Pick 3: Segment 1, Race 1 - Daytona (2/24)

	    Welcome to the first official regular season week of the 4th Annual Pick 3 contest.  

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR THIS WEEK: The qualifying procedure for the Daytona 500 is DIFFERENT than all other races, therefore it is possible that a driver (or drivers) listed in one or both of the tiers may not be in the Daytona 500.  For this reason, it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you wait until the Gatorade Duel races are finished to ensure that all your picks have qualified for the race.

The 4th Annual Pick 3 Challenge Rules and Information
Section #1: Weekly Driver Selections
For each race this season you will make a total of three picks consisting of: (1) Winner (1) Chaser and (1) Crasher. The pool of drivers available will be divided into two tiers created from the Official NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner’s points.
Selecting Your “Winner”
1) You can choose any driver from Tier #1 or Tier #2 for your winner pick.
2) If you do choose a driver from Tier #2 for your “Winner” and he wins the race, you can earn up to 30 bonus points (see Section #3 for more details)

Selecting Your “Chaser”
1) If you already chose a driver from Tier #1 as your “Winner”, you MUST choose a driver from Tier #2 as you’re “Chaser”.
2) If you selected a driver from Tier #2 as your “Winner”, you can choose a driver from Tier #1 as your “Chaser” OR select another driver from Tier #2 as your “Chaser”.
Selecting Your “Crasher”
1) You can select any driver (that you haven’t already chosen) from Tier #1 or Tier #2 as your “Crasher” pick. If you choose a driver from Tier #1 as your “Crasher” and he is the lowest finishing driver from Tier #1 and Tier #2, you will receive 25 bonus points that will be added to your weekly score (see Section #3 for more details). 
Non-Tier Driver Exception (NEW for 2013)
If there a driver qualifies for a race and he/she is NOT in Tier #1 or Tier #2, you ARE allowed to use that driver for your “Winner” or “Chaser” pick. You may NOT use a driver that is not listed in Tier #1 or Tier #2 as your “Crasher” pick or your pick will be invalid.
List Available Drivers (Tiers)
 The first 5 races will be use the final 2012 NASCAR Spring Cup Series Owners Points to determine both Tiers #1 and #2. This year the list of *drivers* will be split in two tiers. Tier #1 will always be the current T-12 drivers in Owner Points. The number of drivers available to use in Tier #2 will be adjusted each segment accordingly:
 Segment #1: Tier #1 Drivers 1-12 & Tier #2 Drivers 13-28.
 Segment #2: Tier #1 Drivers 1-12 & Tier #2 Drivers 13-25.
 Segment #3: Tier #1 Drivers 1-12 & Tier #2 Drivers 13-22.

 * Drivers in this game represent the car numbers, so you are making picks based on the owners’ points for a car and not the individual driver. Drivers can change car numbers, so be sure to check who is driving the car before making a selection. Car numbers that are currently scheduled to use multiple drivers in 2013 include: #26 (Swan), #51 (Finch), #55 (MWR)
Section #2: Game Segments and Scoring Information
The game will be broken down into 3 Segments:
Segment #1: Race #1 (Daytona 500 on 2/24) thru #13 (Autism Speaks 400 on 6/2)*
Segment #2: Race #14 (Pocono 400 on 6/9) thru #26 (Federated Auto Parts 400 on 9/7)  
Segment #3: Race #27 (GEICO 400 on 9/15) thru #36 (Ford EcoBoost 400 on 11/17)
*Indicates a segment that includes “Bonus Points Only” races (see Section #3 for more details)
There will be an overall winner for each segment and an overall winner for the season as well. 
The top 3 finishers from Segments 1, 2 & 3 will bonus points added to their overall score for the season (see bonus points section for more details).
 The Chase (During Segment #3)
 The final segment of the year will also include a separate “Chase” format for the top 12 players in the “Overall Standings” after the completion of Segment #2. There will also be 3 wild cards that will participate in the “Chase” for a grand total of 15 players competing in the chase.
Earning a Wild Card (DIFFERENT for 2013)
The “Wild Card” race will run very similar to the way NASCAR runs their system. The top three players NOT in the overall top 12 with the most weekly “wins” will earn a wild card spot. If there is a tie in wins for a Wild Card spot, the player who has accumulated the most overall points will get the spot. If there are no players left with wins, the remaining Wild Card spots will be filled by the players not in the top 12 with the highest overall point total (as NASCAR would do). ALSO, coming in 1st during one of the “Bonus Points Only” races in Segment #1 will NOT count as a win in the wild card race (see Section #3 for more details).
Setting the points for “The Chase”
Once the field of (15) chaser players is set, all chase participants will have their scores reset to 2,000 points. For the top 12, each weekly “win” accumulated during the regular season will earn that player an additional 3 points to his or her total.
Example: Player XYZ was in the T-12 in the Overall Standings and had 5 “wins” during the regular season. Player XYZ would begin the Chase with a score of 2,015 points (5 wins x 3 points each). All (3) Wild Card winners will begin the Chase with the base score of 2,000 pts., regardless of their win total for the season.

Segment 3 Scoring
ALL players will be scored during Segment #3 regardless if they’re in the chase or not and there will be a Segment #3 Winner. After the completion of this segment, the Overall Standings will still be updated and finalized. Following the final race (Ford EcoBoost 400 on 11/17), there will be (3) winners:
1) A Segment #3 Winner (this person will earn bonus points towards the Overall Standings)
2) A Chase Winner (taken from the 15 player Chase field)
3) An Overall Winner (who has accumulated the most combined points from all 3 segments)

 Weekly Scoring System
 The points awarded by NASCAR for the drivers finish will be used for the scoring of this game. This includes bonuses awarded by NASCAR for leading a lap and leading the most laps.

The driver selected as the “Winner” will be awarded the entire amount of points earned during the race. The driver selected as the “Chaser” will be awarded or half the points earned during the race. The “Crasher” will earn the entire points earned on the track, but that amount will be subtracted from the sum of the “Winner” and “Chaser” Groups.
Here is an example:
 Winner: Jimmie Johnson Finished 2nd + lead a lap (42+1=43 pts.)
 Chaser: A.J Allmendinger Finished 17th (27 pts.)
 Crasher:  Paul Menard Finished 20th + lead a lap (24+1=25 pts.)

 Winner (43) + Chaser (27/2=13.5) = 56.5
 (56.5) minus Crasher (25) = 31.5 Total Points
Section #3: Bonus Point Opportunities
 Weekly Bonus Point Opportunities
1) If you choose a driver from Tier #2 as your "Winner" and he does in fact win the race, you will earn 25 bonus points to your score for the week. If he wins & leads the most laps, you will receive an additional 5 points for a grand total of 30 bonus points.
2) As previously stated, if you choose a Tier #1 driver as your “Crasher” and he is the worst finishing driver in both Tiers, you can earn 25 bonus points towards your score for the week.
3) If you “win” the week by posting the largest point total, you will receive 5 points that will count towards in Overall Standings total at the end of the season. You will NOT receive 5 additional points for the individual segment. You can ONLY earn “wins” and Overall Standing bonus points for wins during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point events.
Segment Bonus Point Opportunities
Bonus points will be awarded after each segment for the top three finishers. These bonus points will count towards the Overall Standings total at the end of the year: 1st Place = 100 Points, 2nd Place = 75 Points and 3rd Place = 50 Points. If there is a tie, both players will receive the full amount of points.
 Bonus Points Only Races

The Sprint Unlimited (2/18) and the Sprint All-Star Race (5/18)
These events will serve as one week opportunities to earn bonus points towards Segment #1. There is NO PENALTY for not participating in these two events. Instead, it’s just an opportunity to have some fun and earn some extra points. The rules are different for these two weeks as there are NO TIERS to choose drivers from.  Instead, you will have a list of all the drivers participating in the event and you will choose a Winner, Chaser and Crasher using any driver combination you wish. 
Bonus points will be given to the top 5 players in each of these race: 1st Place = 30 points, 2nd Place = 20 point, 3rd Place = 15 points 4th Place = 10 points and 5th Place = 5 points.  If there is a tie for position, each player will receive the full amount of points for that position.  As previously stated, bonus points earned in these races will only count towards a player’s points total in Segment #1 and does not constitute as bonus points towards the Overall Standings or “wins” total.
Section #4: Other Important Game Information
Participants are allowed to miss up to TWO weeks in each segment in order to be considered for the champion in the Overall Standings. If you forget or are unable to make your picks on time for any given week, the "Random" picks will serve as your selections for that particular week.
Weekly Random Picks
The "Random" picks will come from the same list of drivers available to pick from each week and will be randomly computer generated. These picks will be kept track as to not repeat any drivers until all available drivers have been used. There is a possibility that more than one driver from the Tier #1 will appear in these picks, usually leading to a major disadvantage.  If for some reason you would like to use the random picks for a given week, you must notify me BEFORE THE RANDOM PICKS ARE MADE and this will not count towards one of the two weeks you are allowed to miss.
Illegal Pick Consequences
We will try to get ahold of anyone who has accidentally made an illegal pick(s) to make corrections. If you don’t correct your picks, you will receive the points from the “Random” pick for that week. You will NOT, however, be charged a for missing a week if you accidentally set an illegal lineup (Example: If you choose David Ragan as your Crasher, but he is not listed in either Tier of drivers available, David Ragan would be replaced with the "Random" Crasher pick for that week and you will earn the points from that driver).
All picks must be posted, e-mailed or texted before the Green Flag drops to be considered legal.  If the start of the race is delayed, you will still be able to submit your picks until the race has officially started. All posts on CBSSports.com, e-mails and text messages are time-stamped.  Any picks submitted after what NASCAR posts as the Official Start Time of the race will not be accepted.
Setting Your Lineup In Advance
If you know you are going to be unavailable to make picks for a following week, you can give me your picks in advance or e-mail me your picks. This can be done through a regular message on the weekly thread, a PM or an e-mail. If for some reason you would like to text me your picks for a week and you are unavailable to log on, send me a PM and I will give you that information.  I will not post that number publically for obvious reasons.
Good luck to all participants this season and if there are any questions, feel free to message me here at CBSSports or by e-mail.  Also, a HUGE thanks to Coach, Danny and everyone else who ran the game in previous years for setting up an incredible foundation and great reputation for this game.  Fog will be in charge of posting of scores and results this season and we definitely owe him a big thank you for his time and commitment in keeping this game running. 

 CowboysForever9 (Ben)
E-Mail: [rina9455@fredonia.edu]