Big Bounty Tournament - DriftCon Season Opener April 20, 2024

What is the Big Bounty Tournament?

The Big Bounty Tournament returns for 2024! This 64 max entry single elimination tournament was a huge hit last year and we can’t wait to do it again!

This competition pairs drivers of similar skill levels against one another on a fast cageless infield layout. Drivers win their way through the bracket by picking up a cash bounty for each competitor they eliminate. Competitors keep all earned bounties even if they are eliminated early in the competition. Drivers that advance to the Top 16 will find themselves “in the money” earning some of the guaranteed prize money as well as bounties. Bounties continue to increase as the competition makes it way down to the final two competitors. The overall winner will take home $3000 plus all earned bounties.

Single Elimination Jaeger Style Brackets (SEE 2024 EVENT PACKET) to determine the Top 16. Odd ranked competitors will fill one bracket. Even ranked competitors will fill the other. Top 16 will be a standard single elimination NCAA style bracket.

The Big Bounty Tournament will be held at the DRIFTCON SEASON OPENER on April 20, 2024.

REGISTRATION SOLD OUT

Schedule

Saturday – April 20, 2024 – MAIN GATES OPEN 1PM
9:00 – Back Gate Opens
10:00 – MANDATORY Drivers Meeting
10:30 – MEDIA Meeting
10:40 to 11:25 – #1 to #32 Drivers Practice #1 (Qualifying)
11:25 to 12:10 – #33 to #64 Practice #1 (Qualifying)
12:10 to 12:35 – #1 to #32 Drivers Practice #2
12:35 to 1:00 – #33 to #64 Practice #2
1:00 – Main Gates Open
1:30 to 2:30 – ODD Bracket Top 16 Competition (Battle to B Column – Determines Top 32)
2:30 to 3:30 – EVEN Bracket Top 16 Competition (Battle to B Column – Determines Top 32)
3:30 to 4:00 – ODD Bracket Top 8 Competition (Determines Top 16)
4:00 to 4:30 – EVEN Bracket Top 8 Competition (Determines Top 16)
4:30 to 5:00 – Intermission / Open Drift / Hot Lap
5:00 to 7:30 – Top 16 to Finish
7:45 to 8:00 – Drifting & Car Show Awards Ceremony

Ranking

Drivers will be assigned a competitor number and ranked by their first practice session. Judges will assign a score based on their observation of the first session of each practice group. The score is used internally for filling the brackets and will not be announced. Competitors that do not want to be ranked or that do not make their first practice session will be randomly seeded at the back of the brackets. Judges’ decisions on rankings are final.

Bounties

Bounties are paid for every competitor eliminated up to the 1st and 2nd place battle. Bounties increase as a competitor gets deeper into the tournament. See payout section for exact amounts. Bounties (Poker) Chips with the face value printed on them are dispersed at the line when a driver is awarded the win. The Bounty Chips can be redeemed for cash at the CASHIER at any time prior to Sunday April 21rd, 2024 at 6:00 pm. After this time, the chips will not have any cash value. Bounty Chips will be marked when redeemed and then may be kept.

Judging

The panel will consist of 3 Judges. Judges will not communicate with each other about the battle and will write their decision on the official scoring form and hand it to the Tournament Director. Judges may vote for Competitor A, Competitor B or One More Time. The Tournament Director will tally the votes and issue the call. One more times will be issued when 2 or more Judges vote for it or 1 Judge votes for it and the other 2 Judges are a split vote between the 2 competitors. Judges’ decisions are final and cannot be protested.

Seeding the Brackets

Judges will assign a score based on their observation of the First session of each practice group. The scores will be sorted from highest to lowest. Competitors with matching ranking scores will be sorted by the Judges based on their overall impression of your practice. The #1 ranked competitor will be seeded in the A 1 box of the odd numbered bracket. #3 ranked will go in the A 3 box and this pattern will be followed until all odd ranked competitors are bracketed. #2 ranked will seeded in the A 2 box of the even numbered bracket. #4 ranked will go in the A 4 box and this pattern will be followed until all even ranked competitors are bracketed. Judges decisions on rankings are final.

The first battle of the competition will be D15 vs C15, then D16 vs C16, Then D13 vs C13 then D14 vs C14 and will alternate in the same pattern until finished.

Competition

Each Battle will consist of two runs. The higher ranked competitor will lead on the first run and be the chase driver for the second run.

On the first run the lead car will be directed into the burnout box and will have 20 seconds to stage at the start line. The chase will then be released into the burnout box and will have 20 seconds to stage at the start line.

The starter will then make sure that both competitors are ready at the line and then trigger the start light sequence. The lead car cannot leave the line before the green light illuminates. The chase driver can leave the line any time after the yellow light illuminates but must not beat the lead car to the initiation zone. Judges will make all decisions at who is at fault when a start has been fouled. Any fouled starts will be recalled. The at-fault driver will be warned and multiple offenses by the same driver may be cause for disqualification.

At the completion of the first run. Drivers will return to the start line immediately with them swapping starting line positions. No crew may touch the car in between runs without approval from the Tournament Director.

At the completion of the second run, Drivers will stop at the designated area and await a decision from the tower. The winner will receive their bounty token and return to the staging area or return to their pit stall for Fuel, Adjustments etc. Winning drivers must be back to the staging area by their next battle. Losing driver should return to their pit stall. As we get deeper into the tournament and the time in between battles narrows, Officials will allow 10 minutes for competitors to fuel, change tires and/or cool down their cars. Bring enough crew and tools to be prepared for this.

The tournament will continue until we have a winner. The 3rd place position will be determined by pairing up the two eliminated drivers from the top 4 in a standard battle. The highest qualifier will lead first.

The top 3 will report to the front stretch at the conclusion of the event for the awards ceremony.

Eliminated drivers may start to stage at the rear of the staging area at the beginning of the top 16 bracket. Tournament Officials will call you to the line whenever we have an opening on the track in between battles. Two random cars will line up with the first one to the line taking the lead position and they will complete one run. These will be judged runs with the winner receiving a $25 chip. These battles will only be staged as necessary and there isn’t any guarantee on how many will be ran.

Big Bounty Practice (April 19, 2024)

All drivers that are competing in the Big Bounty Tournament are encouraged to sign up for Friday practice during registration. From 3pm-8pm the evening before the event drivers will be able to practice on the layout to test their car and prepare for competition.

Open Drift Play Day (April 21, 2024)

Didn’t get enough track time on Saturday? Stick around for our open drift play day on Sunday. Multiple drift courses, hot lapping, call outs for a rematch against that person who cashed your bounty. Regular $80 entry fee for new drivers and $50 discounted entry for Big Bounty Tournament participants.