A claim rule lets an eligible competitor buy a rival's engine or component for a fixed price set by the rulebook, right after the feature. It caps spending by making an expensive advantage purchasable.
Every part of it is rulebook-specific: the amount, what is claimable, who may claim, and the deadline. Treat the numbers below as one series’ version, not a standard. IMCA’s 2026 Modified rules set the engine claim at “$1,050 cash, or $100 and exchange, claim on engine, flywheel and balancing plates,” and its general procedures let any eligible driver finishing fifth or back on the lead lap claim from the top four, immediately after the feature, with cash, license and claim card in hand. Refusal costs a 30-day suspension, the night’s money and a season of points on a first offense. Other rulebooks put shocks or carburetors on the list; some series skip claiming and police cost with sealed crate engines and protest teardowns instead.
Race in a claim class without knowing the amount, the eligibility window and the refusal penalty and you can lose an engine, or a season, on a rule you never read.