Revised November, 2008. Revisions/clarifications underlined, recommendations italicized. Refer to Official 2009 IMCA Rule Book or www.imca.com for General Rules.
The rules and/or regulations set forth herein are designed to provide for the orderly conduct of racing events and to establish minimum acceptable requirements for such events. These rules shall govern the condition of all events, and by participating in these events, all participants are deemed to have complied with these rules. NO EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED WARRANTY OF SAFETY SHALL RESULT FROM PUBLICATIONS OF OR COMPLIANCE WITH THESE RULES AND/OR REGULATIONS. They are intended as a guide for the conduct of the sport and are in no way a guarantee against injury or death to a participant, spectator or official.
The race director shall be empowered to permit reasonable and appropriate deviation from any of the specifications herein or impose any further restrictions that in his opinion do not alter the minimum acceptable requirements. NO EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED WARRANTY OF SAFETY SHALL RESULT FROM SUCH ALTERATION OF SPECIFICATIONS. Any interpretation or deviation of these rules is left to the discretion of the officials. Their decision is final.
2009 Sprint Car
1. SAFETY EQUIPMENT: Rules apply at all times car is on track. Snell-rated SA2000 or SA2005 or SFI 31.1/2005 helmet required. Roll bar padding (fire retardant recommended) required. SFI approved full fire suit required. Fire retardant gloves, shoes, stockings, underwear, hood and neck brace required. Head and neck restraints recommended. Competition SFI approved shoulder harness and lap belt (minimum three inches wide), sub-strap, and arm restraints required. Metal to metal buckles required on shoulder and seat belts. Seat belts recommended not to be over one year old. Window openings must remain open, except roll cage net on right side mandatory, left side recommended.
2. FRAME: Steel frames only. Minimum wheelbase 84-inches.
3. ROLL CAGE: (See diagram for roll cage specifications and measurements) Driver’s head must not protrude outside cage.
4. BODY: Must be of “sprint car” design in front. Full-length hood is recommended. Metal or fiberglass filler panels only. Triangular roll bar filler not to exceed 12-inches and must remain behind seat. Must have number on both sides of top wing - 15-inch minimum height - and number on each side of tail section - minimum 13-inch height. Recommended no holographic or reflective numbers.
5. WING OPTIONS:
(A) Top wing maximum 25 square feet and is not to extend outside wheels. Side boards maximum 30 inches high and 72 inches wide, with maximum 1.25-inch lip on top and bottom edges. Maximum 2-inch lip on rear of side board. Maximum 2.5-inch banana in wing and maximum 1-inch wickerbill. Optional nose wing limited to 24-inches by 36-inches, with 25-inch by 12-inch maximum side board. No other aerodynamic effects allowed.
(B) Top wing, maximum 16-square feet with maximum 18-inch sideboards.
(C) Non-wing.
6. DRIVER COMPARTMENT: Rock screen required. Aluminum high back seats only. Metal fume guard recommended. No mirrors. No in-cockpit adjustable shocks, torsion bars or weight jacks.
7. SUSPENSION: All shocks must be constructed of aluminum or steel.
8. REAR END: Quick change center sections are legal. Track option to spec a gear ratio maximum - not to exceed 7,200 engine r.p.m.
9. BUMPERS: Steel rear bumpers and nerf bars (rub rails) mandatory.
10. TIRES AND WHEELS: 102/16 Hoosier Race tire, stamped IMCA on right rear. Left rear Hoosier Race tire to be announced. No softening or conditioning of tires, no re-caps. Aluminum wheels only, bead locks optional.
11. BRAKES: Minimum three-wheel workable brakes (in board brakes allowed).
12. EXHAUST: All headers must have collectors. Some tracks may require mufflers or some other form of noise reduction.
13. FUEL SYSTEM: Racing fuel cell with bladder required. Check valve or overflow tube required. Overflow tube must be lower than tank, located on right side.
14. FUEL: Alcohol or ethanol. No performance-enhancing additives. No gasoline.
15. WEIGHT: Weight jacks allowed. No titanium products, parts or components. No gun-drilled, tubular or hollow bolts or studs. TRACK OPTION: Minimum weight limit of 1,550 pounds, with driver, after feature. 16. GAUGES AND ELECTRONICS: No transmitting or listening devices. No electronic monitoring computer devices capable of storing or transmitting information except tach. No electronic traction control devices ($10,000 fine). (See GM spec motor option)
17. TRANSMISSION AND DRIVE SHAFT: In-out box or slider required. Drive shaft (torque tube) must be fully enclosed. Drive shaft strap required.
18. ENGINE SPECIFICATIONS: All engines must run maximum 1.875-inch I.D. injector sleeves, minimum three inches long. Top of sleeves must completely seal the outer injector stacks, no holes or gaps allowed. Engines with injectors limited to 361 cubic inches, 364 Chrysler. No cubic inch limit on any engine without injectors. No down nozzle injectors, any size length nozzles allowed. Engine must be able to be used in conventional passenger car without alterations. Motor mounts cannot be removed or altered. Steel or aluminum valve covers only. 23° heads only. No offset or mushroom lifters. No titanium engine parts allowed except valve spring retainers. No aluminum blocks, crankshaft and connecting rods must be steel. Engine limited to two valves per cylinder. Engine subject to tear down by officials at any time.
SPEC ENGINE: Special test program may be implemented for GM EFI stock spec engine.
19. ENGINE PROTEST PROCEDURES: Within 5 minutes after race, any driver starting feature may, for $100, protest any engine. Driver may only make one protest per event, may not protest another driver finishing in a position behind them and may not protest same driver more than once per calendar year. One protest allowed per event, draw will determine if multiple protests made. Under this protest, crankshaft and connecting rods may be checked, and a direct measurement of cubic inches may also be done at this time. $100 will be returned to protestor if engine is found illegal. If engine being protested is found legal, $100 protest fee will be paid to driver being protested. If parts are found illegal, or if driver refuses to submit to protest, first infraction will result in forfeiture of all cash and contingencies, trophies and points earned in feature. Second violation will result in 30-daysuspension from all IMCA sanctioned events and until such time as a $1,000 fine is paid to IMCA. Promoter may protest any engine.
20. CLAIMING RULES: Refer to IMCA Operations and Inspection Manual or General Rules for claim eligibility requirements.
$800 cash claim on heads only. Claim does not include injection system, valve covers and push rods, but does include stud girdle and rocker arms.
21. POINT STRUCTURE AND PROCEDURES - Refer to IMCA Operations and Inspection Manual or General Rules.
22. EIRI (Except in rare instances) Newly franchised tracks will be allowed to compete utilizing their current rules. Decisions of IMCA Official(s) are final and binding without exception. In some cases, track safety rules may take precedence over IMCA rules - any discrepancy between IMCA and track rules should be brought to the attention of IMCA. Any rule changes or clarifications during the course of the year will be published in Inside IMCA, the official newsletter of IMCA, and will be considered as an official part of these rules.
For more information, call Tom Gutowski at 402-350-6120 or Bob Allen at 507-931-4803.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form, without prior written permission.
