RULES

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Building Rules

 

1.  No portion of any mini-rod may exceed 8 feet forward from the center of the rear axle to the front most point.

2.  The width of the mini-rod may not exceed 6 feet from the edge of the tire tread to edge of tire tread.

3.  All power will be transmitted through the rear wheels of all mini-rods.

4.  All mini-rods are required to have wide front ends with two wheels. The front wheels must track within any portion of the rear wheels.

5.  All exhaust pipes must be projected upwards.

6.  All mini-rods are required to have safety kill switch and neutral start switch. The safety kill switch must disable the ignition and electric fuel pump if equipped. The kill switch must be mounted above the rear weights and must be within 6 inches parallel to the drawbar. NO MINI ROD WILL BE ALLOWED TO COMPETE IF KILL SWITCH IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY.

7.  All mini-rods will be required to have skid pads. These pads should be able to support the entire weight of the mini-rod. The 3 inch square pads will be set a minimum 6 inches behind the rear most part of the tire to the rear most part of the pad and have a maximum height of 6 inches from the ground to the bottom of the pad.

8.  All mini-rods are required to use automotive pushrod engines only. This includes 4, 6, 8 cylinder engines. No motorcycle, snowmobile, garden mini-rod/lawnmower or overhead cam engines.

9.  Engines will be required to have side plates that go along the length of the block and up to the bottom of the head in order to keep internal engine components confined in case of breakage. 1/8th inch aluminum or 1/16th inch steel is the minimum requirement.

10.  Engines will be required to have the damper pulley shielded with 1/8th aluminum or 1/16th inch steel with a strap across the front that is no less that 1/8th inch thick and 1 inch wide. If using a blow-proof balancer there is no need for the strap around but one must still be used in the front.

11.  All mini-rods running a manual transmission will be required to have blow-proof bell housing. Anyone running an automatic transmission will be required to use a safety blanket or SFI approve shield.

12.  All open chains and or drive shafts will be shielded 180 degrees surrounding the top side. This shield must be at least 1/8th in thickness.

13.  All open fans must be shielded with metal shields at least 1/16th thick across the top and down both sides. If the fan is in the horizontal position, it must be covered so that nothing could fall into it.

14.  Hand throttles or foot feed is required. If hand throttle is used; it must push forward and when released, must return to idle on its own. (dead man throttle)

15.  Mini-rods must be equipped with a roll cage. This must be at least 1½ inch diameter tubing .095 thickness consisting of at least two bars down each side connected across the top and two bars down the back. Cages must be securely fastened to mini-rod frame.

16.  All mini-rods must be equipped with 4-point harness as long as the lap belt is restrained in place by seat or other means. If lap belt is not restrained, 5-point harness are required. Neck braces are not required but, highly encouraged.

17.  Mini-rods are required to have fenders that cover 1/3 of the face of the tire. Fenders will extend from the 12 o’clock to 3 o’clock position. Roughly 90 degrees of the upper front quarter of the tire.

18.  Tire Sizes: Blacktop, all mini-rods will be required to have a LT tire no larger than 33x12.5x15. There will be a spec tire due to competition brand tires that are still considered street legal. No tire treatments or retreads are allowed. Please contact on of the club officials for current spec tires that are available to use. On dirt tracks, any size or style of tire may be used up to 18.4x16.1

19.  Mini-rod weights must not interfere with hook-up to the mechanical sled. Weights must be securely fastened.

20.  All engines must be carbureted or mechanically injected and naturally aspirated. This means absolutely no blowers, turbos, or electronic fuel injection of any kind.

21.  No nitrous, methanol, or alcohol blends of any kind.(this includes E85). ALL FUEL IS SUBJECT TO TESTING.

22.  Engine size is limited to 420 cubic inch.

23.  A reverse safety light system is required on all mini-rods. A white light must be mounted at the rear of the mini-rod and must be active only when the vehicle is in reverse.

24.  All mini-rods that do not have required safety equipment will not hook to the sled. All mini-rods will be safety approved before hooking to the sled. THESE RULES ARE STRICTLY ENFORCED FOR THE SAFETY OF THE SPECTATORS AS WELL AS THE CLUB MEMBERS.

 

Pulling Rules

1.  Weight Classes: Blacktop – 1750, 1850, 1950lbs Dirt - 1850, 1900, 1950lbs Dirt Only 1950lb OPEN CLASS (Must follow all of the following LMR rules with the exception of alcohol as a fuel.)

2.  Mini-rods may be entered in as many classes as desired, but only once per class.

3.  Age limit 16 years old (with parental consent) or older. Can pull at 14 but must be an active member along with parent for one year. After the year of membership, the nominee must be voted in by club to pull. (Must be an active paying member at 13 years old to be eligible to pull at 14.)

4.  All mini-rods pulling the club sled must be a member of the club. Yearly membership is $25 per year. Day membership is $10 per pull. Each class you pull in is a $10 entry fee per class.

5.  NO ONE except the driver and officials can be on the track while the pull is in progress. If anyone is on the track while the green flag is up, the mini rod they are associated with will be DISQUALIFIED from that class. The track consists from snow fence to snow fence or any other form of separation of crowd to track.

6.  Maximum drawbar height is 13 inches on dirt and 12 inches on blacktop. Absolutely no floating hitches. Hitches must be solid with no movement while pulling.

7.  Helmets are required and must be worn by all drivers when pulling.

8.  Single layer fire suits are required for all drivers. Either a one-piece suit or two-piece consisting of pants and jacket are required.

9.  When the engine on the mini-rod is running the driver must be sitting in the driver’s seat at all times.

10.  When hooking or unhooking to the sled hand or foot must be off of throttle and machine out of gear to notify person hooking that it is safe to proceed.

11.  Mini-rod must be started by the time the sled arrives back at starting position. If the mini-rod does not start, that mini-rod will drop to last puller. On-deck puller has 5 min after the previous puller to get mini-rod up to sled. This time starts when sled is returned to the start line. The hook-up person is in charge of timing this. Pullers involved in a pull-off of the previous class have the option to drop to last pulling position of current class.

12.  Driver must remain in seat at all times and at least one hand on the steering wheel while pulling.

13.  Once the mini-rod is hooked to the sled and any breakage occurs to that mini-rod, no refund of entry fee for that class will be made. However, if the breakage occurs before 75 feet the driver will have the option to pull off the track to make repairs and come back at end of the class. Driver must cross scale again before hooking to sled. If driver is the last puller in class no refund will be made and no option to re-hook will be available.

14.  Drivers will be given a total of two tries to get the sled started.

15.  Mini-rods can pull up to the 75 foot mark before stopping and trying again. This rule does not apply in a pull off.

16.  The eliminator can be reset at any point in the class if deemed necessary by officials. First puller after the eliminator is set or reset will be the test puller in that class. The eliminator operator is responsible for notifying the puller that they are the test hook after any eliminator adjustments. This puller has the option to drop his pull and return at the end of the class, if the driver opts to re-pull the second pull is measured. Decision to take or leave the first pull must be conveyed to the flagman before leaving the track. If flagman is not notified it will be assumed that puller is accepting his first hook.

17.  Shifting of gears, automatic or manual, is allowed as long as the forward motion of the mini-rod does not stop.

18.  Distance of pull, either spinout or power-out occurs, will be the point of measurement.

19.  Any part of the mini-rod going out of bounds on first pull is DISQUALIFIED, (out of bounds is any portion of the mini-rod touching the line or breaking the plan of the line) on pull-off, it is the point of measure. Flagman makes final decision.

20.  Anything falling off the mini-rod will disqualify the mini-rod for that class. In a pull-off the mini-rod drops to the bottom of the others in the pull-off. Points will be awarded for last place among mini-rods in pull-off.

21.  Any excessive liquid spillage on usable surface of a blacktop track will result in a disqualification for that class. Excessive spillage is determined by club officials and flagman. In a pull –off the mini-rod drops to the bottom of the others in the pull-off. Points will be awarded for last place among mini-rods in pull-off.

22.  All decisions of officials are final. Officials consist of flagman, hook-up man, and eliminator operator.

23.  Officials have the right to weigh mini-rods before and/or after pulling.

24.  Officials and fellow pullers have the right to disqualify any mini-rod driver for drinking alcohol. NO ALCOHOL AT ALL ALLOWED ON THE TRACK. No drinking by drivers until finished pulling for the day. If caught drinking you will not be allowed to pull for the day.

25.  Officials have the rights to disqualify any mini-rod driver operating their mini-rod in an unsafe manner in the pits or on the track. EXAMPLE: Excessive speed, showing off or unsafe maneuvers.

26.  Rain Out Rule: If over half the class has pulled and the pull is canceled due to rain, the results are final. The prize money will be divided between the machines that pulled. Machines that did not get to hook will be refunded entry fee. Points will be given out by the placing of the machines that hooked and the next place points will be given to the ones that did not get to hook if the machine is still at the pull.

 

 

ALL MINI-RODS AND DRIVERS MUST MEET ALL RULES IN ORDER TO COMPETE/HOOK TO LOYAL MINI RODDERS SLED. FAILURE TO MEET RULES WILL RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION AND OR SUSPENSION FROM THE CLUB.

 

RULES UPDATED MARCH 2024