Summary of the NFCL 2017 rules changes:
- Prize distribution will be: 60% of total chips to winner; 25% of total chips to 2nd place; and 15% to 3rd place. It's essentially the same as always, just easier math for us at the end.
- The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) is now awarding points for drivers finishing in the top ten positions in Stages 1 & 2 as part of their regular season format and we are following suit. The MENCS points format is now: finishing position points + stage 1 finishing position points + stage 2 finishing position points = final race points. We have no choice but to follow this change as they've adjusted their points format completely and if we didn't follow this, we would have to subtract the stage points from whatever final points amount was posted on nascar.com after each race. This would require tracking each driver and going back to both stage finishing orders and doing a bunch of math - which we're not going to do. One could almost make the argument that we haven't made any rule change here: we're just following whatever nascar.com lists as points awarded for each race which is business as usual.
- The MENCS is now awarding five bonus points for winning the race but only awarding those points if that driver makes the MENCS Playoffs Chase. Sound familiar? Essentially, they're now following our rules...we only award bonus points for wins only if you make our Chase.
- The MENCS is also awarding Chase bonus points for regular season stage 1 & 2 wins and we are following suit. If a driver you choose wins stage 1 or 2 in any race, you will get one bonus point awarded to your total to start the Chase - if you make the Chase. Same Wild Card rules apply: you must finish in the top eight in order to keep and use your bonus points. Larry will add another column to our spreadsheet that tracks Stage Wins just like he does Regular Season Wins. Again, you have to make the Chase and finish in the top eight during the regular season in order to use them.
- Stage Wins bonus points will be applied in the Chase in the same format as race wins: within each Chase race, if you win stage 1 or 2, you get a bonus point added to the start of the next round if you advance.
- Per the new MENCS points system, there are no more bonus points for leading laps or most laps led.
RULES FOR THE 2017 NASCAR FANTASSY CUP LEAGUE
ENTRY FEE
1) Entry fee for the 2017 NASCAR Fantassy Cup League (NFCL) season is 200 chips per team
a) The Commissioner's fee is waived
2) Send entry fee chips to the NFCL Commissioner: Larry Laviolette, 1187 Skyline Drive, Canyon Lake, TX 78133 or PayPal larry.laviolette@gmail.com (please be sure to go to the ‘Personal’ tab and select ‘Gift’ to avoid extra charges)
3) If the Commissioner does not receive a team’s entry fee chips by the scheduled green flag drop time for the second race of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) season, March 5th in Atlanta at 2:30 PM EST, that team will not be allowed into the NFCL 2017 season
PRIZE DISTRIBUTION
4) The prize distribution is dependent on the number of teams in the NFCL; number of teams is TBD
1st place = 60% of the total chips
2nd place = 25% of the total chips
3rd place = 15% of the total chips
SUBMITTING PICKS
5) For each scheduled MENCS race, NFCL team owners will pick and submit a driver for that race
a) The preferred way to submit your driver pick is an email to larry.laviolette@gmail.com
i) If you don’t have access to email, call or text the Commissioner’s mobile number at (210) 862 2976 (please program that into your mobile phone); if there is no answer, leave a message
b) You cannot start the same driver more than twice during the season: if you start the same driver more than twice, you get zero points for that race and get penalized the use of your top remaining driver (see rule #4 below for explanation of how this works)
c) Your pick must be submitted before the scheduled green flag time as per the NASCAR.com website
i) “Scheduled” is defined as the time when the green flag is supposed to drop (e.g., the 2017 Daytona 500 has a 2:00 PM EST green flag drop time); it is not when the green flag actually drops
ii) If the race is delayed and NASCAR moves the scheduled green flag drop time back, you do not get more time to submit your pick; the deadline will remain the scheduled time prior to the delay
iii) The exception is if inclement weather is imminent and NASCAR moves the scheduled green flag drop time earlier in an effort to get the race in, the new green flag time will be the new deadline for pick submissions; please pay attention and submit your pick on time
d) If an NFCL team does not submit a pick in time, or if a team picks the same driver more than twice, that team gets zero points for that race and will lose their top available remaining driver according to the MENCS points system standings prior to the race
i) E.g., if you forget to submit a pick for a race, and Jimmie Johnson is leading the MENCS points prior to the race, and you have at least one Jimmie Johnson pick remaining, you will lose that pick; if you have already used both of your J.J. picks, we will go to the second place driver in the MENCS standings and if you have at least one of those picks left, you will lose that pick, and so on until we get to your top remaining driver
(1) If there is a tie in the MENCS standings between your top available remaining drivers, we will go back in the MENCS standings to prior weeks to see which driver was ahead last and you will lose that driver
(2) If there is still a tie between those two drivers after going back through the previous races, we will choose the driver who last won a race
(3) If neither driver has ever won a race, we will choose the driver who finished higher in the standings the previous MENCS season
(4) If that doesn’t settle it, we will choose the driver who appears on top of the other driver in the MENCS standings on the NASCAR.com list from the previous week
e) If, for whatever reason, you don't have access to the Commissioner’s contact information, please contact another league participant and have them submit your pick
i) Picks submitted to other players will not be accepted unless they are forwarded to the Commissioner by the scheduled green flag drop time for that race
f) Proof of submission (if needed) will be in the form of:
i) Email - screen shot or picture of email in “Sent” folder
ii) Text - screen shot or picture of time-stamped text in conversation string
iii) Phone - screen shot or picture of call log with Commissioner’s mobile number
iv) Other compelling proof will be reviewed but not necessarily accepted
g) After the end of each race, you have nearly one week to submit your pick for the next race - please submit your pick in time
AWARDING POINTS
6) Total points awarded for each race will be the same as points awarded by the MENCS point system appearing in the official race results on NASCAR.com
a) The new MENCS points system: stage 1 finishing position points + stage 2 finishing position points + final race finishing position points = points awarded; we don’t have to do any additional tracking other than just copy/pasting what the NASCAR.com web site lists as final points for each race
i) The MENCS is awarding points for finishing in the top 10 in both stages 1 & 2; they have incorporated it into their new points format and we have no choice but to follow suit
ii) The MENCS is awarding drivers 5 bonus points for winning the race but only applying it if they make the Chase - essentially, they’re following our rules now - and this rule will not apply to the NFCL directly
b) NFCL Chase Bonus Points will be awarded for race wins and stage wins during the NFCL/MENCS regular season
i) If you choose a driver who wins a race, you will earn three bonus points to start the NFCL Chase
ii) If you choose a driver who wins stage 1 or 2 during a race, you will earn one bonus point to start the NFCL Chase
iii) You must qualify for the Chase and finish in the top eight during the NFCL/MENCS regular season to be eligible for these bonus points
iv) Bonus points will be awarded in a similar fashion during the Chase (explained in the NFCL Chase rules below)
c) If you choose a driver who is not eligible for MENCS points (e.g., an Xfinity Series driver racing in a MENCS race, or a road racing specialist who isn’t a full time MENCS driver, etc.) and NASCAR.com shows that driver receiving zero MENCS points after the race, we will award the points typically awarded for that finishing position
i) Note: the NFCL wants to encourage use of all drivers for each MENCS race and reward owners who take risks and use their racing knowledge to their benefit, so, if a driver who is not eligible for MENCS points leads a segment, the NFCL team who chose that driver will be awarded the segment bonus point under our current rules
ii) We might have to track segment finishing points for drivers ineligible for MENCS points if NASCAR.com lists an ineligible driver at zero points, but this will be a rare occurrence
iii) We can’t predict how NASCAR will be tracking this data, so we might have to adjust this rule as we go, but it will essentially stay as stated - if you lead a segment, you will get a bonus point to start the the Chase if you finish in the top eight during the regular season, or to start the next round within the Chase itself, and you will receive whatever points are associated with stage finishing positions
d) If NASCAR is not awarding bonus points for certain drivers in a race (e.g., the final race at Homestead) and you choose a driver affected by that rule, whatever points are posted in the official race results on NASCAR.com will be awarded
i) Note: Please be aware of all NASCAR rules affecting points awarded in all races; it is not the NFCL league’s responsibility to make team owners aware of NASCAR rules nor is it the role of the Commissioner to decide which drivers receive MENCS bonus points
e) If NASCAR penalizes a team or driver and takes away points due to an infraction that affected the car's performance, than any team who started that driver will have the same points deducted from their total for that race
i) If NASCAR takes away points from a driver due to an infraction that did not affect the car's performance (e.g., bumping another driver in the pit, fighting, cursing during an interview, etc.), any team who started that driver will not have points deducted
ii) This is always a difficult situation because we don’t have access to all information; we will try to be fair and base decisions on what is in the best interests of the league
7) The top three teams with the most points at the end of the season as per the NFCL Chase rules (below) wins the chip amounts posted in Rule #2
THE NFCL CHASE
8) Eligibility for the NFCL Chase and the Chase format will be as follows:
- The top eight teams in points after the NFCL/MENCS regular season will qualify for the NFCL Chase
- Any team with three or more wins during the first 26 races will automatically qualify for the NFCL Chase
- If a team is outside of the top eight in points after 26 races but has three or more wins, they will be added to the Chase as a Wild Card
- Points for the eligible teams entering the NFCL Chase will be reset to start the ten race playoff as follows:
2nd place team - 1016 points
3rd place team - 1013 points
4th place team - 1010 points
5th place team - 1008 points
6th place team - 1006 points
7th place team - 1004 points
8th place team - 1002 points
- Each NFCL Chase team in the top eight will receive three bonus points for each win accumulated during the 26 race regular season to start the Chase
* E.g., if a team finishes 6th in points and has 2 wins during the regular season, that team will start the Chase with 1012 points (1006 + 3 + 3)
- Each NFCL Chase team in the top eight will receive one bonus point for each segment win accumulated during the regular season
* E.g., if a team finishes 6th in points, and has 2 wins during the regular season, and has 5 segment wins, that team will start the Chase with 1017 points (1006 + 3 + 3 + 5)
- Wild Card teams are not eligible for bonus points and will each start the Chase with 1000 points
- The NFCL Chase is a four round format starting at Chicagoland (race 27) and continuing through Homestead (race 36)
* A win in any round automatically advances that team to the next round (in theory)
§ Wins result in three bonus points added to that team’s total to start the next round during the Chase (if that team qualifies for the next round)
§ Segment wins result in bonus points added to that team’s total to start the next round during the Chase (if that team qualifies for the next round)
* Only seven teams will advance after the first round
* Two teams will be eliminated after the second round
* Two teams will be eliminated after the third round
* Only three teams will enter the fourth and final round for the NASCAR Fantassy Cup
- First round (races 27-29) - “The Flirter”
* The top seven teams based on points accumulated during races 27-29 will advance to the 2nd round
* Wins automatically advance a team (in theory) and add three extra points to that team’s total to start the next round
§ If every team has a win(s), teams will be eliminated according to the tiebreaker rule below
* The balance of teams will be filled in according to points accumulated in the three-race Flirter Round
§ The first tiebreaker is number of wins in the current round
§ Second tiebreaker is number of wins during the entire Chase
§ Third tiebreaker is number of wins during the regular season
§ Fourth tiebreaker is number of points during the regular season
§ Fifth tiebreaker is whoever got their first win first
§ Sixth tiebreaker is whoever did better in MENCS regular season race #1, then #2, and so on
- Second round (races 30-32) - “The Teaser”
* The top five teams based on points accumulated during races 27-32 will advance to the 3rd round
* Wins automatically advance teams; same format for filling in the balance of teams and tiebreakers applies
- Third round (races 33 & 34) - “The Fluffer”
* The top three teams based on points accumulated during races 27-34 will advance to the final round
* Wins automatically advance teams; same format for balance of filling in the teams and tiebreakers applies
- Fourth round - (races 35 & 36) - “The Finisher”
* The three teams entering the Finisher Round will have their points reset to 2000
§ Three bonus points for each win in the previous Fluffer round will be awarded as will segment bonus points
* Wins in the Finisher round are worth three bonus points which will be added to their final total at the end of the round
* Segment wins in the Finisher round are worth one point which will be added to their final total at the end of the round
* The team with the most points after races 35 and 36 is the NFCL winner
§ Same format for tiebreakers applies
§ Please note that the MENCS modifies their points system for their final race; our NFCL will award whatever points that are posted in the official race results on NASCAR.com
RULES COMMITTEE
9) The Rules Committee (RC) has final say on any league issues
a) The RC is comprised of three members to avoid ties in voting situations
b) In the event of a discrepancy, the RC will hear arguments from all parties involved
i) The NFCL Commissioner will also provide his/her opinion to the RC, but will not have an official vote
c) In the event that one member of the RC is involved in a dispute, the Commissioner will take his/her place in the voting process
i) In the event that two members of the RC are involved in a dispute, the Commissioner will join in the voting process and will choose a tenured NFCL team owner to act as the third vote
ii) In the event that two or more members of the RC are involved in a dispute, the Commissioner will join the voting process and hand-select substitute RC members from the remaining team owners
iii) In the event that all members of the RC and the Commissioner are involved in a dispute, the Commissioner will hand-select three substitute RC members from the remaining team owners
d) The RC can solicit opinions from any team owner in the NFCL league about any matter, but is not required to do so
e) The RC might have to make up rules as they go, but will always act with fairness and the best interests of the league in mind
10) All future communications will be handled through this site: http://9monthsoffrustration.blogspot.com/
a) The Commissioner will try to get each week’s picks posted as soon as possible to the above web site
b) The Commissioner will track each team’s picks, finishing places, points earned, current NFCL standings, and try to be witty in a charming yet unassuming way on the web site, but the team owners are ultimately responsible for keeping track of picks and points; please check the web site information regularly to ensure accuracy (he’s just a redneck...this isn’t his day job...the only reason he’s doing this is because you wouldn’t...there are a lot of chips at stake so keep an eye on him)
11) The Commissioner will submit his pick to Scott Goodman (Rusty Truck) and Chris Nealon (Doc Beef) each week
2017 NASCAR Fantassy League Leadership
Commissioner:
Larry Laviolette: larry.laviolette@gmail.com
Rules Committee:
George Bunca: hoganshero206@hotmail.com
Chris Nealon: docbeef@hotmail.com
Scott Goodman: rustytruckrules@yahoo.com
