Sorry to inform you that the car that Brad Sweet wrecked was a maxim. It had the same failure as most maxims have had in non wing racing, The front torsion rack falls off as soon as it makes contact with anything. If you have been to enough races across the country this year you would have seen the same end result. A maxim missing the front rack.

This leads me to wonder, why arent the fans thought of in situations like that?

Your guess is as good as mine, Chris. Turns out it may have helped a few guys too.

Jack/Judy, thanks for the help on that one. I'm not sure if you saw Brett Burdette's car from Las Vegas earlier this season, but it was the worst I've ever seen a car look after a crash.

Its too bad that the teams didn't pit indside.

Sometimes it's in your best interest to do things you don't want to do. In the case of Terre Haute; it is the only chance all year fans get to be within feet of their favorites(Sometimes they don't realize they are their favorites until they see them upclose).

Do you realize that outside of being able to buy a pitpass at a local show....it is actually easier to be closer to the teams at the Speedway(Indy) than it is a regular Saturday Night Show. You are more apt to get Danica or Helios' autograph or a picture with them than you are Dave and Jons'.(Not picking on them, just using their status as a sample)

Teams sell T-Shirts and gain fans that will.....and stay with me on this one..........come to other races. If enough people do that then teams can race for more purse money.

One problem the sport has today is the arrogance and apathy of many of the competitors who don't care if they have fans or not. They just want to race....and get paid for it. They don't care were that money comes from.

On futher thought....I forgot about Winchester and Salem, but my point is the same.

I was told directly by Mike King a few days after the MSCS/SCORA race they would no longer be pitting in the inside pits for safety reasons. Two things he noted were: The Alex Coonan crash at the end of the A-Main where Alex's car was flipping end over end toward the infield pit area, specifically toward the wrecker and safety crew. The second was the accident that occured in Missouri (I believe the same weekend) where the sprint car crashed in turn four and came across the track into the infield pit area killing a crew member.

In addition to moving the pits back outside of the track, a decision was made to relocate some of the safety crews as well.

Joe

If that is the case,then that is their right. It is their track.

It's a shame. Teams still did ***** and moan and I am sure that made it an easier decision for them.

I don't know, Chris. I guess I was just lucky as a kid, that Pancho Carter, Gary Bettenhausen, Rich Vogler, Jack Hewitt, AJ Foyt, Tom Bigelow, Larry Dickson, Jan Opperman and the teams they raced for, didn't complain their way out of pitting in the infield. Those childhood experiences, seeing those heroes doing what they did, are a big part of what drew me close enough to the sport, that as an adult I would drive all over this part of the country and spend a decent part of my disposable income chasing sprint and midget races. There were at least two whole generations of loyal fans that were won over by things like this and all the drivers waiting patiently in the pits to greet the fans, after the show. And that's why so many people at most of the races are my age or older. And it will keep trending that way until some of these teams get the spirit of Chuck Amati or Jimmy Caruthers in them or decide to be a little more like Gary B. And don't get me wrong, I realize that there are quite a few of todays drivers (and teams) that go out of their way to give back to the fans. Brady Short, Bryan Clauson, Shane Cottle, Daron Clayton, Jeff Bland, Robert Ballou, Dickie Gaines and Jesse Hockett are some that really stand out, in this category.

Jerry

It's the smart move from a safety stand point. The shortness of the wall between the pits and the track on the frontstretch and the closeness of the crews to the track always seemed to me as being a dangerous situation. It wouldn't take much for a car to get over it and go right into a group of cars and crew members.

If I'm Mike King: "That's fine, load your ******* up and don't come back."

I don't understand the ********. With all the work and hours these cars require through the week, what's another 20 minutes to unload in the interest of tradition and the fans' enjoyment?

I've always thought that too, maybe a fence would be a good solution?

I see both sides in this situation. The fans probably do feel more a part of the action when they can see what is happening in the pits and they can get up close and personal to the drivers and crews if they are in the infield. I was a kid in the infield of Terre Haute, Salem, Winchester, the Indy Fairgrounds etc. and I know how special that was to be close to my father and grandfather as they were working on the car. (I might have even snuck in occasionally!!)

The other side is that most if not all the teams have spent a considerable amount of time and money setting up their large enclosed trailers to efficiently prepare and repair their cars during an evening of racing. Back in the day, most teams towed with a pick-up or station wagon and an open trailer. It was really not that much of a problem to unload and some tracks allowed you to park your tow rig inside since it did not interfere with sight lines.

With today’s situation having to compartmentalize, load and unload all the spares, fuel, tools, lights, generators and tires is a big job. Invariably you forget something or require something that is still in the trailer and that just might keep you from making the next event while someone detours through the tunnel to get it.

The last item to consider is the wear and tear on the racing surface when moving the cars and equipment into the infield pits. Even when the large trailers were not permitted to unload directly into the infield pits and Terre Haute provided pick-up trucks to move the teams in, there was a definite dry slick spot running from the outside pit area to the infield pit entrance. The same thing happens at Eldora but it is somewhat less noticeable because it is at the end of the back straight.

If I were designing a new dirt track and had to have an infield pit area, I would have it like Perris and Eldora with a tunnel. If the pits had to be on the outside of the track, I would have a fenced in paddock/walkway that fans could move through and see the teams at work free of charge. Lastly I would have a way of segregating the pits so that as soon as the main feature was over the fans could come to the pits without waiting for the support classes to finish.

Rob Hoffman