out there in a situation like this. However, we must make every attempt to not delay the event another week as to not conflict with Valentines Day and the Daytona 500; yet we cannot delay the event several weeks later. Hopefully, our luck is not so bad we have to delay the race this much to begin with. Results: After each race the top 5 are required to save the results. This ensures that someone has the results in case the officials or the server does not get them. Carset/Car Number: The carset and car numbers will be done for only the drivers that have made it to the Twin 175's. Each driver in the Twin 175's will request a car number, giving priority to the higher qualifier. Once you are secured into the Twin 175's you will have the option of choosing a car number, or allowing us to choose one for you if you prefer. Paint schemes will also be determined by the driver or by the admins if you prefer. Paint schemes must meet the Online 500 requirements. We reserve the right to reject or accept paint schemes individually for any reason. Please do not submit your paint scheme until told to. Calcutta: A Calcutta will be done for the main event. This is where each driver that has made the main event will be auctioned off and bid on to win the event. The time and Place will be announced prior to the event. It will be open to everyone including the drivers themselves. So yes, the drivers could bid on themselves if they want. The person picking the winning driver will receive half the pot, the rest of the pot goes to help pay for event costs. There will be a minimum bid of $10 per driver and will increase $5 per bid. That is a minimum of a $320 pot with half of it going to the winning bid. Payments must be made via paypal to the account that will be announced just prior to the auction. Further details will also be given just prior to the auction. This will give everyone that did not make the field a chance to participate in some way and possibly get something back just for taking interest in the main event of the Online 500.