Red flag use is not mandatory for rollovers at the Chili Bowl. What is different there than anywhere else?
Not quibbling, just curious.
Silver Crown Championship Dirt Cars properly driven on a one mile dirt track are classic poetry in motion. Using that analogy, Jack Hewitt is one of the greatest poets of all time.
Originally Posted by ISF:
Red flag use is not mandatory for rollovers at the Chili Bowl. What is different there than anywhere else?
Not quibbling, just curious.
While some may argue there is a difference, the simple truth is that there is not. Flips at the Chili Bowl are no different than flips at any other track. Some of the nastiest wrecks and flips that I have seen have been at Tulsa and, in contrast, it is also not uncommon for cars that have flipped to be pushed off to continue the race.
That being said, there is no reason that there should be a one-size-fits-all rule for this. The red flag rule came from the early days when cars had bolt on cages or no roll cages at all. Of course, a flip was far more serious in those days and red flags were necessary in nearly all of these incidents. By no means am I saying that red flags should never happen, but in many situations, they are simply not necessary. The flag man and other track personnel should have some discretion in situations were a car merely tips over.
As a driver who has been sitting in the car upside down after an easy roll with fuel leaking on to my neck and then into my helmet I was really glad they went red and got to me as soon as they could to get me out of there.
Originally Posted by Rim Rider:
What drives me crazy is that the emergency vehicles leave their flashing lights on when they are on the track and all of the cars have stopped. I was knocked unconscious during a flip at Putnamville in a sprint car. When I came to, all of the flashing lights really freaked me out. Anyone who has been in a racing accident knows that your adrenaline is really pumping and the flashing light do not help. EMT’s, thank you for all that you do, but as soon as you are out of harms way, turn off your lights. It will make everyone in the stands calm down too.
That's a tough ask...as it goes against EVERYTHING they're trained to do the 98% of the week they're NOT at a race track.
