When I stated the waits were long I hope no one took it like they weren't
working their butt off! Everyone i see is working real hard to keep things
moving and i am real sure I couldn't even begin to do a better or as good job as
is being done. i was just stating things as i saw them. What i saw from my view
of the event is it takes much longer for the course to clear than to do anything
else. growth in LSR racing as i see it is a 2 edged sword, brings more people
and interest and cuts down on the number of runs that can be made by an
individual at a meet. Seems the way to cut down on the delays from clearing the
course is in layout and education of the drivers along with some thought to what
is the hardest thing to clean up that takes the longest to do. I am with Bryan
on the glass thing, There have to be better alternatives to glass for use in
racing and Lexan comes to mind. The right thickness i have no idea but i bet
someone here does ( or a better material)! Maybe after some set speed require a
composite for 'glass' and suitable straps especially in types of cars that have
had problems of using it(breaking or blowing out). I always though you ought to
have windshield and rear window supports as a bare minimum and side straps as
needed especially on cars that have no support around the edge of the glass.
Turks Camaro is an example of what i mean. There is nothing holding the top edge
of the glass in or the outside edges. not picking on him as he has never lost a
window that i know of just a body style example.
The thing to do is ask the course workers what they pick up the most of or what
in their mind is the longest delay. If you do a little math and realize that if
30 seconds were saved clearing each car you have added 16 hours to the meet.
Makes me think if return roads are an issue then maybe ask and see what the
racers might want to be different if it gets them off the track 30 seconds
sooner. None of this can come from working harder as everyone I am sure is at
the limit now. it might come from working smarter though and not allowing things
that have always failed in the past or making it easier to get off the course.
the other thing is if the car is not running right at the 3 it is not going to
clear out and magically run great at the 4 or 5. Turk and i had more than our
fair share of issues with his car this year, but if it was not running right at
the 1/4 we picked him up at the 3 and did not drone down the course going
nowhere for another minute while everyone waited. That's a driver issue though
and maybe everyone that drives there has to think that one over for themselves.
Dave Dahlgren
Bill McDowell wrote:
>
> Hi Guys, this is my first post to the list. I am the guy in the timing
> tower that is trying to make the short course run as fast as safety will
> allow. I know some days you wait in long lines. After working in the tower
> for 6 days, 12+ hours a day, a few things come to my mind about making the
> line faster. First, I recomend we have more turnouts available after the 3
> mile marker if the salt is not smooth enough to turn out. We had one at the
> 2 3/4, and one at the 3 1/2, but for some reason people liked to turn out
> past the 4 mile marker. Most of these were not fast vehicles. If drivers
> would angle off the track, I can see from my position the track is clear and
> can send another vehicle. From the drivers perspective, are the turnouts
> two sharp? We waste alot of time waiting for cars to turnout and clear the
> course. If you are haveing a problem and need help or have posible left
> parts on the course turn in toward the middle so we know it. Many times the
> drivers coast on the track untill they roll to a stop. More so this year
> than past years, people were not ready when they got to the line?????? just
> what my starters tell me. These may seem like little things to some, but
> from my chair and what I do all week, it adds up to alot of time. The good
> thing was, we ran alot of runs, and had a safe meet. Bill McD
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