Revamped Handicap, Double File Restarts Add To Excitement At Woodhull
Story By: STEVEN OVENS / WOODHULL RACEWAY – WOODHULL, NY – Last weekend Woodhull Raceway held their annual rules meeting at Woodhull’s local volunteer fire department with several divisions. Changes were discussed and reviewed, with additional changes being requested from drivers. Final rules are now posted online at www.woodhullraceway.com.
After the rules meetings wrapped up, track officials held a meeting to review several procedural changes for 2018. Changes including a new procedural rules for all restarts and a revamped handicap system- both of which are being changed to enhance the on-track product and provide a better show for the weekly fans in attendance.
The first change is a big change regarding restarts. 2018 will usher in a new era of “Delaware Double File” restarts throughout the entire race, as opposed to only being up to the halfway mark of the event. In a Delaware Double File restart, the leader of the race gets row one to their lonesome, with second and third place making up row two.
If consecutive cautions fall for incidents on the track, it will be at the discretion of race control and the on-track officials to call for a single file restart to keep the show moving. Once consecutive laps are put on the board, the race will resume double file restarts. Starts and restarts will also see a cone be placed exiting turn four on the frontstretch, with no car being able to make a pass until they reach the cone.
“This move is being made to increase the excitement of our races this season,” said Woodhull Raceway owner and promoter Ted White. “We’ve all been to races where there’s a yellow with five to go, a single file restart and then you have what you have. Our goal is for the fans to see the best show possible and this is going to make it exciting.”
In addition to double file restarts, the track’s handicap system is getting revamped as well. Last season, the handicap included points earned for heats and features. For 2018, the handicap will use a ‘money earned’ format, with the format listed below being used across all divisions to determine the handicap order.
Drivers will continue to draw for heat position at the pit gate, with the top twelve drivers in heat qualifying earning their handicap starting spot for the feature. This will allow drivers not following weekly action for points to join a weekly program and have a chance to start no worse than row six for the feature event. In the event that a division does not draw twelve cars, the entire field will be handicapped.
“We found last year that going by points didn’t really work out the best because there just wasn’t enough points gap in between positions,” said track Media Director Steven Ovens. “We listened to our racers and have come up with a money earned system that handicaps a win a lot more than it did in 2017. We had more winners with the handicap, we had four point races come within one point at season’s end, so we know this is the right way to go for 2018.”
The 2018 handicap system will be the same across all divisions and is as follows:
1)$1,200
2) $800
3) $600
4) $450
5) $400
6) $350
7) $300
8) $250
9) $225
10) $200
11) $190
12) $180
13) $170
14) $160
15) $150
16) $140
17) $130
18) $120
19) $110
20) $100
21) $90
22) $80
23) $70
24) $60
The points system for heats and features used in 2017 will remain unchanged.
Swarthout Recycling To Present 2018 Woodhull Arnot Mall Car Show Mar. 16-18
‘New York’s Toughest Bullring’ is gearing up for their 2018 season- their 54th consecutive season of racing at the Woodhull, NY facility founded by the Williams family and now owned and promoted by Ted and Brandi White.
But before any laps are turned on the Steuben County third-mile oval, racers and fans can look forward to the annual Arnot Mall Car Show, which will be sponsored once again by Swarthout Recycling for the 9th year in a row on Friday March 16th through Sunday March 18th. Woodhull’s car show is annually one of the busiest weekends for the Arnot Mall, located directly off Interstate 86 in Big Flats, NY and the 2018 version expects to be no different.
Swarthout Recycling is a well-known supporter of local motorsports located in Beaver Dams, NY. They specialize in scrap metals including mixed steel, aluminum, copper, brass and cast iron. The recycling department accepts cardboard, newspaper, mixed office paper and junk mail, clear and green glass, tin and plastic.
Swarthout is also a race fan’s go-to source for household and commercial refuse. Their large fleet of trucks and equipment has one of the area’s largest assortments of roll-off canisters in various sizes. They can also provide front-loading trash dumpsters in 2, 4, 6, and 8 cubic yard sizes for commercial refuse.
As if those services weren’t enough, Swarthout Recycling also can provide demolition, long haul trucking and a state-of-the-art mobile document destruction vehicle for safe and secure shredding of delicate records and documents.
The always-potent Woodhull racing community will line the halls of the Arnot Mall starting with move-in night on Friday March 16th as the mall closes business that evening. Saturday and Sunday will be the official car show with the raceway having a large display in center court.
One twist for 2018 will feature educational seminars that will be completely free of charge for the Woodhull Warriors, a session for any first-season Woodhull racers and a session on tires with a representative from American Racer.
For the third year in a row, Woodhull Raceway is proud to bring back the Team Pit Stop Competition held in center court on Saturday evening, slated to begin at 6:30PM.
Teams of three will be accepted featuring a jack man, tire carrier and tire changer, with crew members being allowed to enter the contest on only one team. The competition will feature changing a right rear tire in the fastest amount of time without leaving any lug nuts loose. Teams may register at the show OR by emailing the team name and team members to woodhullracewaypr@gmail.com.
There is no entry fee to enter your race vehicle into the car show, but you must submit your entry by Friday March 9th, 2018. You may submit your registration for the show by filling out the form online on our website www.woodhullraceway.com and following the link to the car show page on the site.
