FAQ
83 answered questions33 official
Rules questions from the BoardGameGeek forum. Answers marked Official were confirmed by GMT Games or the designers.
Common mistakes
- Moving cars in running order. Action segments go round the table from the First Player. Ruling · Rule
- Changing lanes after a Draft or Pursuit car has moved forward and linked. Ruling · Rule
- Slowing the whole Draft Line. Only the active car suffers its speed penalty. Ruling · Rule
- Leaving the pits at full speed or straight down the Apron. Move sideways onto the track first, with the small pit exit number and Solo movement. Ruling · Rule
- Scoring a point for every turn led. A car gets one bonus however many turns it led. Ruling · Rule
- Drawing Events or giving Turn Leader markers after a car has finished. Ruling · Rule
- Removing a car the moment it gets its 6th Wear marker. It goes out at its next activation. Ruling · Rule
Showing 83 of 83
How is the player turn order determined for each turn?
The action segments begin with the player holding the First Player Marker, and play proceeds clockwise around the table. Running order does not determine the order of Action Segments.
Source: BGG thread
Does the Start Player token pass clockwise around the table after each turn?
No. The start player token does not pass clockwise around the table. Instead, the turn order and starting player are determined by the current lap leader after all pit stops and event cards are concluded.
Source: BGG thread
When does a full turn end?
A full turn ends after every player has activated all of their cars once (i.e., every car has been flipped to its black side).
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
Are cars considered permanently "linked" from one turn to the next? Official
No, cars are linked only for the duration of the movement card just played. Links occur and dissolve when each car is played.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
When using a Draft or Pursuit movement card, is the active car permitted to move laterally after it has already moved forward? Official
Yes, but only as long as a forward or rearward draft link has not been established. Once the active car moves forward and links with another car, lateral movement is no longer allowed for that activation.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread, BGG thread
When using Draft or Pursuit movement, can an active car move laterally, go forward, and then perform additional lateral movements before linking? Official
Yes. In draft and pursuit movement, you are only locked from making lateral movements once you have actually affected/linked another car by moving forward while adjacent to it.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread, BGG thread, BGG thread
When using Draft or Pursuit movement, does a car immediately become linked to adjacent cars at the start of its activation? Official
No. A car using Pursuit or Draft movement is not linked until two requirements are met with the same movement point: (1) forward movement is made, and (2) a car is linked by that forward movement (Draft forward or behind, and Pursuit in front only). Until these conditions are met, the car may move forward and laterally exactly as a solo move.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread, BGG thread, BGG thread, BGG thread
Can a car start its movement with a Draft or Pursuit card while already positioned directly behind another car?
Yes. The draft/pursuit line does not form and cars do not become linked until the active car actually executes forward movement.
Source: BGG thread
When using Draft Movement, if the active car moves forward and chooses to NOT pull trailing cars, is it still prohibited from making lateral moves? Official
No, choosing not to pull means no link is established, so lateral movement is allowed.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
When using a Lead movement card, does the active car pick up new cars along the way if it moves in front of them during lateral or forward movement?
No. Linkage for Lead Movement is determined strictly at the start of the turn and is never reassessed or added to during movement.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
When using a Lead movement card at the start of a race, does the car directly behind move immediately?
Yes, Lead movement checks for linkage the exact instant the card is played, so trailing cars in line follow immediately.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
When executing Lead Movement, are cars immediately behind the leader linked at the moment of activation?
Yes. Cars immediately behind are linked by default at the moment of activation in Lead Movement, and moving laterally does not shake them off or break the link.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
If a Lead movement card pushes a car laterally into another car in a tight spot that disrupts the following linked cars, how is it resolved? Official
The car being pushed laterally and backwards is instead moved forward one space.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
When using a Draft or Lead movement card on a track where a corner branches into two straightaway lanes, which lane follows the active car?
The active player chooses which lane follows with a draft or lead movement card. This choice may include an empty lane even if there are cars in the other lane.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread, BGG thread
Can a car make diagonal movement between two cars when using Lead movement (such as *Slingshot*)?
Yes, as long as the destination field is empty, diagonal movement is completely legal.
Source: BGG thread
When playing a Slingshot card, does the once-per-turn diagonal move cost movement points?
Yes, it costs movement points just like normal movement; the card simply enables an otherwise illegal diagonal move into an empty space.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
Can a Slingshot diagonal move pass between two diagonally adjacent cars?
Yes, there are no rules prohibiting squeezing between diagonally-adjacent cars during a slingshot move.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
Can a car enter the exact same space twice during a single turn?
No, entering the same space twice in one turn is illegal.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
When using the "Rubbin’ is Racin’" special move card, are lateral movements free, and can they be used multiple times?
Yes, all legal lateral movements cost 0 MPs when using this card, and the special move may be used multiple times in a turn as long as the moves remain legal.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread, BGG thread
Can a leader car be linked to a lapped car of the same team using a Lead or Draft movement? Official
Yes. A car is a car regardless of lap status, and linking to a lapped teammate is a valid way to protect them from elimination.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
Can a nearly lapped car draft the lead car and its linked pack?
Yes, the rearmost car acts like any other car and can pull or push the pack, provided it initiates forward movement correctly.
Source: BGG thread
Can a car with zero movement points remaining due to wear still advance using a Clean Air card? Official
Yes, a car using a Clean Air card can advance an arbitrary number of sectors with 0 expended movement points, provided it is alone in its sector after moving 0 spaces.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
When using the "Clean Air" solo movement card near the end of the race, can a car cross the finish line to win? Official
No, cars that cross the finish line are immediately removed from the track for scoring, so the Clean Air car treats the cars ahead on the team sheet as having finished and stops when it reaches the closest remaining car on the track.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
When a car with a Speed Penalty uses Draft movement, does the penalty affect the cars being pulled in front or behind?
No. Only the Active Car spends MPs and takes the penalty. Linked cars are passively pushed or pulled and move no further than the active car.
Source: BGG thread
Must an active car spend all of the Movement Points (MPs) granted by its card? Official
Yes, all MPs must be accounted for. However, if a car has remaining MPs that it does not wish to use to change lanes, it may spend them on an unsuccessful displacement (bumping) against an adjacent car to remain in place.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread, BGG thread, BGG thread, BGG thread
When a player has remaining movement points that cannot be used to forward displace a car because they lack the required 3 MPs, what are their options?
If they have 1 or 2 MPs remaining, they can use them to attempt an unsuccessful forward displacement ("bumping") and end their turn, without being forced to move laterally. Players are never allowed to commit less than 3 MPs to a forward displacement or 1 MP to a lateral displacement if they actually possess enough points to execute it successfully.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
Does spending 3 MPs for Forward Displacement occur during Draft and Pursuit movement?
No, spending 3 MPs for Forward Displacement only occurs in Solo and Lead Movement due to the mechanics of linking.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
When using Lead Movement, does spending 3 MPs to push a car forward apply once or for every space pushed?
It costs 3 MPs for every single time you push a car ahead.
Source: BGG thread
Can the active car spend 3 MPs to push the car in front of it instead of swapping places when using the "Working the Pack" card? Official
Yes, swapping places is optional; the active car may use it as a standard solo/push card.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
What happens when an "Oversteer" movement card instructs a car to move one lane towards the Apron, but the adjacent space is the Apron?
You ignore the movement and remain in the space.
Source: BGG thread
Is the "inside lane" always the lane closest to the Apron, regardless of track curves?
Yes, the inside lane is always the one closer to the Apron (the yellow line), regardless of the direction of the turn.
Source: BGG thread
When a car is laterally displaced into another car, what happens if there is no car behind to absorb a backward displacement?
It triggers a chain reaction: the displaced car pushes adjacent cars laterally, and if pushed into a wall or apron where it cannot move laterally, it displaces backwards, pushing any cars behind it backwards.
Source: BGG thread
How should the "Tight" event card be interpreted regarding suspension wear? Official
The card text is missing the word "BLUE". It should read: "The car with the most blue suspension markers turns in one of their Blue Suspension markers in exchange for 1 Yellow Suspension marker."
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
What is the definition of "adjacent" for events like Collision? Official
Cars are considered adjacent to each other if they are side-by-side or front-to-back. Diagonal is not adjacent. If one lane abuts two or three at a corner, all of those lanes are considered adjacent.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
How many cars are affected by the "Collision" event card? Official
The card affects the chosen originator car and any cars orthogonally adjacent to it in different lanes (ahead, behind, or to the sides). Each player involved will have only one car affected (chosen by the player controlling that affected team), taking 2 Red damage tokens.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
If no cars clearly meet the requirements for an event like the "Collision" card, how do you determine which team is affected?
Draw a race card and look at the Team Bar; the first active team that appears on the Team Bar has its cars affected.
Source: BGG thread
If an event card (such as a Blown Engine Yellow Flag) specifies a condition, but no car on the track meets that condition, how is it handled?
It is treated as a non-event and the yellow flag is ignored. Do not draw a replacement event card, and pitting is treated as occurring under a green flag.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread, BGG thread, BGG thread
When an event card is drawn for a yellow flag caution, but no cars are affected, should it be treated as a green flag or a yellow flag restart?
Even if the event does not trigger any cars, yellow flag restarts should still take place.
Source: BGG thread
If a yellow flag event card is drawn, but no one chooses to pit, does a restart procedure still take place?
Yes. Even if no one pits, a restart still happens, bunching the field back up behind the leader.
Source: BGG thread
How should the "Brush The Wall" event card be handled despite featuring a yellow flag icon without explicit restart text on the card? Official
A yellow flag icon always signifies that a yellow flag restart is initiated.
Source: BGG thread
For the "Pile-up" event card, do the cars behind the affected car need to be directly linked? Official
No, they do not need to be linked; it represents a chain-reaction crash affecting cars behind the affected car in running order regardless of how many sectors back or which lanes they are in.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread, BGG thread
When resolving a Pile-up event card, how far through the running order do you continue assigning damage? Official
Continue assigning damage sequentially through the running order until each eligible team has assigned damage to one car, or until a team is bypassed because none of its cars are positioned behind the last damaged car. Do not loop back or make a second pass through the pack.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread, BGG thread
How is the "Front End Damage" event card resolved with the Team Bar?
You check cars from front to back on the track; the first car matching the team color drawn on the Team Bar that has a car directly in front of it takes the damage, and the event ends.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
If a team has multiple cars that qualify for an event like "Spin Out", who chooses which car is affected? Official
The player controlling that team chooses which of their cars has to deal with the event.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
Do cars that are out of the race (retired) count when event cards check for cars "with the most" tokens?
No, cars out of the race do not count and are not affected.
Source: BGG thread
Do players have to discard leftover cards at the end of a turn?
Discarding leftover cards at the end of a turn is optional. Players retain hand sizes determined by the number of cars their team started with plus one (hand size never reduces due to eliminated cars).
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread, BGG thread
Can the second movement granted by the "Teamwork" card be used to exit the pits?
No. When exiting the pits using a card, all card text and movement types are ignored in favor of standard Solo Movement using the card's pit exit speed value.
Source: BGG thread
Can a player make a pit stop during their regular turn when moving a car?
No, pit stops are only checked and performed during the End of Turn Sequence after all players have completed their action segments and the event card is resolved.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
When a car makes a pit stop, does it require a clear path of movement to reach the apron?
No path is needed; the car "teleports" directly from its current track space to the corresponding space in the apron.
Source: BGG thread
What happens when multiple cars pit during a Green Flag pit stop and end up occupying the same sector in the pit lane?
Stack the cars in the order of arrival (leading car at the bottom) on the same space in the pit lane.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
Are cars considered linked while moving backward in the pit lane during a Green Flag pit stop? Official
No, cars are not linked in the pit lane, and all moves out of the pit lane are solo.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
When exiting the pits during a Green Flag pit stop, must the first move be lateral out of the pit?
Yes, the first move must be laterally out of the pit onto the track, even if it requires 2 MPs to displace a car.
Source: BGG thread
When coming out of the pits using a Draft card, can you use the draft ability for the movement?
No, all cards are treated strictly as solo cards when exiting a pit, and only the small movement number is used.
Source: BGG thread
How are pit stops handled under a Red Flag?
Since the first Red Flag card instructs that it has no effect (acting as a non-effect/Green Flag), pit stops follow standard green flag pitting rules unless a second Red Flag ends the race.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
When cars make a green flag pit stop, do they affect each other on pit road (the apron)?
No. Cars on pit road have no effect on each other and stack up within their respective spaces on the apron.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
If a car is pushed back behind the race leader during a green-flag pit stop, does it become a lapped car? Official
Yes. If a car ends the turn positioned behind the race leader (even if the leader moved backward into the pits while the other car remained on the track), it is considered lapped and receives a lapped car marker.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
If a car on the lead lap enters the pits and its backward movement on the apron places it even with or behind the leader, what happens? Official
The car is considered lapped and is removed from the race.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
Can a car in the pit apron be considered the race leader or receive a Turn Leader marker? Official
Yes. A car in the pits can still be in the lead if it satisfies the running order criteria (completing the most laps and fewest sectors from the finish line), though cars on the track are considered ahead of apron cars within the same sector.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread, BGG thread
If the player leading the race stops in the pits and drops back 5 places, do they still remain the race leader if they are still furthest ahead on the track?
Yes, the car keeps the lead.
Source: BGG thread
Can a car lose its lapped status during the End of Turn Sequence if the leader pits?
Yes, if the leader pits and moves back 5 spaces behind a lapped car, that lapped car is no longer behind the leader and unlaps itself before lapped cars are removed.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
Do lapped cars remain lapped during a yellow flag restart?
No, a yellow flag removes lapped status, and all lapped cars line up at the tail end of the restart field.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread, BGG thread
When cars line up for a yellow flag restart on the official example, should car #23 (pink) be placed ahead of car #21 (purple) if they occupy the same sector and pink is closer to the inside lane?
Yes, car #23 should be placed second instead of #21 because it has the inside position.
Source: BGG thread
When is a car with 6 or more wear markers removed from the race?
The car is not removed immediately upon receiving its 6th marker; it is removed the next time that specific car is activated and still has 6 or more wear markers in its holding box.
Source: BGG thread
Can a car collect multiple wear markers of the exact same type?
Yes, a car can accumulate more than one of the same temporary or permanent wear marker.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
Can a temporary wear marker be placed in the permanent wear area if you already have 4 temporary markers?
No, additional temporary wear markers go into the temporary marker area (there is no limit to how many temporary markers can be placed there).
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
What are the benefits of voluntarily retiring a car?
Retiring a car frees up your options by letting you pass your turn when that car would be activated, and ensures you do not waste a card on a broken car, allowing you to focus your full hand size on your remaining cars.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
When the first car crosses the finish line, does the race end immediately?
No, play continues until the end of the current round so that all cars complete the same number of turns.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
When a car crosses the finish line during movement, should it be removed immediately or after completing the active movement card?
Complete the entire movement activation before removing any cars that crossed the finish line from the track.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
Can a player pass an action segment for a car that has already crossed the finish line and been placed on the team sheet? Official
Yes. You may activate any car on your turn, including those off the track, which allows you to pass with a car that was pushed across the finish line by another player.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
Should players continue drawing event cards or issuing turn leader tokens after the first car crosses the finish line? Official
No. Once any player crosses the finish line, finish up the current turn until all cars have been activated, but do not draw any more events, issue turn led tokens, or hand out extra damage.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread, BGG thread
When is the "Lap Leader" (Turn Leader) point awarded?
After each full round, once every player has moved all of their cars.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
Does a new leader get a Turn Leader bonus point marker after a Green Flag pit stop?
Yes, if there is a new leader after all pit stops are completed, that car receives a Turn Leader marker.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
How many points are awarded for Turn Lead / Lap Led tokens at the end of the game? Official
Each car is awarded a maximum of 1 bonus point if it has at least one Turn Lead marker in its holding box (not 1 point per marker). In addition, the car with the most Turn Lead markers scores 1 extra bonus point.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread, BGG thread
If multiple cars tie for the highest number of Turn Leader markers at the end of the race, how is the "Most Lead Laps" token awarded?
It is awarded to the car among those tied that has the better finishing Position marker.
Source: BGG thread
How are ties resolved at the end of a game of Thunder Alley? Official
The tiebreaker is determined by which player has the car closest to the front among those tied.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
What are the tiebreakers for Season Mode if teams end up with the same total points? Official
The primary tiebreaker is the number of race wins. If still tied, it goes to the most 2nd-place finishes, then 3rd, and so on, working backward.
Source: BGG thread
[Crew] Can the second car moved via the Teamwork card benefit from the High or Low Line crew chief cards?
If the Teamwork race card is played while either the High or Low Line crew chief card is active, the second car moved by the Teamwork card is considered active and can gain the +1 pack movement bonus if it finishes on the proper line after movement.
Source: BGG thread
[Crew] When using the "X Back In It" Crew Chief card, how far forward does the activated car move? Official
The car moves forward, ignoring lane differences, until it reaches and links directly behind the very next car it encounters on the track.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
[Crew] Under the Variable Pit Stops rules, if a player has two or more Tire and/or Fuel tokens, can they choose to discard only 1 token to benefit from the 1-token pit stop rule? Official
Yes, a player may choose to discard only 1 token during a pit stop to benefit from the rule.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
[Crew] Under Crew Chief rules, can a player choose to execute a Green Flag pit stop during a Yellow Flag restart? Official
The designer notes that the official answer is no, because it has not been tested and corner cases are uncertain.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
[Crew] When a car exits the apron after a Green Flag pit stop while using Strategy Cards from the Crew Chief expansion, are card texts applied? Official
Base pit exit rules apply (movement type and text are ignored, and movement uses Solo Movement with the card's Pit Exit Speed), but strategy cards that passively benefit solo movement (such as bonuses to solo MPs) or provide separate pre/post-movement actions (such as Work the Pack) still apply when executed.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
[Tracks] On the Renay Heckman track, when a yellow flag restart results in cars stacked vertically in a single sector, how do they move once activated? Official
Until one of the stacked cars is activated, they move together as a single unit. Once one of them is activated, they separate and use solo movement until unstacked, after which normal movement resumes.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread
[Tracks] On the Dirt Oval track, what happens to a car playing Clean Air that would end up behind the next car in an illegal corner lane? Official
The car is literally picked up and moved to become linked with the next car on the track, bypassing track movement restrictions.
Source: BGG thread, BGG thread