The council is in the final stages of its vote for the teammate concept which will take place next year. The Cup Series players received the plan of what it will look like for next year. The Busch and Truck players can take a look at it here as well. This is what will be placed into the rules page for next season.
Teams and Teammates
Beginning in 2008, Lucky Dog Racing members will have the option of playing with teammates in multi-car teams.They may also choose to run by themselves as single car teams. This will be in effect for the Cup, Busch and Truck Series.
Creating a Team: If a member wishes to create a multi-car team, they will designate themselves as a team leader. A leader will pick the name for his team and recruits members. All team members will race under that name. That individual has the final say on all decisions regarding his team.
Team Leaders: Members who wish to create multi-car teams and establish themselves as team leaders must go through a selection process first. Team leaders are selected by their seniority. Initially, the first 10 members that joined the league in the first season will be asked if they wish to run a multi-car team. Those members will either agree to run a multi-car team, join another team or run by themselves. Once the first ten leaders are set, they can begin building their team. Once another member joins the team, the initial leader may elect to give power of his team to another team member. This is truly up to the individual. Once a member gives up his power, he can not get it back unless the new team leader agrees to transfer it back.
Recruiting Members: A team can only consist of a maximum of 4 members. Once a team has been established, the team leader may invite members who wish to be part of his team or draft others that are looking to join a team. All members that join a team are binded to a one year contract. During that time, members can not leave a team and join a new one. A member can choose to run as a single car team but is prohibited from adding additional teammates in that time. The only way that a member can join or start a new multi-car team during the year is if the team leader releases that member from his contract. A team leader can either release or trade a member of his team with or without their consent. Also, it is highly recommended that all members on a team run the same make of car.
Draft Pool: A member can have the option of going into a draft pool. This is only done if a member does not want to join any specific team, but would like to be part of a multi-car team. Once it has been established that all members in the league are either going to be team leaders, members on a specific team, or part of the draft pool, then teams may start drafting those members in the pool. The draft process will also be done on a seniority process. Team leaders with the highest seniority can draft first or pass the pick on to the next highest member.
The seniority process will be in effect for new teams that come up into the next series. If a player wishes to be drafted by a team, the leader with the most seniority will be able to draft that player if there is room on his team. If not, he will pass the pick to the next highest leader.
Team Communications: It is encouraged that teammates communicate with one another to help give themselves pointers for each race. The more help each member receives, the overall better finish that all members will usually get. A forum will be designated for team talk. There members can post messages to one another, look for a new team, or try and recruit members. Team News will also be posted there.
Team Bonus Points: Once teams are set and the season begins, teammates will receive bonus or penalty points after each race depending on how they finish. These points will not affect the race itself, but will be added to the total points in the standings. Basicly your teammates finishes will affect your overall score in the standings as well. If a member finishes in the top 10 they will receive bonus points. However, if a member finishes in the bottom 10, they will receive penalty points. Here is a breakdown of the points:
All teammate bonus/penalty points will be added together and applied to each teammate, regardless of where they finished in the race.
EXAMPLE: If TEAM A has 4 drivers and one finishes 1st and one finishes 7th while one finishes 15th and one finishes 42nd. All four TEAM members would get 5 pts. added to their individual standings points that week. These points will be added or subtracted to all team members including those 1 car teams as well. Awards: At the end of the year, the teammates that have amassed the most bonus points will win the team championship award. Each member will have a special award added to their driver page.
Cross-Series Teammates: Members that play in more than one series can either choose to run by themselves in another series, or align themselves with their teammates from their top series. A member can not align themselves with members who are on different teams in their series. A team leader in the Cup Series can have members in the Busch Series who are not yet in the Cup Series. Once they are promoted to the Cup Series, they may join that team, only if it does not exceed 4 players. Also, a member may not be a team leader in the Cup Series, but may choose to run his own multi-car team in the Busch Series if there is availability. Those members that he recruits in the Busch Series can not already be members on other teams in the Cup Series. The same rule is in effect with the Truck Series as well.
Just so everyone knows, the council did vote on this and it was approved. So it should be interesting how it will work out next year.... should be fun!
Lou, I think that we need to be 15 teams leaders because 10 X 4 = 40 and there are 43 players in the Cup series. Some team will want to be in a team of 2 or 3 so there will be some players who are going to be without a team. I think that 15 teams could be better.
Well I have a feeling we'll probably have around that many teams for multi-car teams.
Yes, not everyone will run at 4 car teams... I'm still debating it myself.
Most likely once we have 10 multi-car teams set, I will have a grace period of a few weeks in which those teams can add 4 cars to their team if they want.
After that period is over, I will start setting more team leaders. We have plenty of time before next season, thats why I wanted to start this now.
