Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

If your son ever needs a foster parent, he's welcome into my home, lol! Wise beyond his years he is. 

Unfortunately, this is one situation where zero tolerance is the best option. You're out of the car, you pay the fine. I doubt anyone wants to get into deciding if a driver was "too close" or not. Better just to make it plain black and white - if you're out of the car in a non life-threatening or safety-related situation, you will be punished. 

There's more than enough ways to handle it otherwise. Getting on the track is a safety hazard and by allowing any gray area in the rule book, you're increasing the odds of something causing harm happening again. 

Hate to break this to you Jeremy, but ANYONE on the racing surface while cars are under power (under yellow or green) is in "harm's way". 

The officials and safety personnel are taking a risk (just like a police officer or EMT would on a highway) of being hit by a car going by (or what happens if a car has brakes that have failed and the steering breaks?) when they are out there tending to a disabled machine, they don't need a person on foot to attend to as well.

To think that just because the yellow is out that all is safe proves to me that you (a member of the sprint car media) can't see for the forest for the trees in this situation.  The danger is still there, the yellow doesn't change that fact.

Dietrich was not fined for getting out of his car. He was fined for throwing the steering wheel. According to Justin Loh, manager at Williams Grove, if Dietrich gets out of his car and flips Marks off, he DOESN'T get fined.

Here's the problem with your statement. Fact is, everyone is in harm's way, fans, personnel, drivers. So why have the race in the first place? Look, there are dangers in racing. Always has been, always will. I mean, who was the genius that that thought to throw the green flag while standing on the track years ago.

The sport has evolved quite a bit, whether it is tracks, safety equipment and gizmos on the car that have made them safer as well. You can't legislate the danger out of the sport. I find it ironic that no one has a problem with such antics before the Stewart-Ward situation.

I have no problem with Dietrich getting hit with a fine for throwing the steering wheel. But in no way should he be crucified for getting out of the car and giving Marks the business. At some point, personal accountability comes into play. 

"At some point, personal accountability comes into play."

Exactly. Stay in the car if you don't want to get killed

I think that is a little over the top considering the incident in New York happened in the 30 years I have been around the sport. I just think a little common sense needs to be used.

yep, and drivers in teh 60's knew that putting a wheel wrong meant not going home to their family.  The driver's today don't think that way, they think that "cage" means nothing can happen to them.

Today's drivers think that nothing will happen if they crash and they can just get another car down from the top of the trailer (just like they did by hitting "reset" in the video games they played growing up).

Yes,IMO, Sprint car racing is MORE DANGEROUS today than it was in the 60's, but not because the cars are less safe, it's because the drivers, FANS, Media, etc. all talk about how "safe" the sport is and the "danger" has gone to the "back burner".  The drivers themselves have very little regard for safety (most of the younger ones grew up in the Video Game decade and think crashing doesn't matter until they crash hard enough to get hurt) as they think their seats and cars and safety equipment will take care of them (they don't realize that THEY need to take care of themsleves (don't attempt a slide job if you thnk the other person won't lift for example - in the 1960's unless they "knew" they were getting by them, the drivers didn't take those huge chances as they may go home in a hearse)).

maybe people haven't expressed their problem until the Stewart/Ward tragedy.  I know many that have always had issues with drivers going after other cars on foot (or with their car) under yellow for 25+ years.

I vividly remember Terry McCarl INTENTIONALLY crashing Randy Smith under yellow in the 1980's because Terry felt "wronged" when a slider Smith put on him didn't work.  Terry ended up spun out at the top of the track and when he got pushed off, he promptly drove around the track and over the front axle of Smith before taking his car pitside on his own.

McCarl got a 2 week suspension fot that (in the 1980's) and "sportsmanlike conduct" rules have been added to the rulebook since then (like fines for going to someone else's pit area and causing trouble for example).

Yes, everyone is in "harm's way", but outside of DD - who else "intentionally" took the time to put themselves in "harms way" following the on track incident?  No one.  Safety personnel and officials are doing their job, the fans are behind the catch fence which is the most safe area (at the track) for them to be spectating from and the other drivers not in the main are in the pit area. 

DD should have either (1) stayed in his car and gotten towed to the work area or (2) gotten out of his car when instructed to and gotten into (or onto) an official / safety vehicle for ride back to the pits or (3) climed the inside guardrail and went into the pits.  He chose none of those options and instead went down the track on foot so he could show his "frustration" when I'm sure there was an infield reporter just "chomping at the bit" to get DD to tell him (and the fans) what happened out there.  (and I'm sure he could have spouted off, gotten no fine and the fans would know how passionate the rivalry is between him and Marks).

And you don't have to work so hard each time you come on here to prove that you never have anything positive or worthwhile to say other than bashing somebody. 

I understand this - I'm saying that the fine should be for getting out of the car. End of story. 

For the past 30 some years I was a race director, pit steward, and an on track official for several Eastern racing orginizations and I also shot phots for NSSN until they went out of business.  I have seen many situations in which people on the track were placed in harms way and sadly a track fireman was killed right in front of me at Flemington, NJ several years back when he saw something on the track that was missed when there was a clean up after a big wreck, he ran out on the track because the field was set to go green and he was hit by a car trying to catch up to the pack after leaving the pits.  There were several "violations" that caused the fireman to be hit, but first and formost he was on the track and should not have been there.  Watch the Indy car track personel and watch what they do when they are on the track.  I tried to do what they did to keep myself safe, 1. make your self as "big as you can", face the trafic, get your hand up, help the drivers see you.  2. Make eye contact with each driver as they get near your, trust me you can, if they are not looking at you, you better make sure you have a plan to get going. 3. NEVER TURN YOUR BACK TO THE CARS,  OR EVEN YOUR HEAD AWAY FROM THE CARS.  4. With the winged sprint cars and when the midgets had wings on the East coast, I stayed to the left side of the track if at all possible because of the sight problems on the right side of the cars and if I was on the right side I never came down across the track until the last car was past me.  Yes it can be a dangerous situation, but with some common sense we can lessen the danger.  Bottom line, drivers should never be allowed to make any movement toward the moving cars at anytime.  We are never going to make racing "safe", but we sure as heck can make it "SAFFER" by learning from past situations.

Thank you...good post. Unlike the 5-year old just above you.

Way more Expensive and Way more Faster I will Concur.  But way more Dangerous I would beg to differ.