Idea to help with Personal Indexes

I brought this idea up a few years ago before the personal index thing became reality. Racers seemed to like it but NHRA didn’t and they went with the PI system. I think we can still use the below idea with the PI system in place. Personal Index was implanted to help the car counts. It’s undetermined if it will help yet but what we do know is that it seems to impact the racers that are currently out there getting there indexes adjusted. Nobody has answered the question what they are going do with everybody’s PI in the future, give them back or just let it be. Once a driver adjusted there index, they are basically screwed. If you happen to be down a tenth there is no coming back from that. No matter how fast you make your car you will always be down a tenth come first round. Those racers that have supported the class will eventually quite if they are unable to switch combos, which would be another big expense.

So what I purpose is throughout the year you still race the same, if you hit your personal index that is what it is throughout the year. Then come January 1st for the fowling year whoever hit their index would get half of that back. So if you hit it .10 you with get .05 back. If you hit it .07 you with get .04 or .03 back (whatever the majority agrees on).

For the people that say “this is not fair, I didn’t hit my index why do they get something back.” That racer getting half back is still hit, and still down more than you. And trust me, once you do hit your index, you will want it back.

This could help for more racers driving to the finish line for a win if they know they get something back at the end of the year.

I think this will keep people racing year to year after their index gets hit. Being down .05 is a lot better than being down a tenth.

So on January 1, 2018 whosever PI index was hit in 2017 and 2016, you would get half back. Then continue the process each year.

You can add to this rule anyway the majority wants too

· In 2019 does that driver who got half back and did not hit their personal again in 2018 still get half back until there index is the same as the class index?

· If that driver who got half back and is now down .05 in 2018 then hit it another .03, does he get half of the .03 back in 2019 or half back from his total of .08?

All in all, there are already 70+ drivers that have personal indexes with only 205 that raced in 2016. So IF new racers start showing up with a free index then the PI system would have worked, but not if all those drivers with PI hits decides to quite. So I think this could possible benefit everybody.

What you all think? Any suggestions to this, and go easy on me, it’s just an idea.

 

Some good ideas, Brian... I happen to be a fan of the PI system, only because I feel it helps the slower competitors... and maybe get some guys off the shelf.. I also happen to think that at the end of the season, the PI disappears, so that guys don't have to think about changing class, or putting their stuff in storage... easy to lose racers that way...

Many guys took some hefty PI hits last year, while trying to actually win races.. some guys just plain messed up... I just don't think that it's good for the class to carry the PI hits from year to year.. it can be very expensive to change classes.. it is no longer fun if a good driver has to climb out of the seat that he loves, to put a different driver in to get the PI back.. why would the good driver do that, and sit on the sidelines??.. I see that situation causing the loss of a team...

And maybe we should take a step back in time, like running off the class record for instance, instead of an index... IMAGINE THAT!!!