Originally Posted by :
Infield pitting – In a throwback to earlier days, the SUMAR will offer infield pitting, giving the fans the opportunity to get a close-up look at the big cars, their drivers and crews.
Sunday’s timetable calls for drivers meeting at 10:30 and practice at 11:30, followed by qualifying and the 100-lap main event.
It's sure awesome for those kids in the infield, though. I know it was for me, back in the day. And I remember several years back, D.O. told a story on here of how Jesse Hockett stopped what he was doing at the time to play football catch with a boy and how it neat that kid thought that was. But, The Rocket was old school and people could sense that. That's why they flocked to him the way they always did.
Jerry
A man is about as big as the things that make him angry.
Originally Posted by Jerry Shaw:
It's sure awesome for those kids in the infield, though. I know it was for me, back in the day. And I remember several years back, D.O. told a story on here of how Jesse Hockett stopped what he was doing at the time to play football catch with a boy and how it neat that kid thought that was. But, The Rocket was old school and people could sense that. That's why they flocked to him, the way they always did.
Jerry
Thank you Jerry. Yes it sucks to not work out of your trailer, but back when, there wasn't closed in haulers. Racers showed up with a sprint car on an open trailer.
As for pitting on the infield, Jerry says my thoughts. There needs to be new fans in this sport. If a driver interacts with a kid, they might not really know who they are, but for that moment of playing catch with them, they are a fan of him. Years later, when the kids know drivers, they might remember the interaction and will then be a fan of them.
Yes, infield pitting will be a PIA for the teams but about ANYTHING that gets the drivers and fans interacting more is a good thing IMO. Enclosed trailers, track designs, car designs and insurance requirements have all isolated the drivers increasingly from view of the fan. Getting the fans close to the drivers is one way to get new fans more interested in the sport and more importantly, get YOUNG fans interested and involved, something the sport of short track open wheel racing desperately needs to grow and prosper.
I've taken place in the movement of the hauler to the track and know its a PITA Same team blew motor in hotlaps and had to haul most of it back out to the trailer to do motor change then haul it back again to race.
but chatting with fans and selling t shirts to them right from your pit is almost unheard of these days.
