This page documents The Third Turn's notability guidelines - that is to say what level and types of competition meet a standard worthy of inclusion in our statistical database and methods for how included races are classified.
Site inclusion
There are different levels of auto racing - big and small. Our site was founded to document the contributions of the local short track racer while showing the complete career progression of nationally-known names. Over the years our site has expanded to ensure more disciplines and levels of racing are included on our site, but at some point we must define a line where a race or event does not meet the muster to stand alongside others. Relatedly, the Daytona 500 is at a different level than a 5-car sport compact race at a local short track. Yet we happily include both on our site - so must define why we consider them both worthy of inclusion.
Our notability standard is as such: We include races that feature motorized organized competition between vehicles purpose built for racing on a circuit track.
It is perhaps easier to explain what each section of that statement excludes since what it includes is a number of races literally in the hundreds of thousands.
Organized competition - A race must be planned and advertised in advance, promoted by an individual or group that does so for the purpose of an actual competition, almost always with monetary awards dependent upon the outcome. This would exclude impromptu street racing (sorry Fast and the Furious)
Purpose-built motorized vehicles - The vehicle must be identifiable as a racecar and can not merely be some type of recreational vehicle being raced without modifications. This is why our site does not cover go-karts, ATVs, riding lawn mowers, etc. All of those vehicles are widely produced for non-racing purposes, even if they can and are used for organized races.
Circuit racing - This excludes drag racing, rallies, and hill climbs. While we admire competitors of those disciplines, those events are another can of worms that would require significant coding changes.
Racing Series
We must also delineate what makes a competition a "series" versus, say, a division competing during a season at a short track.
A series (or "tour", which we consider synonymous) is automatically considered on our site as such if:
- The series has a clearly defined name and identity
- Regularly has some sort of season-long points competition or otherwise declares a champion.
- Competes at two or more tracks.
Our site also selectively covers a few one track series. These series are included because they have high-paying purses and attract a significant amount of regional competitors beyond the normal track regulars. An example of this is the Show Me The Money Pro Late Model Series.
Also note that some series start out as one track series (that we may be disinclined to include), but are worthy of inclusion the moment a second track is included, even if it is just one race among a hundred in the series history. An example of this is the Red, White, and Blue State Championship Series. While it currently runs as a major one-track series (and thus would probably be included on our site anyway), it raced a few times outside Kaukauna in the early 1990s, qualifying it as a touring series.
Annual Event
A race is considered an annual event on our site if:
- It has a clearly defined name and identity (i.e. It can simply not be a track's "Championship Night")
- It has a purse larger than a normal weekly event at the facility.
- It has run two consecutive years.
Special one-off events, with large purses are included on our site at Exhibition Races on The Third Turn - they simply do not get organized into a proper event page until a second running.
