A Mii passing through a gate.
Gates are large arches used in Power Cruising, which have a timer on the top. Once the player passes a checkpoint gate, the timer on the next checkpoint begins to count down, starting at 10. Wherever the timer is when the player passes through that checkpoint is the score that gets added to their total points. If they drive through the occasional bonus ring inside some checkpoints, they get double that checkpoint's points.
