NC

NC stands for "Not Classified" and is a result status given to drivers who start a race but don't complete enough of the total distance to receive an official finishing position in the final results.

When you watch a motorsport race, you'll notice that the results list drivers in order from first place to last. However, some drivers appear at the bottom with "NC" next to their names instead of a position number. This happens when they haven't driven far enough in the race to count as an official finisher.

Most racing series require drivers to complete at least 90% of the winner's distance to be classified. For example, if the race winner crosses the finish line after completing 60 laps, any driver who completes fewer than 54 laps will receive an NC status. The exact percentage can vary slightly between different racing championships, but 90% is the most common threshold.

The most common reasons for receiving an NC classification include mechanical failures, crash damage, or other technical problems that force a driver to spend too much time in the pits or garage. Even if the driver returns to the track and continues driving, they may have lost too many laps to meet the minimum distance requirement.

It's important to understand that NC doesn't always mean a driver stopped racing completely. A driver might continue circulating around the track at reduced speed, trying to gather data or simply finish the race for team morale, but still end up classified as NC because they're too far behind the leader.

Being classified as NC means the driver receives no championship points for that race, even though they participated. This can be particularly frustrating when a driver was running well early in the race but encountered problems later on.

In race results, NC drivers are typically listed after all the classified finishers, often in the order they retired or in the order of how many laps they completed. This helps teams and fans understand what happened during the race.

There's also a different use of "NC" in historic motorsport. Group NC refers to a specific category in Australian vintage racing for touring cars that competed between 1965 and 1972. This has nothing to do with the "Not Classified" result status and is simply a coincidental use of the same letters.