2023 PODIUM 500 RULEBOOK

Table of Contents

1. OVERVIEW

1.1. Introduction

The Podium 500 is the premier special event of the year for Podium eSports and is one of the largest independent special events in iRacing. Drivers will compete using the NextGen stock cars throughout the second weekend of February to earn their place in Sunday afternoon’s 200-lap, 500-mile feature race at iRacing’s virtual Daytona International Speedway. More than 350 drivers have participated the past couple years to take their shot at the grand prize.

1.2. Schedule

All listed times are subject to change. Practice times will be made available 1 hour prior to qualifying, but drivers must be ready to advance up to 15 minutes early. This is dependent on the pace of the broadcast.

Event

Date/Time

Start (Practice)

Heat 1

02/08/2023 – Wednesday

07:00 PM (ET)

Heat 2

02/08/2023 – Wednesday

07:45 PM (ET)

Heat 3

02/08/2023 – Wednesday

08:30 PM (ET)

Heat 4

02/08/2023 – Wednesday

09:15 PM (ET)

Heat 5

02/08/2023 – Wednesday

10:00 PM (ET)

Heat 6

02/09/2023 – Thursday

07:00 PM (ET)

Heat 7

02/09/2023 – Thursday

07:45 PM (ET)

Heat 8

02/09/2023 – Thursday

08:30 PM (ET)

Heat 9

02/09/2023 – Thursday

09:15 PM (ET)

Heat 10

02/09/2023 – Thursday

10:00 PM (ET)

LCQ 1

02/11/2023 – Saturday

11:00 AM (ET)

LCQ 2

02/11/2023 – Saturday

12:00 PM (ET)

Duel 1

02/11/2023 – Saturday

01:00 PM (ET)

Duel 2

02/11/2023 – Saturday

02:30 PM (ET)

Feature

02/12/2023 – Sunday

11:00 AM (ET)

1.3. Driver Availability

It is strongly recommended by Podium eSports that all drivers wishing to compete in the Podium 500 ensure they do not have overlapping commitments during the event. Example: Drivers wishing to compete in iRacing’s Bathurst 12H endurance race should select the first Bathurst timeslot to ensure they are available Saturday afternoon for the Podium 500 qualifier races. We’ve scheduled our events to accommodate those wishing to also participate in the FTF 500 that weekend. We encourage everyone to attempt both!

1.4. Car Setups

All Podium 500 events use iRacing’s default fixed setups.

1.5. Announcements

For the most up-to-date information, including frequently asked questions, drivers are encouraged to join the Podium eSports Discord server.

2. REGISTRATION

2.1. iRacing Requirements

  • All active iRacing members may participate in the Podium 500.
  • Drivers must be registered in the Podium eSports LLC iRacing league no later than February 5, 2023 11:59 p.m. ET. Drivers are ultimately responsible for checking the league roster to confirm they are registered within the league on iRacing. Drivers who are not registered in the league will be ineligible to participate in the Podium 500 and will be eliminated from the Podium 500 without a refund.

2.2. Registration Form

  • Drivers must complete the <registration form> on the Podium eSports website.
  • Drivers must pay $26.25 to enter the Podium 500.
  • All entries are closed after February 5, 2023 11:59 p.m. ET. The first 400 entries will be accepted.
  • Drivers will be asked to submit their preferred car numbers only for the feature race. A driver’s car number will be ultimately assigned at Podium eSports’ discretion.

3. CAR APPEARANCE REQUIREMENTS

3.1. Overview

  • All paint schemes must abide by the Twitch Terms of Service and Trading Paints Terms of Service.
  • A driver’s default iRacing scheme will be shown on the broadcast if Podium eSports deems such driver’s paint scheme to be outside the guidelines listed above. Drivers whose paint schemes are disallowed under these grounds are subject to further penalties upon review from Podium eSports.

3.2. Feature Race

  • Podium eSports will not use Trading Paints on the broadcast for the Feature race. Drivers who wish to have custom paint schemes appear on the broadcast must submit their *.tga file(s), including spec maps, directly to Podium eSports. Podium eSports will have a form available for the drivers who qualify for the feature race in advance of the feature race.

4. EVENT STRUCTURE

4.1. Session Settings

Race Information

  • Session Name: Podium 500 – <Event>
  • Host: Podium eSports LLC

Weather

  • Generate Weather: Disabled
  • Dynamic Sky: Enabled
    • Weather conditions will be set based on the forecasted weather conditions of the real track (February 12, 2023 1:00 PM ET)

Cars

  • NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen
    • iRacing Fixed Setups (daytona_2011_oval.sto)

Track Options

  • Enable Start Zone: Enabled
  • Fast Repairs
    • Heats & LCQs: 1
    • Duels & Feature: 0
  • Green/White/Checkered Attempts
    • Heats: 0
    • LCQs: 1
    • Duels & Feature: 3

Race Options

  • Car Incident Limit
    • Heats & LCQs: 17x limit
    • Duels & Feature: 17x warning, 25x limit
  • Qualifying Conduct Scrutiny: Severe

Track Conditions

  • Leave marbles on the track: Enabled
  • Practice Starting Track State: 25%

Time of Day

  • Time of Day: 12:00 p.m. (Qualifying)
  • Date: February 12, 2023

4.2. Session Advancement

  • Initial Start: Heats assigned based on iRating (snaked).
  • Heats: Top 5 advance to the Duels, P6 – P13 advance to the LCQs. All other drivers are eliminated.
  • LCQs: Top 15 advance to the Duels. All other drivers are eliminated.
  • Duels: Top 20 advance to the Feature. All other drivers are eliminated.

Heats 1 – 5 > LCQ 1 > Duel 1

Heats 6 – 10 > LCQ 2 > Duel 2

4.3. Session Schedule

  • Heats
    • Practice: 1 hour. Each heat may advance early if the previous race finishes early (45 minute interval.)
    • Qualifying: 1 lap, 5 minute time limit.
    • Race: 20 laps, 55 minute time limit.
  • LCQs
    • Practice: 1 hour. LCQ 2 may advance early if the previous race finishes early ( 1 hour interval.)
    • Race: 30 laps
  • Duels
    • Practice: 1 hour. Duel 2 may advance early if the previous race finishes early (1 hour 30 minute interval.)
    • Race: 60 laps
  • Feature
    • Practice: 1 hour.
    • Race: 200 laps

 

5. COMPETITION RULES

5.1. Overview

iRacing’s Terms of Service may be enforced by Race Control. Race control reserves the right to enforce the competition rules listed below. Penalties for violations are up to Race Control’s discretion. Podium eSports reserves the right to issue additional penalties for items not covered in these rules for actions deemed detrimental to the brand. This power will be used with the utmost restraint and discretion. Podium eSports expects everyone racing in good faith to understand why this clause must exist.

5.2. Race Etiquette

  • 5.2.1. Drivers shall remain on the racing surface. Below the yellow line is considered part of the racing surface. The grass is not part of the racing surface.
  • 5.2.2. Drivers shall not engage in elongated drifting, donuts, or any other actions deemed to be unprofessional.
  • 5.2.3. Drivers shall reset their cars off the racing groove if necessary.
  • 5.2.4. Drivers unable to control their car in a racing manner due to car damage or their car blinking may be asked to part their car.

5.3. Radio

  • 5.3.1. Radio communications shall remain clean during the race. Drivers are responsible for their teammates.
  • 5.3.2. Drivers may use the radio the announce the following in a calm and positive manner:
    • Hazards on the track (Wrecks, check-ups, etc.)
    • Entering or exiting the racing groove.
    • Drivers blinking or teleporting.
    • Lead car suggesting upcoming traffic where to go.
    • Requesting Race Control to review a violation of iRacing’s Terms of Service or the event competition rules.
    • Any item, in good faith to the competition, not specified against the event competition rules.
  • 5.3.3. Drivers may not use the radio to announce the following:
    • Requesting a damage report for their car.
    • Placing blame on a driver.
    • Any item in bad faith to the competition.

5.4. Starts/Restarts

  • 5.4.1. iRacing’s Start/Restart zone will not be utilized.
  • 5.4.2. All drivers must maintain pace speed until the leader begins to accelerate.
  • 5.4.3. The leader receives lane choice on restarts. Drivers must maintain their line until passing the start/finish line.

5.5. Accident Avoidance

Drivers may use the apron or pit lane to avoid an accident. Black flags will be cleared in such cases, but the driver shall not enter their pit box until the designated time to do so.

5.6. Flags

  • 5.6.1. iRacing controls all flags.
  • 5.6.2. Black flags shall only be cleared when Race Control confirms the black flag was received in error.
  • 5.6.3. Race control will not clear disqualifications.

5.7. Post-Race Etiquette

5.7.1. Drivers may be asked to report to Race Control following a race and shall abide by the request.

5.7.2. Only the winner is permitted back to the start/finish line on a cool-down lap. All other drivers must return to pit road the next time by or park and tow in a safe manner.

5.7.3. Race Control may review all incidents after the race concludes.

5.8. Disqualification

5.8.1. Drivers disqualified from the event are ineligible for a refund.

5.8.2. Failure to follow the competition rules and Race Control’s requests will disqualify a driver.

5.9. Race Control

Race Control will have minimal impact towards the event. Intervention will only occur to remediate errors caused by iRacing or incidents causing immediate danger towards other drivers. Drivers are encouraged to utilize the iRacing’s protest system to dispute incidents.

6. PRIZE FUNDS

6.1. Overview

  • 6.1.1. Drivers must take the green flag in order to receive prize funds.
  • 6.1.2. Payouts are guaranteed with a 262-entry minimum. Payout ratios may be maintained on an entry count below the 262-entry threshold.

6.2. Race Payouts

6.2.1 Heat Winner: $44.21 for 262 entries

6.2.2. Duel Winner: $221.06 for 262 entries

6.2.3. Feature Race:

Position

262 Drivers

400 Drivers

1st

$1,027.70

$1,568.25

2nd

$501.08

$765.00

3rd

$450.97

$688.50

4th

$400.86

$612.00

5th

$350.75

$535.50

6th

$300.65

$459.00

7th

$250.54

$382.50

8th

$200.43

$306.00

9th

$150.32

$229.50

10th

$100.22

$153.00

11th – 15th

$75.16

$114.75

16th – 20th

$50.11

$76.50

21st – 25th

$40.09

$61.20

26th – 30th

$35.08

$53.55

31st – 35th

$30.06

$45.90

36th – 40th

$25.05

$38.25

6.3. Sponsors

6.3.1. Davis Motorsports – $50 to the top finishing driver in the feature utilizing Podium’s Discord Craig bot. Drivers must utilize the application during all events present to be eligible. Audio may be used for radioactive content. Details on using the application can be found in the Podium Discord server.

7. APPENDIX

7.1. Links

7.2. Podium eSports Staff

  • Managing Member: Gary Sexton
  • Managing Member:  John Theodore
  • Managing Member:  Ryan Bauer
  • Director of Competition: Brandon Davis