Connect with us

Not so fast on Steven Wallace and his eligibility for the CRA Super Series $100,000 Triple Crown bonus.

It was widely misreported over the weekend that Wallace would be eligible for a huge payday if he could follow up his victory in the Redbud 400 with wins in the Battle at Berlin 251 and Winchester 400.

But it appears that we have all misread the fine print. Wallace is not eligible for the Triple Crown bonus due to his previous NASCAR experience. After Erik Jones captured the feat in 2015 driving his own Super Late Model, albeit with Kyle Busch Motorsports support, the eligibility rules were changed for insurance reasons.

Here are the rules, which were published in a CRA press release with this exact language back in May.

“There were some eligibility changes in the program that started last season in order to continue to make the Triple Crown a real benefit to grassroots racers. The only drivers who would NOT be eligible for the season’s end bonus awards are the drivers who have competed in more than 1/2 the races in any one season in NASCAR’s top three levels in any previous year, or will have by the end of 2017.  As before, a driver must also be present and attempt to make the field in all three of the Triple Crown events to be eligible for any of the bonuses.”

In other words, Wallace is not eligible thanks to his nine years and 133 starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

As a result, no driver is eligible for the full $100,000 bonus now. However, if a driver can win two out of the three races, they will win $10,000. Otherwise, the driver who earned the most points in the three races will win $5,000.

So why is the Triple Crown insured?

It’s called ‘contest prize insurance.’

This is a contractual agreement that mitigates the risk involved in offering a large prize for a contest. For example, say you wanted to run a contest where contestants could win $100 by flipping a coin and having it land heads up. If you personally didn’t want to be liable for the whole $100, you could purchase prize coverage for the contest.

If a lucky contestant flipped a coin during the contest and it landed with heads up, the contest coverage provider would pay the winner their $100 prize, and you would not be liable for a dime. Now obviously no company is really going to offer “contest insurance” for coin flipping, but many firms do offer coverage for more difficult contests like winning three high profile Super Late Model races.

Just not if you’re a NASCAR driver with the resources many of them are privy too. So there’s still something for everyone else to race for — just not Steve Wallace.

Matt Weaver is the owner and founder of Short Track Scene. Weaver grew up in the sport, having raced himself before becoming a reporter in college at the University of South Alabama. He also has extensive experience covering NASCAR, IndyCar and Dirt Sprint Cars.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in ARCA/CRA Super Series