Last night I was watching the big guys run at Mile High and for one of the runs of Top Fuel the guy had a Bye Run. The announcer said that he will make the next round as long as he does not Red Light.

Is it true that if they red light on a bye round they are out? I can understand if the car does not make it to the start line or if the car does not finish the race, but not the red light part....

 

I don't think that is right.

If he makes it to the line and takes the start he is a winner unless he goes out of bounds, I think. Red light is a win. Cross the center is a loss.

 

I don't think crossing the line matters. I think he has to start and cross the finish line, even if he's towed. He can't lose.

This is just an intelligent guess though.

 

I'm sure it doesn't matter if you red light or break out on a bye run as long as you don't cross the center line or hit the side wall. The only way to lose is to be disqualified. That's in bracket racing.

 

but of course if you pop the blower on the burnout the day is done

 

This is what I found:

Bye Runs and Legal Singles

Bye runs are predetermined by the number of racers in a bracket or group. The ladder placement will determine who gets the bye and which round will have a bye.

No bracket or group will have a bye run in the final race. A legal single is a run that two racers are scheduled to race each other, however for some reason one of the racers can't make the race.

The racer that takes the starting line under his own power is an automatic winner and will advance to the next round.

A vehicle on a bye or legal single run is not exempt from disqualification. Disqualification's on bye and legal single runs are for crossing the center line, going out of bounds or hitting the timing equipment. Breakouts will not be a disqualification. A competitor will have thirty seconds to fire or fix his vehicle after his opponent has fired. A competitor will have 1 minute to fire once the staging crew calls upon him to fire and proceed to the line.

BTW - I read that for ETown a bye run is granted by a random pull of tech cards if there is no ladder. If there is a ladder then it is suppose to be the best RT time without going red. I am not sure if this is for every event though.

 

ON etown that is correct.

Also note the lader is set once and not reset for subsequent rounds. four our challenges when we go 6 round (less than 65 cars but more than 32) our ladder is madeout in the 2nd round based on reaction times previous or first round. the ladder is final and racers move along the predetermined computerized boxes

 

I think youre talking about what happened to bernstein.. The reason he lost in his bye.. actually a comp single was he was unable to stage & take the green under his own power. The car broke during the burnout.

 

They have set it straight!

 

Yup, that's what they said. I was watching as well.
Ron