Rules & League Info
Open Wheel Draft is run by volunteers. Respect the rules.
How to Play
IndyCar fantasy is easy & fun to play. Simply select your drivers and answer the tie-breaker question. We use a multi-tier system based on our proprietary Eaganomics™ algorithm. Updated scores & standings will be released after each race.
Draft a driver from each tier &
answer the tiebreaker question.
Watch the race to see how your drivers perform.
Win cash prize for weekend high score & top 3 season totals.
Registration Rules
League Dues: $60
- $55 of this entry fee will be used for payouts. ($5 increase from 2022.)
- $5 of all entry fees is used to pay for the software that runs this league. The league is run by volunteers.
Max League Size: 100
Registration will end when either 100 person capacity is reached OR the deadline for the first race passes. (Sat. March 4th, 2023)
League Eligibility
- Past members are eligible.
- Past members can refer anyone to join.
Gameplay Rules
- Draft form can be found on this website when tiers are released.
- Must be logged in to draft.
- Must submit before deadline.
- Deadline for each race is the start of Qualifications.
- Form will lock at Deadline
- To keep things fair, no exceptions will be made.
- Technical issues? See below.
Unable to Submit Your Picks?
- If you can't log in for any reason, request the tiers & tiebreaker from Race Control (admin) on Telegram.
- Send your picks & tiebreaker via email ([email protected]), Telegram, Facebook.
- Just make sure you send them before the deadline.
- Race Control will troubleshoot before next race.
Scoring Overview
- Points are calculated using official IndyCar point system.
- Lowest score will be dropped.
- In the event of a Tie, the tiebreaker question will be used.
- If the tiebreaker doesn't settle it, the same criteria will be used in the next race... and so on.
- Scores may be released before they are official.
Tiebreaker / Bonus Question
The last question on the draft form is intended to settle ties, but it also can earn anyone extra points.
Question: "Predict Driver to Finish Last"
If multiple players pick the same race winner, tiebreakers determine the final scores. Here's how it works:
- Closest Guess Wins: We calculate how far off your last-place driver prediction is from the actual finisher. The player with the smallest difference wins the tie.
Formula: (Total Drivers in Race) - (Your Last Place Driver's Finish Position) = Tiebreaker Difference (Tie Diff)
"Example Scenario: Your team has the high score, but you are tied with one other team.
- Total # of Drivers in Race: 25
- Opponent's Tiebreaker:Sting Ray Robb will finish in last place.
- Sting Ray Robb finishes 18th place
- 25 - 18 = 7
- Opponent's Tiebreaker Diff (Tie Diff) = 7
- Your Tiebreaker: Romain Grosjean
- Romain Grosjean finishes in 23rd place.
- 25 - 23 = 2
- 2 vs 7 (You win with the closer guess!)
- Dead Heat Tiebreaker: If still tied, you will compete against the other team(s) with a ">>" symbol next to your team name. First person to outrank the other at the end of a race wins. Same rules apply with tiebreaker.
- End of Season Tiebreakers: If ties affect the championship or individual races after the season, we total your tiebreaker scores for each relevant race. The player with the LOWEST total wins.
5-Point Bonus (Correct Prediction)
- Predict the exact last-place driver in any race and earn a 5-point bonus!
- Example: If Kyle Kirkwood got last
Points & Tie
- Everyone is eligible for the 5 bonus points, and Perfect Predictions earn you a >>
- Note: If you are down by 5 points or less, and you correctly guess the tiebreaker, you can win the race.
- Choose your tiebreaker driver strategically – it's crucial for winning tiebreakers.
- New! Tiebreaker Difference is the end-of-season Tiebreaker for both final individual race and Overall Top 3 (1st, 2nd, 3rd overall)
Example
Race with 25 drivers:
- You predict Driver X in 22nd will finish last.
- Driver X finishes 20th.
- Your tiebreaker score: 25 - 20 = 5.
Remember: A perfect tiebreaker score is 0 (you guessed the last-place driver exactly).
Website Errors, Scoring Discrepencies, & Other Bug Protocols
Our goal as always is for everything to run smoothly, but we need to set expectations as their is money at stake. This website is always a work-in-progress, and mistakes can happen for a variety of reasons. There are two categories of issues. Time-sensitive issues & Everything Else.
Time-Sensitive Issues
Time-sensitive issues are based around the draft deadline. Regardless of the cause, we cannot accept picks after the deadline. In the event that you cannot access the Draft Portal, find out the tiers and submit your picks to the Telegram, replying to SMS reminder, Facebook, email ([email protected]) with a timestamp by any means possible before the deadline.
Scoring & Other Issues
Scoring inaccuracies are not a major issue (though announcing the wrong winner is a terrible feeling that we attempt to avoid at all costs.) The most common scoring issue is that they are displaying or ranking players incorrectly. You are encouraged to point it out to us on Facebook or Telegram group where we can respond with an update.
Some of the more subtle errors that avoid detection for a few weeks or perhaps are isolated to a certain device (i.e. Android phone) should be reported to us directly or publicly. We always appreciate the extra set of eyes.
The most important thing to note is that every time you submit your picks on the draft form, a timestamped record is captured in database, your email notification, and several other locations. Mistakes are rare, easy-to-fix, and reviewed at checkpoints throughout the season.
Race Results Status: Unofficial & Not Reviewed
We usually only verify the top teams before announcing winner. Before we announce the Unofficial Winner, we double-check those who were in contention which is reliable.
Unofficial Status is our way of giving players time to identify issues. We will make the scores official after we've had a chance to double-check the system from Draft Form database to Standings.
Results have not been fully audited for calculation errors, illegal submissions, or any other small discrepancies. We typically try to make scores official before payouts.
"Not Reviewed" means no winner has been declared, and there may be any number of errors that we normally fix before posting results. The reason for blindly posting results would be to get results out ASAP so that potential winners can double-check.
League Admins reserve the right to make corrections at any time if a bug is identified. The IndyCar scoring system, draft deadline, and timestamped picks are all the matter. Last year ran smoothly, but having this rule in place will allow us to get scores to you faster.
Race Control (Admin) Disclosure
- Volunteers who participate in the league.
- Eligible to win prize money
Subject to all league rules - Timestamped picks available upon request.
- Priorities: League integrity, rule enforcement, user management, collection of dues, payouts, tier creation, form management, data integration, automated scoring, & support.
- Any questions? Contact us.
Never Miss a Race
Join the official Open Wheel Draft group chat on Telegram.
FAQ
Can I invite my friends to join the Open Wheel Draft league?
Yes, past members can refer anyone to join.
Max League Size: 100
Registration will end when either 100 person capacity is reached OR the deadline for the first race passes. (Sat. March 4th, 2023)
How much does it cost to join?
League Dues: $60
- $55 of this entry fee will be used for payouts.
- $5 of all entry fees is used to pay for the software that runs this league. The league is run by volunteers.
When can I submit my picks for the first race?
You can submit your first picks Wednesday, Februaray 23. You will receive an email with a link to the pick submission form.
When is the deadline for submitting my picks?
The deadline for each race is the start of qualifications.
The form will lock at the deadline. No exceptions will be made for the sake of fairness.
Technical issues? Email [email protected]
How do I submit my picks for each race?
You will receive an email with a link to the fantasy draft form before the race.
- The fantasy draft form can be found on this website when tiers are released.
- Must be logged in to draft.
- Must submit before deadline.
- Deadline for each race is the start of Qualifications.
- Form will lock at Deadline
- No exceptions will be made for the sake of fairness.
- Technical issues? Email [email protected]
Do you have reminders for each race?
Yes, we send email reminders to each participant.
Reminders and announcements are vital to keep the league running smoothly.
We STRONGLY encourage you to join our Telegram group, Facebook group, and add our Google Calendar.
We are working on a text message email reminder system.
What should I do if I am unable to submit my picks?
- If you can't log in for any reason, request the tiers & tiebreaker from Race Control (admin) on Telegram.
- Send your picks & tiebreaker via Email ([email protected]), Telegram, Facebook.
- Make sure you send them before the deadline.
- Race Control will troubleshoot before next race.