Open Wheel Drivers Etiquett
 

In Open Wheel racing we have rules written on paper for all to read and rules we learn as we progress in the sport. I have watched a lot of racing in my day and I can tell you driving etiquett is very different in every form of racing. It seems like drivers with fendered cars and go-karts look at passing very differently than those who race without any wheel protection. Fendered drivers feel it is perfectly natural to lean on the other racer when making a pass, or boot them in the rear if they won't move over to let them by. In the world of open wheel racing these practices are inviting disaster.

There is no book of etiquett out there for the young wanabe open wheel racer to read and they must rely on input from other racers to put them on the right pathway to becoming jurneyman open wheel racers.

I grew up racing quarter midgets back in the 50's. I have never been too happy with their over blown rule book. However they are about the best around when it comes to making rule on good and bad driving habits. If a kid starts out racing Quarter midgets at age 5 or 6 these rules become a part of their thinking and they will carry these rules forward in his or her racing career. Un fortunately not all racers come up racing QMA.

We race in an entry level open wheel class. I like to call them "1000 cc Midgets". We race with drivers with year and years of experience and families grounded in racing as well as those that are still wet behind the ears so to speak. The things you or would I take for granted as only natural the newer racers may have never even thought about before, or they came from a style of racing that did not inforce good open wheel driving practice.

I would like to come up with a list of commandments for open wheel drivers as well crew members.

1 Thou shalt not pass by using your front bumper.

2 Thou shalt watch out for the driver in front of you and not worry about the driver behind you.

3 Thou shalt always hold your line on the race track and not block.

How many more can we come up with?

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Re: Open Wheel Drivers Etiquett
 

I also like Thou should try to never use the brakes, nothing better than a smooth flow. Thou should also try to keep up ones momentum. Keeping up your momentum can make a slow car fast, and keep you out of the way of those behind you. A young smooth driver is more likely to make a good impression than a real fast driver that tears up others equipment.

Re: Open Wheel Drivers Etiquett
 

When all else fails, it seems the "chrome horn" will get the job done when seeking a pass.:15:

Re: Open Wheel Drivers Etiquett
 

It's really quite simple.....show the drivers around you the same respect you would like them to show you.

Two sayings we used to have in Quarter Midget racing come to mind.

1. "Smooth is fast"

2. "If the driver in front of you can't see you then you're not there"

Re: Open Wheel Drivers Etiquett
 

Originally Posted by backitin:
I also like Thou should try to never use the brakes, nothing better than a smooth flow. Thou should also try to keep up ones momentum. Keeping up your momentum can make a slow car fast, and keep you out of the way of those behind you. A young smooth driver is more likely to make a good impression than a real fast driver that tears up others equipment.

Is that why they don't put brakes on them Speedway Bikes? Couldn't get the riders not to use them, so they just took them off all together. I can just imagine 80 MPH and no brakes!

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Re: Open Wheel Drivers Etiquett
 

I got to add to this one from what i saw saturday night at a little track in ohio named Hilltop Speedway. There was a guy who has driven for a few years, a low dollar car. He has driven like an arrow without feathers more often than not. He won his heat race and was running in the front in the feature when contact with another car on the backstretch broke his front end and ended his night, sliding into the infield.They didn't stop the race, so he gets out of his car and throws stuff when the guy that made contact with him would go by. The other guy eventually got into another skermish and spun to a stop. Well, the low buck driver made a run towards the spun out car and with the driver strapped in, just started beating away. The low buck driver really earned my respect for his on track driving this night but his actions that followed negated all of that. My point is, if your a driver and want to do some butt kickin'...at least have the guts to let the other driver out of the car so he can put up or run! I saw the same with two guys at Mercer Raceway Park a couple weeks earlier...I don't condone fighting, but if its going to happen, do it like a man!

Re: Open Wheel Drivers Etiquett
 

Thou shalt not block: If another racer gets his front wheel up even with your cockpit before entering the turn you will back off a little and give him racing room. (not cut down into him or pull out on him to prevent the pass) This does not hold true in NASCAR racing because they have fenders. Ever wonder why Tony Stewart or Jeff Gordon do so well, they learned to keep their race car under control in very tight places many years ago.

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Re: Open Wheel Drivers Etiquett
 

Always thought Thou should have a boxing ring that sits next to victory lane.

Re: Open Wheel Drivers Etiquett
 

Originally Posted by DAD:
Is that why they don't put brakes on them Speedway Bikes? Couldn't get the riders not to use them, so they just took them off all together. I can just imagine 80 MPH and no brakes!

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Its not as bad as it sounds, honestly Honest Dad I've never even given thought to them having brakes or not. Throttle gets you out of trouble and once you ride for awhile laying the bike down at speed comes natural or you dont last long. You can go from 60 to zero in a matter of feet and if you do it right, dont hurt none at all. The tricky part about speedwaybikes is that if you back off the throttle it hooks up and you get a burst of speed. Gotta keep it spinning up good, especially if you got to stop, lol.

Thou shall go as fast as possible at all times, while refraining from being a dick.

Thou shall come into the stands and sign autographs for kids during the night.
Never taketh A. J. Foyts name in vain.

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Re: Open Wheel Drivers Etiquett
 

I believe the golden rule fits this perfectly........do unto others as you would others do unto you....it's just that simple

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Thou shalt not think for a minute, anyone else believes as you do! Bob!:5:

Thou shall not sand bag and or jump starts!

Thou shall not enter another pit in aggression!

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Re: Open Wheel Drivers Etiquett
 

If you are wheels up give up some racetrack...

If you are lapped and being put between the first and second place car on a yellow, pull off... You are never going to catch back up to the guy you couldn`t pass before the yellow.

A right rear into a nerf for a pass better be for 10,000 to win. A failed slider for a 10 dollar spot on the tail will not advance your chances with any would be car owners favors....

You had better just won the Kings Royal if you plan to ruin my driveline doing celebratory doughnuts... It`s gonna come out of your part.

You wreck bad enough for a wrecker... Stay with the car. That wrecker driver will tear up more than your "incident" did.

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Thou shalt not CHARGE: If you are trying to to pass a car and you can not get your front tire up even to their cockpit before the turn back off and give the car in front of you racing room, do not expect him to move over for you He probably doesn't even know you are there.

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Re: Open Wheel Drivers Etiquett
 

Originally Posted by DAD:
Thou shalt not CHARGE: If you are trying to to pass a car and you can not get your front tire up even to their cockpit before the turn back off and give the car in front of you racing room, do not expect him to move over for you He probably doesn't even know you are there.

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Sounds like someone has spent some time judging QMA races. :D

Re: Open Wheel Drivers Etiquett
 

Originally Posted by Phylo82:
Sounds like someone has spent some time judging QMA races. :D

I have been reading it out of the QMA rule book for the last 40 or 50 years now. Some things never change and what is good for a 6 year old racer is also good for a 20 something year old racer. You can Google QMA rules and they even got a video now. If I was more computer literate I would post a link to the sight (HINT).

Can you imagine judges at sprint race. I used to get black flaged for blowing those darned little cones over. If a kid starts out racing QMA by the time they are 16 years old the rules are imbeded in their heads.

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Re: Open Wheel Drivers Etiquett
 

Thou should never drive like sammy. not everyone has a endless supply of race vehicles, to replace what YOU wreck.
ps, i have a 1200 gsxr engine for sale, its a monster. in classified's.