
With a new season starting in just one week, here are some of the changes and what's new for the the 2024/2025 Winter Season.
Series Updates

MYSTERY NIGHTS
New: Multiple Mystery Nights will be included in the schedule.
Last season, we introduced a Mystery Night where drivers were unaware of which track we would be racing on until the session started. Rather than spending hours testing, drivers were forced to build setups on the fly with limited time. After receiving positive feedback, we're including 5 Mystery Nights on the upcoming schedule, while some tracks will still be announced in advance.
SESSION FORMAT
Previously: One session for qualifying, followed by a separate session for the race.
New: One single session for the entire format including qualifying, a warmup, and the race.
Instead of using two separate sessions and switching after qualifying, the entire Super Series format will now be run in one session. After qualifying, there will be a brief warmup to allow admins to determine any provisionals and calculate the Top 8 Handicap before advancing to the feature. All conditions will carry over throughout the session.
PROVISIONALS
Previously: Top 25 cars from Time Trials lock in, then 5 provisionals based on points.
New: Top 28 cars from Time Trials lock in, then 2 provisionals based on points. Drivers must attempt a lap to receive a provisional.
The number of cars locking in from Time Trials has increased to 28, and the number of provisionals has been reduced down to 2. With the ability to view other drivers' qualifying laps during the session, we will now ensure that drivers attempt a lap to be eligible for a provisional. Drivers who do not attempt a qualifying lap will be ineligible for a provisional.
CHOOSE RULE
Previously: Drivers line up for restarts in the inside or outside lane based on their running position.
New: Drivers choose their lane for restarts (*at most tracks).
We experimented with a Choose Rule during the 2023 Fall Weekly Series and the Martinsville National Tour event. For the upcoming season, the Super Series will use the Choose Rule at most events. The choose location may vary by track, but in general, drivers will be able to choose either the inside or outside lane for each restart. At some tracks, the standard restart rules may be used.
The Super Series is the only series that will use the Choose Rule this season. Other series will use standard restart procedures.

FORMAT
There are no new changes to the Contender Series format, however since there may be some newer drivers reading this, we might as well quickly layout the qualifying and race format for the series. There will be two qualifying sessions each week, and drivers can join either session. After completing their qualifying laps, drivers can leave the session and wait for the race sessions to launch. All drivers will race, and will be separated into multiple race splits that will run simultaneously.
INVERT
Previously: A random number of 10-16 cars in total across all splits were inverted at the front of the field.
New: A standard invert of 5 cars in each split will be used at the front of the field.
The Contender Series will feature one small change this season. Instead of inverting a random number of cars at the front of the field across all splits, there will be a standard invert of 5 cars in each split.

TUESDAY SERIES
New: Mini Stocks
The Mini Stocks will make their debut on Tuesday nights this season. They will run a Heat Race format, with random draw lineups and 50-75 lap races at some of iRacing's smaller tracks and configurations.
Fall Brawl

TITLE PARTNER
Previously: H&H Sign Supply
New: Sim Wrap Market
While H&H Sign Supply has been a valued partner of our Fall Brawl event since 2016, we are excited to announce that Sim Wrap Market will be our new title partner for the 10th Annual Fall Brawl! The event will feature Super Late Models, with multiple support divisions also included.
Rules & Procedures
INCIDENT PENALTY POINTS
Previously: Penalty points were applied at 15+ incident points during a race.
New: Penalty points will now be applied at 20+ incidents during a race, and 70+ total incidents during the season.
For years, penalty points have been applied when drivers exceed 15 incidents in a race, but this sometimes impacted points battles or championships if a driver had one bad race. By increasing the threshold to 20 incidents per race, we reduce the likelihood of penalizing a driver for a single poor performance while still penalizing those who accumulate a large number of incidents.
Additionally, a new penalty will be applied for drivers who accumulate 70+ incidents over the course of the season. A 5-point penalty will be applied once this threshold is reached, and the penalty will increase by 5 points for every additional 10 incidents after that. This change should encourage full time drivers to keep their total incidents down throughout the season.
EOL PENALTY
New: EOL To Start Next Race penalty has been added.
A new penalty option has been added for P1 and P2 Penalties, which is an EOL to start the next race (in that respective series). Most penalties are currently applied post-race, but this new option may be used in certain situations this season.
TIRE RELATED CAUTIONS
New: Drivers who cause a caution due to a flat tire, or a tire going flat, will receive a penalty.
In events where tire wear becomes a factor, we've witnessed cars become nearly uncontrollable, but drivers continue racing and cause cautions because they lose control or stop on track. Drivers are expected to maintain control of their cars, and if it becomes clear that tire wear is causing a driver to lose control, they are expected to slow their pace or head to pit road to avoid creating additional problems or affecting the race.
SCHEDULED SESSIONS & WEATHER
Previously: A forecast was provided on the website, and sessions were scheduled just before event time.
New: Sessions will be scheduled in advance early in the week, and the forecast can be viewed directly in the UI.
With iRacing's weather changes earlier this year, we've adjusted the way we schedule sessions. Rather than providing a forecast on the website each week, we will now schedule sessions at the start of the week and the actual forecast can be viewed directly in the UI. Once a session is scheduled, drivers can view the session by going to Leagues > Up Next, then click on the session to view its details, which will include a Forecast button.