What in the actual cluck am I reading?

The SCCA solo nats book states:

 7.6 LUCK OR CHANCE
Luck or chance, or gimmicks, such as balloon bursting, may not be de-liberately included as a factor in judging in National Tour and National Championship events. Regional events may use such gimmicks if that fact is clearly stated in advance publicity and the supplementary regulations for the event.

what am I reading? Balloon bursting? Circus tricks at one time WERE allowed?

In reply to Countingcrowbars :

That seems to be referring to gymkhana events like they run in England. Those often have gimmicks and/or require backing up on course or other maneuvers we wouldn't encounter in normal autocross.  

In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :

So... I've seen those. I'm not sure how that is judged as "luck" since it does require skill (I guess?) to mail the balloon with a tire. I also saw one where they had to hit a broomstick, but not knock it off a table or something. It's skill, but it's not really in the spirit of "fastest". 

Countingcrowbars said:

In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :

I'm not sure how that is judged as "luck" 

I'm not a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure balloon bursting would fall under gimmicks rather than luck.

I actually think this is "luck". Wind blowing around balloons that you are trying to pop. 

Now I'm thinking of a drift show where they had a knife taped to the front bumper, and the driver was peeling an apple with a Silvia.

I believe that the no luck / gimmicks rule is referring to breaking ties.

In reply to Duke :

That is where this was located in the handbook. Which is what I'm trying to understand. In the past, when this happened, did they just flip a coin to break a tie?

In reply to Countingcrowbars :

I've seen (not in autocross) ties broken by least number of cones hit over the day.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

What if none were hit? I mean, I realize what we are taking about here is absurdly rare, to the point of never ever happening. In fact, I think I'd hang up my hat if two drivers could post identical times even twice in a row.