The thing with the turn 5 situation is that we expected the truck on 1 side from the lap before but the truck on the other side was a big surprise. If you watch again, I almost ran into the back of Richard's car. That could have been very bad for one or both of us and the safety workers. It's very difficult to have to dodge 3 things all at once. I know we're supposed to slow down and be cautious but we all know what happens at Road America if you lose touch with the guy in front of you. The goal is to win the race. If you lose the draft....there's not much of a chance to catch back up. It's so hard to notice the turn worker at the turn 4 station while tucked up under another car...and unfortunately, the waving yellow only tells us there is something going on...not how many trucks are on the track and where.

Another thing I don't understand is: WHY DO THE TRUCK HAVE TO DRIVE ON THE TRACK??? Especially on the racing line heading into a brake zone! Or up the left side of the front straight? Can't they drive on the grass well off the track? I know this doesn't really work going into turn 5 but did the tow truck with the car on the hook really need to drive that car around turn 7? It would have been much safer to tow that car behind the gravel trap in 6 and leave it there for the rest of the race. I would much rather take my chances of going through the gravel and hitting a driverless car than dodging a swinging car from a hook heading to the apex of a flat out corner. Let's be honest, most cars aren't carrying enough speed through 6 to even make to the gravel trap, let alone go all the way through it.

I've never been a turn worker or a tow truck driver, so I don't know everything about what they do. And for the most part those guys do a phenomenal job. It's easy to criticize, but sometimes all it takes is putting yourself in the drivers shoes for a second to realize that being there is a terrible idea.

With all that said, those guys don't get to be the ones to make the FCY call so they have to risk a lot to go out and remove cars. It really is a difficult balance between good green flag racing and safety. Us drivers also need to be better about getting our cars to a safe spot way off track if possible, not to mention avoiding disabling contact better!

^ +1000 what Bobby said.

Pictures tell a thousand words- here's a link to a thread on rennlist that I posted with video and pictures of the T4 flag and T5. In my video the worker is "resting" between waves as we go by, but I certainly expected something after dodging the incident the lap before.

http://rennlist.com/forums/racing-and-drivers-education-forum/940444-june-sprints-at-road-america-srf-crazy-moment.html

I think, and this is purely my opinion from watching at 5, as I have not spoken to any of the operating stewards, that:

The second truck was dispatched to cover a corner worker who went over the wall drivers left to "pick up" some of the scattered pieces, and put himself in a dangerous position.

I also think that whomever was operating did not have a good mental picture of the situation. I believe it was out of camera range, and it is highly possible the operating steward did not realize just how much of a tight spot was created.

This is armchair quarterbacking and thus unfair, but when the second truck was dispatched, there should have been an FCY. It all could have been cleaned up in 2 slow laps behind a pace car. But, that is 20/20 hindsight. In all actuality, they probably realized how tight it was after the first lap past, but at that point it was damned if you do, damned if you don't.

The only way to really know how tight that area was is to be in a race car, at speed, in traffic, which is hard to find in an operating steward, because we are all busy driving.

I guarantee you it will be a topic for discussion at the hot wash post event review.

I'm glad I was watching from 5 to tell mike to stay center track. I'm sure it truly sucked to come into that mess blind.

Unfortunately, I think we need to take some of the safety into our own hands. Honestly, I am as guilty as the next driver of the "red mist". The yellow flag had been flying, no one can pass, and yet from the videos everyone was still in race mode. In instances like these, you have two options, slow down to a safe speed for yourself, and the workers involved which is most likely going to bunch up the field, and will increase the likelihood that you loose positions after the local yellow, or continue as fast as "SAFELY" possible, and because of the accordion effect for the leader is significantly faster than car 2-6 and because its a race, cars 2-6 are doing their best to match the leader.

So as the racers, I think we have a responsibility to slow the field, maybe not on lap 1 when you are slightly surprised by the yellow and the truck but definitely after that. It may be easier said than done but rather than chastise the race officials who are trying to balance safety, with our enjoyment, lets figure out a way that we can actively contribute in this type of situation to making the racing safer.

Suggestions on how the gentleman's agreement might work based on the videos from the June Sprints?

boomboom wrote:Suggestions on how the gentleman's agreement might work based on the videos from the June Sprints?

Not sure if this is a "gentlemans' agreement" or following the common sense in the rule book. Waving yellow is the most urgent signal we get from a corner station. And the rule is clear -- it means no passing, stay in line, check up and...be prepared to stop!

You could be racing into a blocked or nearly blocked track that within seconds may require a red flag call, corner workers and recovery crews on or near the track, or God knows what else.

Guys what are we racing for, even in a Major? Ash trays and bragging rights?

If we see a waving yellow we should first raise an urgent hand signal and then start to ease into checking up and being prepared to stop. It's no longer a matter of catching that guy ahead of you. Until clear of the incident, it's protecting the safety of others.

Bob, BoomBoom, and all
I think The GCR is clear "slow down" . That is why I stated to another drivier earlier "VSC like F1"
. Sure not everyone is going to honor the spacing/distance back but it is a start. I agree by viewing the various videos, just how dangerous it was for everyone.
But from the videos I saw nobody slowing down.

Allow me to step up on my soapbox for a moment: Had this happened when I was controlling races one of two things would have happened. 1) stop the race and tell everyone why then allow them the time left to race. 2) The best way, is to call all SRF drivers to a post race meeting and explain life simple rules. Explain why that type of racing will stop. Explain the Yelllow Flags rules once again. Etc Etc.
Maybe it is time the SRF community request a Stweard to manage SRF racing in each division or race track.
Shutup John... Okay

Maybe we should request faster tow trucks so they won't hold up the races?
Too bad they cancelled Monster Garage...
(I'm kidding but it would be a fun project)

JBPDXOR wrote:Bob, BoomBoom, and all
The best way, is to call all SRF drivers to a post race meeting and explain life's simple rules. Explain why that type of racing will stop. Explain the Yelllow Flags rules once again. Etc Etc.
Shutup John... Okay

Plus One. (Except for the "shut up John" part.) Stewards need to get militant about this nonsense.

Drivers have a responsibility to be safe during a local yellow flag situation. Officials have a responsibility to make the right call in the name of safety. As a driver in this race I really feel we needed to have a full course yellow.

Watch this video starting at about the 1:43.00. There were NO flags present when this happened. How ugly could have that been??? You talk about unsafe.... I couldnt see a damn thing tucked under JT.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3s64AEB844

You can get the stewards to talk to us until they are blue in the face, but it won't change the fact that they put us in an unsafe situation. There were 50+ cars on track and we all got through it under control. That doesn't mean it didn't scare the shit out of us when we all moved left expecting a truck on the right only to find another truck on the left as well. People can pretend they would have crawled through there half throttle all the want, but we all know everyone is going to do exactly what all 50 remaining cars on track did. I don't usually like full course cautions, but I wanted one then.