Description
Firecracker 400
What is the Firecracker 400?
The Firecracker 400 was a July 4th holiday tradition in NASCAR for more than 50 years. The OGs of NASCAR in the 1970s and 1980s drove their ill-handling race cars during the daytime heat of Florida in July in a challenging 400-mile race at the historic Daytona International Speedway.
The esports version of this event, Created by NASCAR drivers Landon Cassill and Parker Kligerman, will be a recreation of the classic race on the iRacing platform. The event will be an ode to stock car racing’s past, with an open entry iRacing race using the recently released 1987 stock cars at Legacy Daytona International Speedway (2007). The event prize pool totals over $12,500, as racers from around the world, will compete over a three-week span to qualify for the Firecracker 400.
Each stage of the event will be broadcasted LIVE leading to the main event broadcast that will have multiple produced pieces.
It takes about 5 minutes to read this entire document. However, the TL;DR is immediately below:
What is the entry?
- $25 (Non-Refundable)
- Registration CLOSES July 11th
What is the purse?
- $12,500
How do I earn prize money?
- The 88 who make it into the two-round qualifying will earn prize money, as both races pay in all finishing positions.
- See Tabs Above for Prize Payout Structure
What is the format?
- July 12-13 – Qualifying Races determine 88 drivers who move onto First and Second
- July 18-19 – Two-Round Qualifying to set the 43 car starting lineup for the:
- July 24 – Firecracker 200
- July 26 – Firecracker 400
Will I race on a broadcast even if I don’t make the main event?
- Yes, every stage of the event will be broadcast across multiple streaming platforms.
Broadcast Schedule of Events
All Items Subject to Changes, all times in ET, Competitor’s Time Commitments is Different
Prelims Night 1 Wednesday, July 12
- 7:10 pm Prelim 1
- 8:20 pm Prelim 2
- 9:30 pm Prelim 3
- 10:40 pm Prelim 4
Prelims Night 2 Thursday, July 13
- 7:10 pm Prelim 5
- 8:20 pm Prelim 6
- 9:30 pm Prelim 7
- 10:40 pm Prelim 8
Pole Day Tuesday, July 18
7:00pm ET First Round Qualifying (top 20 advance to 400)
Bump Day Wednesday, July 19
8:00pm ET Second Round Qualifying (top 22 advance to 400)
Monday, July 24
8:00pm ET Firecracker 200 Race (43rd-85th from Quals)
Wednesday, July 26
8:00pm ET Firecracker 400 Race (top 42 from Quals, 1 eRacr Provisional)
What is the Event Format?
Competitors will be required to pay a non-refundable entry fee to enter the event. We will be prepared to support upwards of 450+ entries into the event by splitting the event into 3 stages. The first stage of the event will be a series of heat race servers that will narrow the field down to 88 competitors. For up to 496 competitors, we will run 8 races in two nights, transferring the top 11 finishers out of each race to advance to the “Qualifying Round” to be held the following week.
LCQ and Feature races will be broadcast live, giving all competitors an opportunity to be highlighted on a race broadcast.
The next week, those top 88 competitors who advanced through the Prelim races will then attempt to qualify through a period-correct format mimicking the “Two-Round” qualifying format that NASCAR used in the late 1980s. Just like back in the day, there will be a qualifying draw to determine the qualifying order, and each competitor will get one attempt to run two laps. At the conclusion of first-round qualifying, the top 20 times will be locked into the Firecracker 400 starting grid. Second-round qualifying will be held the day following first-round qualifying, where the remaining 68 competitors will have the option to either stand on their qualifying time from the day before, or make another run to improve their time and fill the final 22 positions.
Once both rounds of qualifying are complete, the top 42 + 1 provisional will complete the starting field and set the grid for the Firecracker 400.
The bottom 43 will set the grid for the Firecracker 200, a 200-mile race the Monday before the Firecracker 400, with three alternates (86th, 87th, 88th in qualifying).
Event Stages in Detail
STAGE 1 – Preliminary Races
- Heat Race Format – League Session – FIXED SETUP
- 30-minute Open Practice
- 5 minute Lone Qualifying (One Lap)
- Four (4) ten-minute Heat Races
- No Cautions
- Top 7 finishers transfer directly to Prelim Feature
- One (1) fifteen-minute Consolation Race
- Race Control may call up to two cautions
- Top 10 finishers transfer directly to Prelim Feature
- Prelim Feature
- 38 Driver Starting field
- 45-minute race or 40 Laps
- Admin Cautions, one reset
- Lucky Dogs
- iRacing issued wave arounds
- Single File Restarts, Lapped Cars to the back
- NO GWC
(2hr 22min competitor commitment)
Grid Start Times for Prelim Consolation Races, Feature to follow
*all times Eastern
Prelims Night 1 Wednesday, July 12
- 7:10 pm Prelim 1
- 8:20 pm Prelim 2
- 9:30 pm Prelim 3
- 10:40 pm Prelim 4
Prelims Night 2 Thursday, July 13
- 7:10 pm Prelim 5
- 8:20 pm Prelim 6
- 9:30 pm Prelim 7
- 10:40 pm Prelim 8
Prelim Race Notes
- Each of the eight Prelim Races will have a 30 min open practice and 5 min lone qualifier. Heat race will follow the qualifying. The consolation races will GRID at the designated grid start time shown on the schedule. All consolations and features will be broadcasted
- Prelim Race entry lists will be determined after the entries close on Tuesday, July 11th at 10 pm ET.
- Each Prelim Race will be its own league. When the Race organizers determine the entry list for each prelim race, the drivers will be invited to join their respective league titled “Prelim Race X” as well as the “eRacr Members” league. The drivers who transfer from the prelim races to the Firecracker 400 will then use the “eRacr Members” league.
*eRacr will use admin cautions for the Consolation and Feature Races. Heat Races will not have cautions
- Top 11 (total 88) from each Prelim will transfer to Firecracker 400 Qualifying
STAGE 2 – Two Round Qualifying
Pole Day
- First Round Qualifying 7:00pm ET – OPEN SETUP
- League Session
- Open Practice Server
- Qualify order set by random draw
- Daytona Weather, set in real time in the sim with dynamic sky, session starting at 12pm (in sim).
- Usage will be depending on the previous night’s weather in real world Daytona. Heavy Rains=0% usage Light Rain=25% usage No Rain=50% usage
- Out lap + One Timed Lap per car. It will take roughly three hours to run through 88 cars.
- Estimated time slots based on qualifying draws will be shared via Google Doc to the competitors.
- Competitors will be asked to join the server roughly 5 cars before their scheduled time to go out to keep the session on schedule.
- Each competitor should only have to commit between 15-20 minutes to register into the server and wait their turn to make one laps (2 minutes on track) and be done.
Top 20 times from First Round Qualifying LOCK IN to the Firecracker 400.
21st-88th will have the opportunity to stand on their time, or re-run the next day in Second Round qualifying to decide the 21st-42nd place starting grid.
Weather for Second Round Qualifying will be announced at 12:00pm on July 19th.
Competitors who wish to re-run in Round 2 must notify race organizers via eRacr Discord by Wednesday, July 19th at 12:30pm ET. If you do not notify via Discord, your time from Round 1 will stand, and you will not be allowed to re-qualify in Round 2.
Second Round Qualifying
- Second Round Qualifying 8:00pm ET – OPEN SETUP
- One day following First Round Qualifying
- League Session
- Open Practice Server
- Qualifying order set by Round 1 Inverse Qualifying seed (21st goes out Last)
- Daytona Weather, set in real time in the sim with dynamic sky, session starting at 10am.
- Usage will be depending on the previous night’s weather in real world Daytona. Heavy Rains=0% usage Light Rain=25% usage No Rain=50% usage
- Open Setup
STAGE 3 – Main Events
Firecracker 200 – July 24th – 8PM ET
- Single Event League Session – OPEN SETUP
- 200 Mile, 80 Laps
- Admin Cautions, no resets
- No Lucky Dogs, No wave arounds
- Double File Restarts, Lapped Cars to the Inside
- No GWC
- Daytona Weather, set in real time in the sim with dynamic sky, session starting at 10am.
- 43 car starting field, lineup set by 44th-86th from First and Second Round Qualifying Results
- 86th, 87th, and 88th from qualifying will be considered alternates for this race.
Firecracker 400 – July 26th – 8PM ET (Preshow starts at 7:30 PM ET)
- Single Event League Session – OPEN SETUP
- 400 Mile, 160 Laps
- Admin Cautions, no resets
- No Lucky Dogs, No wave arounds
- Double File Restarts, Lapped Cars to the Inside
- No GWC
- Daytona Weather, set in real time in the sim with dynamic sky, session starting at 10am.
- 43 car starting field lineup set by 1st-42nd from First and Second Round Qualifying Results, 43rd eRacr Provisional
How to join the races.
Leagues will be created for each prelim race. You must accept the league invite to get into your race
Another League will be setup for the 88 eligible for two-round qualifying.
How will the event be broadcast?
There will be 6 days of live broadcast over the two-week span of the event. Starting with the preliminary qualifying sessions and heat races which will be broadcast LIVE, with interactions from the competitors and viewers.
The “Two-Round” qualifying will be broadcast LIVE in its entirety as well.
The main event will be the most produced broadcast with professional graphics and produced pieces by our team.
The event is estimated to be 15+ hours of live broadcast content.
Event Format
