CJfilms
07-25-2009, 03:06 PM
With less than 24 hours to go before the next race, things are looking STRONG!!! We have 29 Small Cars and 46 Big Cars signed up for the Twin 150 Lappers!!!!
It is expected to be a hot one tomorrow, so I am telling everyone to be ready for the elements! Remember to drink plenty of fluids (non-alcoholic before the races!!!), I will bring my cooler full of bottled water for anyone who needs a drink!
As for the day's procedures and layout, there are a few things that will be covered in the driver's meeting that I want to prep everyone with now...
First off, 150 Laps....
After a typical 100 lap race, there are only so many cars that are still racing. If the counts becomes dwindled down to less than 10 cars racing at one time, we will throw the 10-to-go signal and only run 10 more laps until the checkered flag comes out....WE WILL NOT RUN LESS THAN 100 LAPS THOUGH!!!! For instance, if on lap 115 the 11th place car pulls into the pits or off the track, head flagger Matt Odwazny will throw the 10-to-go signal and the race will end on lap 125. We can't let 10 or fewer cars buzz around for 20-30 laps by themselves, the spirit of an enduro race with many cars racing will be lost at that point and both remaining drivers and fans will be annoyed by a ten car shootout.... I don't want to cut either race short, and by the car counts signed up, we shouldn't have to anyways!
There should be no reason for anyone to have a gripe about this judgement call....there is no change in registrations fee, pit admission or grandstand addmission. There will be at least two 100 lap races that will run...the outcome of the first 100 laps will determine if the race continues beyond 100 laps to the full 150.
That brings me to point #2.... enduro=endure!
After three races this season, it becomes apparent that many drivers and cars are not surviving the full 100 lap race. For whatever reason most people are pulling off the track, overheated car or overheated driver etc., you must try to get your car to endure this punishment it is receiving on the track. I don't want to tell everyone to race a train race and not push your cars, but try to take it a little easier early on this race...with 150 laps, you have plenty of time to catch up and pass...try to preserve your motor and car as long as possible before pushing it to the limits! For instance, at Wall Stadium, after the Small Car race was over, Dave Bentley Jr. stated he waited almost 50 laps before he started pushing his car...by saving his car/tires/brakes/etc., he was able to push the car to its limits in the timeframe that it mattered the most...the end of the race! That is something to keep in mind...
HEAT HEAT HEAT!!!!
Tomorrow is looking to be a scortcher! This is going to mean two things, dry track and hot cars and drivers. To handle the first problem, the water truck will be ready to wet the track down if need be it. IF we throw a red flag to wet the track down, we will get the cars rolling around, SINGLE FILE, following the water truck for as many laps as it takes to wet the track down. The field will NOT LINE UP! The cars that are stopped on the track will PACE the field slowly in the order they are in...PERIOD. If there are two cars next to each other on a red flag, the car on the inside (closest to the infield) takes the lead position in front of the car on the outside (closest to the stands). The water truck will pace the field a few laps, which will not count towards laps completed, and will pull off once the track conditions are appropriate. When the truck pulls off, racing will resume in turn 4 as it does at the begining of the race. I will go over this procedure at the driver's meeting also to make sure everyone is on the same page...
IMPORTANT NOTE!!! Red flag means stop....if we see drivers cruising around the track this race in an effort t opass other cars, we will either move you back to the position you should be in when we threw the flag...or you will be penalized one lap. If we see two drivers who are arguing about one of them moved to the inside as the red was thrown, our official's will make a call based on our knowledge of the two driver's racing efforts throught the day...if we feel the inside car moved there illegally, they lose the position... Don't force the officials to make these judgement calls and hold up the track watering....you will be penalized if it happens more than once. If we have to stop the race to wet the track down, it will be a short lived stop, we want the show to continue to move smoothly...
As far a handling the hot drivers, we will have officials in the infield handing out water to the drivers while the track is being watered... Cars will not stop, you will slowly run past the official handing out bottled water and grab it as you pass by...if you speed past them, they will not hold it out for you to grab. Again, I will describe this better at the drvier's meeting. Officials will only get ONE GOOD SHOT at getting you a bottle of water during the water truck pace laps...if you don't want water, stay to the high side of the trakc and let someone else get a drink. After you get bottle, you must keep the empty bottle inside the car....don't throw it out the window.
We have a BIG day ahead of us tomorow and I want to see everyone's car hold together and the day run smooth....we need everyone's help to work together and reach this goal....we have done it in the past, we can do it again!
See you all tomorrow!
It is expected to be a hot one tomorrow, so I am telling everyone to be ready for the elements! Remember to drink plenty of fluids (non-alcoholic before the races!!!), I will bring my cooler full of bottled water for anyone who needs a drink!
As for the day's procedures and layout, there are a few things that will be covered in the driver's meeting that I want to prep everyone with now...
First off, 150 Laps....
After a typical 100 lap race, there are only so many cars that are still racing. If the counts becomes dwindled down to less than 10 cars racing at one time, we will throw the 10-to-go signal and only run 10 more laps until the checkered flag comes out....WE WILL NOT RUN LESS THAN 100 LAPS THOUGH!!!! For instance, if on lap 115 the 11th place car pulls into the pits or off the track, head flagger Matt Odwazny will throw the 10-to-go signal and the race will end on lap 125. We can't let 10 or fewer cars buzz around for 20-30 laps by themselves, the spirit of an enduro race with many cars racing will be lost at that point and both remaining drivers and fans will be annoyed by a ten car shootout.... I don't want to cut either race short, and by the car counts signed up, we shouldn't have to anyways!
There should be no reason for anyone to have a gripe about this judgement call....there is no change in registrations fee, pit admission or grandstand addmission. There will be at least two 100 lap races that will run...the outcome of the first 100 laps will determine if the race continues beyond 100 laps to the full 150.
That brings me to point #2.... enduro=endure!
After three races this season, it becomes apparent that many drivers and cars are not surviving the full 100 lap race. For whatever reason most people are pulling off the track, overheated car or overheated driver etc., you must try to get your car to endure this punishment it is receiving on the track. I don't want to tell everyone to race a train race and not push your cars, but try to take it a little easier early on this race...with 150 laps, you have plenty of time to catch up and pass...try to preserve your motor and car as long as possible before pushing it to the limits! For instance, at Wall Stadium, after the Small Car race was over, Dave Bentley Jr. stated he waited almost 50 laps before he started pushing his car...by saving his car/tires/brakes/etc., he was able to push the car to its limits in the timeframe that it mattered the most...the end of the race! That is something to keep in mind...
HEAT HEAT HEAT!!!!
Tomorrow is looking to be a scortcher! This is going to mean two things, dry track and hot cars and drivers. To handle the first problem, the water truck will be ready to wet the track down if need be it. IF we throw a red flag to wet the track down, we will get the cars rolling around, SINGLE FILE, following the water truck for as many laps as it takes to wet the track down. The field will NOT LINE UP! The cars that are stopped on the track will PACE the field slowly in the order they are in...PERIOD. If there are two cars next to each other on a red flag, the car on the inside (closest to the infield) takes the lead position in front of the car on the outside (closest to the stands). The water truck will pace the field a few laps, which will not count towards laps completed, and will pull off once the track conditions are appropriate. When the truck pulls off, racing will resume in turn 4 as it does at the begining of the race. I will go over this procedure at the driver's meeting also to make sure everyone is on the same page...
IMPORTANT NOTE!!! Red flag means stop....if we see drivers cruising around the track this race in an effort t opass other cars, we will either move you back to the position you should be in when we threw the flag...or you will be penalized one lap. If we see two drivers who are arguing about one of them moved to the inside as the red was thrown, our official's will make a call based on our knowledge of the two driver's racing efforts throught the day...if we feel the inside car moved there illegally, they lose the position... Don't force the officials to make these judgement calls and hold up the track watering....you will be penalized if it happens more than once. If we have to stop the race to wet the track down, it will be a short lived stop, we want the show to continue to move smoothly...
As far a handling the hot drivers, we will have officials in the infield handing out water to the drivers while the track is being watered... Cars will not stop, you will slowly run past the official handing out bottled water and grab it as you pass by...if you speed past them, they will not hold it out for you to grab. Again, I will describe this better at the drvier's meeting. Officials will only get ONE GOOD SHOT at getting you a bottle of water during the water truck pace laps...if you don't want water, stay to the high side of the trakc and let someone else get a drink. After you get bottle, you must keep the empty bottle inside the car....don't throw it out the window.
We have a BIG day ahead of us tomorow and I want to see everyone's car hold together and the day run smooth....we need everyone's help to work together and reach this goal....we have done it in the past, we can do it again!
See you all tomorrow!