10/16/2026
🏁 THE 212 PRESENTED BY RB CONSTRUCTION – QUALIFYING PROCEDURES & PASSING POINTS 🏁
With The 212 tomorrow, we want to explain how qualifying will work this year, including passing points, heat race transfers, the Alphabet Soup races, and the Pole Shuffle!
🔥 HEAT RACES & PASSING POINTS
Drivers will draw for their starting positions in the heat races.
We will use a passing points system that rewards drivers based on their finishing position AND the number of positions they gain or lose during their heat.
Finishing position points are awarded as follows:
🥇 1st – 100 points
🥈 2nd – 90 points
🥉 3rd – 80 points
4th – 70 points
5th – 60 points
6th – 50 points
7th – 40 points
8th – 30 points
And so on.
Passing points are then added to or subtracted from that total:
✅ Each position GAINED earns +5 points.
❌ Each position LOST results in -1.5 points.
EXAMPLES:
🏁 A driver starts 8th and finishes 2nd.
90 finishing points + 30 passing points = 120 TOTAL POINTS
🏁 A driver starts 2nd and finishes 2nd.
90 finishing points + 0 passing points = 90 TOTAL POINTS
🏁 A driver starts 1st and finishes 4th.
70 finishing points - 4.5 points = 65.5 TOTAL POINTS
This system rewards drivers who can work their way through the field rather than simply drawing a good starting position!
🏁 HEAT RACE TRANSFERS
For this explanation, we’re assuming we have 6 heat races. That number could change depending on the total kart count.
With 6 heats:
✅ The top 3 passing-points earners from EACH heat qualify directly for the A-Main.
✅ The WINNER of each heat automatically qualifies for the Pole Shuffle, regardless of their passing-points total.
✅ The highest passing-points earner from each heat, OTHER THAN THE HEAT WINNER, also qualifies for the Pole Shuffle.
This means exactly TWO drivers from each heat advance to the Pole Shuffle!
If the heat winner also has the highest passing-points total, the driver with the second-highest total gets the other Pole Shuffle spot.
With six heats, that gives us:
🏁 18 drivers transferring directly into the A-Main.
🏁 12 drivers qualifying for the Pole Shuffle through the heats.
IMPORTANT: Passing points are ranked WITHIN EACH INDIVIDUAL HEAT. We are NOT taking the top 18 passing-points earners overall!
🍲 THE ALPHABET SOUP RACES
As we’ve always done with The 212, drivers who do not qualify directly through their heat race will have the opportunity to race their way forward through the Alphabet Soup!
Drivers will be placed into their respective races based on their passing-points position within their heat.
With six heats, the breakdown would be:
• 4th in passing points → B-Main
• 5th in passing points → C-Main
• 6th in passing points → D-Main
• 7th in passing points → E-Main
Drivers will have the opportunity to advance through the Alphabet Soup and ultimately race their way into the A-Main!
🔥 THE HIGH SIDE CHALLENGE
The High Side Challenge will be the FIRST XBP RACE OF THE DAY, taking place BEFORE the qualifying heat races!
This 10-lap event will feature a unique twist:
For the first 8 laps, the leader MUST run the high side of the racetrack!
The winner will earn a guaranteed spot in the Pole Shuffle!
Since this race takes place before the heats, the High Side Challenge winner will still have the opportunity to qualify for the Pole Shuffle through their heat race.
If they earn one of the two Pole Shuffle spots from their heat, we’ll have 12 total drivers in the Shuffle.
If they do NOT earn a Pole Shuffle spot through their heat, they will still be included as an additional qualifier, giving us 13 drivers in the Pole Shuffle!
🏆 THE POLE SHUFFLE
Following qualifying, we will conduct a REVENGE DRAW to determine the Pole Shuffle order!
The Pole Shuffle will feature head-to-head races, with the winner advancing to face the next challenger.
The loser of each matchup will have their A-Main starting position determined by how far they advance.
Assuming we have 13 Pole Shuffle competitors:
🏁 Loser of the first matchup starts 13th.
🏁 Loser of the second matchup starts 12th.
🏁 Loser of the third matchup starts 11th.
🏁 This continues until the final two drivers battle for the POLE POSITION FOR THE 212!
If there are only 12 drivers in the Shuffle, the first driver eliminated will start 12th, and the process continues from there.
The farther you advance, the closer you start to the front!
🏁 EVERYONE GETS A CHANCE TO RACE THEIR WAY IN!
As always, we will utilize the Alphabet Soup format to give drivers the opportunity to race their way into The 212!
PLEASE NOTE: All of the above is based on a six-heat format. The final number of heats, transfers, and Alphabet Soup races will be determined by the total number of entries.
Our goal is to reward passing, give drivers the opportunity to earn their way forward, and put on some incredible racing for the fans!
🏁 THE 212 PRESENTED BY RB CONSTRUCTION 🏁
