> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Talley, Brooks" <brooks@frnk.com>
> To: <ba-autox@autox.team.net>
> Sent: Monday, August 28, 2000 4:38 PM
> Subject: RE: 2000 Winter Slush Series-revised
>
>
> > * On second thought, does it really make sense? If you have slow car
> > followed by a fast car, surely you don't move the overlap point sooner on
> > the track, right? Unless you're expecting the slower car to suddenly go
> > faster halfway through... the way I see it, alternating slow and fast cars
> > will mean a normal (25 second) gap at start after each fast car, and a
> > longer gap after each slow car. Am I missing something? Are the
> > differences here too minute to worry about?
No, it is a shorter gap after each fast car. If I'm sending a novice street
tire driver out behind Mike Lella, I will start them as much as five seconds
before the "normal" location provided the first part of the course doesn't have
any areas of approach. He will have made up half the time before he gets to the
overlap point, and the car behind is moving slower anyway.
And yes, this is a moderately advanced starting refinement and you need to be
used to working the position. I've made my share of mistakes starting cars, but
this isn't usually the problem.
All that said, these differences are pretty minor compared to the major ones of
getting the normal overlap time as short as is practical (not practicable!), and
cutting out the dead time.
A couple of course operating/starting notes:
You don't have to wait until the course worker at the finish line has picked up
the last cone knocked down to start the next car. They have half a minute to
finish and get out of the way, and they're supposed to be hustling.
The biggest thing you can screw up is sending a car out just after another car
spins out and red-flags the course. It LOOKS worse when you send one out just
BEFORE another one spins out, but that's not your fault. ;)
Course workers -
You don't have to red-flag a car because a cone is still down. You DO have to
red-flag a car if a course worker is scampering around near the course. If you
can't get to a cone in time, don't stay so close that the car must stop for you.
Get to a safe position where you can either clear the cone if the next car
doesn't stop for it, or acknowledge the driver and send them on their way if
they DO stop for it. Done properly, and with attention, this can safely avoid
red-flagging the entire course.
When the trailer says "Hold the start.", signal to the trailer and the next
driver with an upraised palm that the start is being held. Note to the
trailer - if you hold the start, it is then incumbent upon you to tell the
starter to again send out cars!
If there's any kind of break in the timing sequence (car MDNFs and is pushed
off, trash through the lights, no stop/start on the timer), get a go-ahead from
the trailer before starting more cars - nothing worse than sending out a car and
not getting a good time on it. Depending on the nature of the problem you may
not want to overlap following cars until the problem is clearly fixed.
Timing trailer - there should be practically no situation from which our timer
can't recover and keep going. We have a LOT of long delays where the trailer
holds the start waiting for all cars to finish and reset the timer. Almost none
of these should be necessary.
When sending a car out, keep waving the flag until the driver passes you. (so I
twirl the flag, ok? It doesn't make me any less of a man, really!) This helps
avoid confusion when the driver dumps the clutch, stalls the car, restarts it,
tries to restart it again because s/he isn't sure it's running, and finally
lurches off the line.
The cars should all stage at the same place. Some starters stage the front
tires, some the front of the car. I stage the front of the car because that's
what trips the lights, but it probably doesn't much matter as long as you're
consistent. At courses with a serious right angle before the lights, it doesn't
much matter where the cars stage and I'll be pretty flexible about it (up to 18"
or so). When we have a "dragstrip" launch it DOES matter if cars get a running
start, and you see me getting fairly picky about where cars stage. Don't bitch
at me (or go ahead if you want to), bitch at the course designer. You can guide
novices up to the line by holding your hands a couple of feet apart and moving
them together as they near the line.
I usually start a car, check the cones near the starting area, then look back to
visually acknowledge the next car coming to the line and indicate that they are
in the right place (this turns into a nod by second runs). Then I watch the
previous car(s) on course to see if any are wreaking significant havoc. With
about five seconds to go I turn back to the staged car, make eye contact, and
point the flag at them to (hopefully) get some kind of acknowledgement that they
are ready. I then do a quick course scan for any last-minute doom and send the
car. Ideally there is about two seconds between pointing the flag and waving
the driver on course.
Suggestions welcomed.
KeS
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