Other Bloomington Issues
 

Outside of the raging Darland debate as to whether he was a bad sport for climbing out of his car after the sentence for hot lapping was imposed, there was something I'm much more concerned about going on routinely at Bloomington now: They have fallen in love with that three-wheeled cushion killer service vehicle of theirs and IT IS HURTING THE RACING.
Okay, Short started on the pole, and might have won anyway, but I don't believe annihilating any chance for a real cushion to evolve over the course of the evening is the best way to find out whether a front-running regular who locked down on the bottom can be overtaken.
Everybody who truly attempted to lean on the top to advance paid for it by sliding over the racing surface that was made to endure about 15 minutes of flat-ironing by that diabolical farm implement (or paving machine, or whatever role that machinery plays in civilian service). I appreciate that the sheer talent on hand made for some action that is a cut above many other tracks, but Friday could have been epic, and it seems gone are the days when a real ledge would exist to reward the he-men (like Darland has long been) who don't drop their revs when they get to the turns. Hockett, Bland, Stanbrough, Sweet, Clayton, Matthews ALL would have been MUCH more in the mix if not for there being nothing to really lean on where there always used to be.
I love Bloomington's clay, and I respect every part of the prep that precedes the flattener, but that thing has gotta be retired for awhile to let races be won with a more level playing field than now exists. There is NO margin for error up there now, while only the boat anchor presence of the buried tires threatens whomever stays on the very bottom.
I've said my peace, and I accept the inevitable dismissal of it by some who feel it doesn't bear scrutiny.

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Amen. Give me a big, thick cushion again, please!

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Very well stated :thumb I agree - bring back the cushion!!!

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While I don't know if anybody would have had anything for Brady, I did leave there wondering "What if". What if there would have been a middle-top to top groove that was in, for the last 3/4 of the race. I would like to have seen what Jeff Bland, Jesse Hockett, Jon Stanbrough, Thomas Meseraull, Kevin Briscoe, etc might have been able to do. Jeff and Jesse, especially, paid the price for going up there and puttin' the hammer down.

Also, thanks to the original poster for voicing an issue in thoughtful, tactful way.

Jerry

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[QUOTE=sceckert;37367]Outside of the raging Darland debate as to whether he was a bad sport for climbing out of his car after the sentence for hot lapping was imposed


:confused:?????????????????

Re: Other Bloomington Issues
 

I know I'd be all for a cushion at Bloomington..

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Very well said. It is posters like sceckert that we need more of around here. Welcome to the board!:applaud::thumb

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That's about enough of these well thought out, well structured non-condeming posts:moon::eek::angry-smiley-007:

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Okay, then Aero. How's this: I'll Dropkick you in the Murphys....then make off with your cooler full of Pottsville.

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I Will Bet That Aero Has Slack In His Pants :)

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Re: Other Bloomington Issues
 

Well said about the cushion.
As for the Dave Darland thing, what we are gonna end up with is another Brad Doty incident where drivers couldn't "get a feel of your car" before the race started so someone gets hurt.
I am not for hot lapping before the race but all Dave did was get a feel of his car thru turns 3&4 only, not a whole lap.

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Now that would have made a great FIRST POST:applaud:

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Mike Miles said in the drivers meeting that there was no hot lapping allowed when lining up. Dave did it so did Memmer, they were both asked to go to the back. The rule was clear and enforced fairly. Do you think that they should let them drive around until the car "feels good", maybe we should let them go in and out of the pits a few times until its "just right". Gimmie a break, if we did that we would still be in Bloomington waiting for the race to start.

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As for the hot lapping thing.I like this rule better then the rule they started out with last year,where they made two laps before lining up.

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I miss qualifying. I think it made the heat races better since you have cars of equal speed in the same heats. I also just like to watch the drivers qualify.

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Seadog, on one of the previous pages of the message board there is a thread about Bloomington ("Nice Racing.." or "Great Night.." or something similarly-titled) that goes from an initial assessment about the show into a sort of free-flowing condemnation answered by a defense of Dave Darland's actions when he was staging for his heat and jumped on the throttle in violation of Bloomington's rules prohibiting that.
He was sent to the tail (some suggested black-flagged entirely) which a veteran like himself knew to be a death sentence for any hopes of making the feature. In his anger, he jumped out of the car on the straightaway to voice his displeasure, but did return to his seat only to park for the remainder of the night.
Personally, I don't like the degree to which some are raking him over the coals for this offense which added only about two minutes to a show that already was extended longer than I thought necessary while the track was being robbed of the VERY promising cushion that time trials had established.
That is the "Darland debate"--whether "Debate" is the proper word in this case or not I don't know...

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The no hot lapping rule is very simple and is designed for the safety of the track crew, pushtrucks, officials and even the drivers themselves. When the yellow light is on...it is on for a reason...it is not safe for the cars to be at speed or hot lapping...even in one or two corners.

I personally have been hit by large rocks and chunks of clay, nearly knocked unconcious, required first aid from the ambulance, had my windshield shattered, headlights knocked out, lightbar broken and side glass broken from sprint cars hot lapping while the yellow light was on.

As an MSCS official, I was nearly run down by a sprint car hot lapping under the caution while trying to retrieve a brake rotor from the track. There is no excuse good enough to justify getting a track worker or official injured or killed. The driver who nearly hit me told me he thought the yellow light was on for the disabled car in turn one and it would be ok to hot lap through 3 & 4. I was picking up the debris in turn 4 from the car in turn one.

The bottom line, if the caution light is on, it is on for a reason. It is unsafe to hot lap or be on the throttle. I applaud Bloomington Speedway for enforcing the rule regardless of who breaks it. I applaud MSCS for having and enforcing the same rule.

Joe

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:applaud::respect:

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Thanks for the info. I take it that this is a new Bloomington rule or it has just started recently being enforced? I'm not sticking up for DD, and this is no excuse, but maybe it was just a case of "oh yeah, sorry, I forgot about that" with Dave?

Bottom line is, if you break the rules, you pay the price. Period.

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Is this a permenant rule? I thought it was just for that night to speed things up because of incoming rain. :confused:

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Quite honestly, Susan, while the rule has been at some tracks for a while it should be at all tracks on a permanent basis. For all the reasons stated above it is for the safety of everyone. What the exact circumstances were Friday night I can't say because I wasn't there although we both know Dave well enough to know that he wouldn't endanger anyone ever knowingly. But a rule is a rule and this is a good rule.

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if they make it so that you cant get on it at all there would be way more torn up suff on the first lap and alot more mad people... think about if a guy goes out thinking its goona be pretty slick doesnt get to see what his/her car is going to do in the first corner the green drops and the car grabs a big push right into what well probally the cars on the top of the track which then causes a chain reation of bad things to come so if your gonna make a rule like that then it would be wise to give everyone a lap or two after everyone is running and all the track personel out of the way just my opinion.... could save alot of torn up stuff.....

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Regarding the rule: It was employed last year, at some point. As to whether it existed before the 2007 season and just never was apparent, I don't know, but I doubt it. The rule itself is entirely practical from a safety standpoint, as it doesn't allow the inattentive few any leniency anymore than a racer like Darland, who isn't about to jeapordize a track worker with excessive dangerous behavior.
The problem seems to be that it is a rule not generally employed most anywhere else, where Dave can get pushed off for any heat, gas it up for a few seconds to test the (in this case, nonexistent) cushion, then get slowed down and back to sensible pushtruck-conscious speeds. Apparently the mention of the rule and its consequence didn't leave enough of an impression on Darland at the drivers' meeting that he recalled it when he was pushed off and a couple decades of instinct took over. One point should at least be unanimous: Though Dave Broke The Track Rule His Actions In This Case Endangered NOBODY.
Last season, as Aero referred to, the track had this same rule, and supplemented it by allowing a lap to a lap and a half of formation hotlapping, which was, frankly, awfully confusing to witness the first couple times. It resembled a chaotic start to an event not properly aligned, but it was accepted and didn't mess things up much (until somebody jumped three and got hauled out of the drainage canal before so much as a green flag was waved).
My completely unsubstantiated guess is that some pushtruck was likely struck, or a corner worker/quad official forced to jump to safety some time early in the season by some driver who was not giving the track in front of him the kind of attention someone sitting on over 700lbs of horsepower owes the situation. Maybe he was text-messaging while he drove--you know kids these days...Or a pushtruck driver or windshield was struck by something launched off a rear tire.
So the rule is set, and don't expect it to ever go away from Bloomington's rulebook. Expect, in fact, that more tracks will adopt it, which will leave fewer excuses to anyone having difficulty adjusting at present.
But let's not throw Dave Darland out with the bathwater as some kind of "anti-role model" or sore sport because he watched a glorious cushion get neutered like a housepet--this DIRECTLY affects his strategy--then hopped on the throttle to see if any trace of it still remained and got hopping mad when he was penalized.
Some benefit of the doubt to a future hall of famer who has been one of the cleanest drivers through his career that anyone can name.

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Thank you for the answers! You guys are very kind! Thanks!

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Ok then, Also from a safety standpoint is a driver checking his car. Wheels tight, steering working ect.

While I agree with the rule for track workers safety. It's also best to have the drivers and fans safe by making sure the cars are ok.

Have the rule, Enforce it and give everyone a two lap hot lap before lining up.

Someone mentioned the Doty episode at Eldora. I know after that incident, If the track was watered prior to that race, They would give a hotlap session to make sure the track was good.

Chuck

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How do you enforce that? What if a guy takes 2 and half laps? What about the guy who takes 3? Do you keep the yellow on? If a driver spins does he go to the tail? Does that count towards a 2 spin rule? If a fan would be unsafe as you stated wouldn't they be just as endangered during the hot lap?

Funk, who thinks everything is easy when you solve all problems in front of your computer.

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To paraphrase the esteemed spokesman Yosemite Sam, "If there's anything I hate worse than an Eckert, it's two Eckerts." Or rabbits.

I discussed Bloomington's unique rule last year with Kevin Briscoe, and he thought the World of Outlaws had the best method: everyone pushes off, everyone juices it once or twice, and everyone assembles behind the pace vehicle. Simple. Obviously, anyone retrieving debris should be protected by a corner flagman or truck with flashing lights. But even the best can lapse. Sammy Swindell drilled Workin' Woody at Chico and another push truck at Lernerville full throttle.

Dropkicked in the Murphys. That was good. Welcome to Indiana Open Wheel, also known as the Dean Mills Booster Club.

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I have worked many World of Outlaws shows including all three days of the World Finals in Charlotte last year. Actually their procedure requires all drivers to remain at a slow pace with the caution light on until all cars are fired and the track is clear of pushtrucks and workers. The drivers remain strung out around the track until they are given the signal to lineup, at which time they usually turn out the yellow light and allow the cars to hotlap around to the pacecar and get in formation.

This is a safe way to allow the drivers to check out the track and their racecars without endangering workers. I employed the same procedure the last year I was the race director for MSCS.

Joe

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And thats is all I was implying. After all cars push off. They are given a bit of freedom till instructed to lineup.

Chuck, fixing the world, one post at a time :)

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"Eck", I can't translate spoken word to message board text well enough to illustrate exactly how hard I just laughed. People told me last night to introduce myself to Mills. I thought it better left untouched.:angry-smiley-007:

Oops, edit number one, to stay on topic. Cars should be able to get on it a little in the turns before lining up. Doesn't hurt anything. Oh, and a big cushion is good too.

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Hope you laughed half as hard as I did at my brother dropkicking Aero in the Murphies.

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I just can't get into them. Maybe it's the Colts/Pats rivalry. Made for one hell of a good laugh, though. seckert is the current leader for IOW.com Rookie of the Year thus far.

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He could "drop kick me in the Murphies"but he isn't getting my cooler full of "POTTVILLE GOLD":D

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Knowing DD from the driver/ official side, it sound like Dave went overboard with his reaction with the penalty. Not trying throw DD under the bus but, there problay was a little bit more than just assesing the penalty (to the tail) for DD.

As far as the hot laping under caution, as pushtruck (Joe) stated and is praticed with most sancitioing bodies (sprint cars). It's very simple to get a hot lap with out endangering folks and all the drivers on the same page. While using a pace vehicle the drivers "lag behind" the pace vehicle. After everyone has been pushed and the track is clear the starter and track official "call for the line up". The drivers "hustle" to line up. That way the competitors get a "quick hot lap session" and have an idea of what the car/ track might do in that event. If a driver "drags his feet" in lining up, "sucks to be them" and go racing without them.

This process has been very effective from an admiastration and saftey stand point. It put everybody on the same page. As I have said many time during drivers meetings I' ve conducted "You don't suprise us, we won't suprise you!"

Bill Shipman

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[QUOTE Chuck, fixing the world, one post at a time :)[/QUOTE]

:O: