Since no one has come back with the origin of this rule yet, I'll jump in.
This is the "Tony Mashburn" rule that came about due to Tony's use of
electric warmers some years back at Pro Solo events mostly, but also at Solo
II. Their team featured perrenial front-runners Ken Rupp and son Todd, in a
variety of vehicles. The tire warmers only existed for one season before
they were outlawed for safety reasons. Having a bunch of generators running
in grid was considered unsafe, and even having them in the pits hooked to
tire warming blankets was deemed so as well.
So yes, the rule was in reaction someone's ingenuity (no boogeyman fear) and
it was on safety grounds (note economics, etc.).
--Andy
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