Falkner: "Knockout" championship format in 2016

FARC president Jeff Falkner announced what is perhaps the biggest change in series history, a change in the championship format from a year-long points battle to a playoff system, not unlike that seen in the Southern-based American Stock Car Championship, that eliminates drivers from championship contention in increments during the last leg of the FARC Smash Beer/Lowe Dollar Series season and, in theory, allows drivers unable to race the whole season to join the title fight as well.

"We have arrived at a format that will be challenging, exciting, but fair to all our teams, and we can't wait to see it in action. Winning will be of the utmost importance, from the beginning at Daytona all the way to the end at Texas World, where the best of the best will fight to be first," said Falkner, "Best of all, any of our teams can look forward to having a chance, no matter how many of our races they can make it to, as long as they're fast enough."

The changes to the championship format, dubbed the FARC-Off, are as follows:

-There will be 17 race weekends in 2016; 10 regular points races, and 7 FARC-Off races.

-A victory in any points race during the first 10 race weekends of the FARC Smash Beer/Lowe Dollar Series season all but guarantees a driver a spot in the FARC-Off. A driver who wins a single race must also maintain a top-40 position in driver points, but winning two or more races will qualify a driver for the FARC-Off regardless of their points position. There is no minimum number of races a driver must start in order to be eligible for the FARC-Off.

-After the Axxelerating America Twin 76s (race 10) at Texas Motor Speedway, 15 drivers will advance to the FARC-Off and have their points reset equally. The first drivers to qualify will be those with the most race wins. After the drivers who qualify on victories are seeded, the rest of the FARC-Off spots will be filled according to points positions, starting with the highest driver in points with no race wins.

-The number of drivers in the FARC-Off will decrease by five after every three races, with the remaining drivers having their points reset again for the next round. After FARC-Off race 3, 10 drivers will remain, and after FARC-Off race 6, 5 drivers will remain.

-A win by any championship-eligible driver will automatically earn them a spot in the next FARC-Off round.

-The final five drivers will fight for the title at the Lowe Dollar Lone Star Championships at Texas World Speedway, with the highest finisher among them claiming the FARC Smash Beer/Lowe Dollar Series championship.

In addition to the format changes, a victory in any points race will guarantee drivers a starting spot in the Lowe Dollar Lone Star Championships at Texas World Speedway, and the FARC-Off cutoff races (points race 10, FARC-Off races 3 and 6) will be doubleheaders, with both races counting for points and FARC-Off spots.