First Race, Black Flag All Question

J

JimW337

New member
I finally made it to my very first race at Nashville SuperSpeedway, first time for SCCA Club Racing too. There were 4 ITB cars, my Rabbit was not keeping pace with the other Rabbit or Golf during practice and qualifying but I was still way ahead of the Pinto. The faster Golf had problems (coil) during qualifying and was starting in the row behind me. I told him I will maintain my line and he could pick anywhere to go around me. The Golf was faster than the other Rabbit and all I wanted to do was try and keep him in sight until he caught the Rabbit.

That didn't happen and by the time I got to the "bus stop" section after the back straight the track was blocked with both VW's and a couple of Honda's. The Rabbit was not going anywhere but the Golf had just got under way and I was able to pull in behind him to get around. Both right side tires were rubbing bad and it would not be long before they would be flat, then I knew I could pass him. But, I noticed some dragging noise under my car, how could that be? I didn’t hit anyone and no one hit me. Then Black Flag All came out and everyone headed to the pits.

Now I knew I couldn’t go to the paddock and expect to re-enter the race. And the pit workers heard the noise too and motioned me over to the side. I was hoping it was some junk picked up from the wreck, but no such luck the exhaust was dragging. The rubber doughnut had come undone, maybe I did run over something that knocked the exhaust off.

All I had to do was slip the doughnut back on and I would be off, but the Chief Steward said I couldn’t work on the car or I would be disqualified. He said I had to wait until the other cars were given the engine start signal. But, some other drivers I talked to said I could work on the car but I would have to start at the end of line. Remember, this was my first race on a Novice license and my first goal was to get the race signed off. I took the advise of the Chief Steward and waited until he said I could work on the car.

By the time I made it back out on course I was three laps down to the Pinto. I was able to pass him twice before the checker but ran out of time in the 22 lap race. It was fun thinking I was only two laps down and passing him that second time. Still, second place in my first race is O.K. by me, and it was still quite a first time experience. And I got my first race signed off.

So, when can you work on your car in the hot pits during a Black Flag All condition? I can't seem to find it in the GCR, so a GCR reference would be great.

Looking forward to Goblin's Go at VIR in October.
 
This should probably be re-posted or moved to the Rules&Regs forum. GCR sec. 7.7 RESTARTS may provide part of the answer, but I am also uncertain where to find the complete answer to your question. The following is my understanding:

The black flag "ALL" may be used to bring the cars into the hot pits for various reasons. For example, it's occasionally done to allow all competitors the opportunity to switch to rain tires, or to get the cars off the track temporarily to permit track clean-up (probably your case).

The status of the cars in the pits is undeterminable by the simple fact that they arrived there by a black flag. As a rule of thumb, I believe that repairs are permitted if the race clock is still running (or if it was when a given car entered the pits), but not allowed if the race clock is held. The penalty for repairing when not allowed may be at the discretion of the Chief Steward, but I don't know the range of options.

There are exceptions, though, such as the allowance to switch to rain tires even though the race clock is usually held in that situation. I seem to recall, though, that other repairs are not necessarily allowed during a switch to rain tires, even though most wouldn't complain about minor suspension adjustments or the application of Rain-X, for examples, since those are reasonably related to the rain.

Perhaps this is more of a "rules nerd" question than I realized at first. I defer to anyone who knows (or can cite) more...
 
You also should read your local supps.
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That's the best answer, because it varies. It's not etched in stone due to various circumstances calling for a black flag. When in doubt, don't.

During a "black flag all", the can not work on the car for any reason other than perhaps a fire, and we don't want to go there. Depending on the pit area, the cars are normally brought off the track to the outside of the pit wall. If, for any reason, work needs to be done on the car, it can be moved out of line to the pit wall for inspection. At that time, the obvious may be checked, but the hood, etc. can't be opened for the duration of the black flag. If the course goes back to green, then work can be done on the car. If it turns out that no work is needed, or the repair is made quickly, then the car may rejoin at the back of the pack.

In the event of a rain delay, at the discretion of the chief steward, there may be provisions made for changing to rain tires. Then everything gets thrown out, and you do what the pit marshall tells you that you can do.

The only time that you can usually, I do mean usually, get away with tinkering with the car is if the course goes from black to red for a short period of time. The Chief Steward will make that decision, notify control, fast pits, and then the drivers and crew.

Always read the supps. If for no other reason, there are regions that have been known to put surprises in them just to see if they are being read. Example, free garage space for the rest of the year, free entry to the next race, etc.
 
Jim,
First off, congrats on completing your first race. Don't worry about the speed, once you get some comfort level with the car, that will come.

Secondly, nice job of not hitting me as I sat there sideways in the middle of the corner. You missed my right rear corner by a solid inch and a half, and you didn't really even have a chance to slow down. In fact, are you sure you don't have new pinstripe down the passenger side of your car :unsure: ? I have a picture - it was that close :o

I was in the throttle after the impact, thinking I could keep it going without even stopping (and thus not collect everyone behind me), but the engine was already dead so I came to a stop and, unfortunately, collected two completely innocent ITC cars that had absolutely nowhere to go. I tried to refire the engine repeatedly before the corner workers got to me, but no luck. After I got towed in, a little snooping revealed that my rotor button had somehow shreaded itself on the inside of the distributor cap. Nothing contacted the cap so :huh: ? We popped a new rotor button in it and it fired right up.

And how did I manage to come to a stop sideways in the middle of the course? After a thorough investigation, the stewards ruled it a "racing incident". I won't go into details, but I'd have to say the ruling of the Chief nailed it.

Hat's off to the event staff, corner workers, and tow truck drivers for their professional handling of the incident.

Nashville has a wonderful facility, and I hope this event was the first of many club races to be held there.

Most importantly, my sincerest apologies to those who were negatively affected by the incident.

I have 25 days to repair the car B)

later,
Eddie
 
Jim,
First off, congrats on completing your first race. Don't worry about the speed, once you get some comfort level with the car, that will come.

Secondly, nice job of not hitting me as I sat there sideways in the middle of the corner. You missed my right rear corner by a solid inch and a half, and you didn't really even have a chance to slow down. In fact, are you sure you don't have new pinstripe down the passenger side of your car :unsure: ? I have a picture - it was that close :o

later,
Eddie
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Thanks for the kind words, but I think it was only "beginners luck" that kept me from not hitting you. I really don't remember much other than your car sure is a bright red when it's sitting sideways in the middle of the track!

I don't remember anything in the Supps about the Black Flag All. And remember I've got a Novice liscense so I did read the Supps.

Sounds like doing what the Cheif Steward directs is always a safe answer.

Nashville is a great track with fantastic facilities. And it sounds like next year will be Double event so I would expect a lot bigger turn out.
 
Listening to the Chief Steward is always a good thing whether you're a Novice or not. We did not have anything in the Supps about a Black Flag All condition, but the GCR prohibits working on one's car under a Red Flag or Black Flag All condition. We got burned back in 2002 for putting a row of tape on the grill when our race was stopped (Black Flag All) because the track was littered with expensive automobiles due to a deluge (it was already a rain race, so NO work could be done on the cars while stopped).

And yes, Labor Day at Nashville WILL be a two-day Double SARRC in 2007 (and beyond). (Optional) Test day on Friday, qualify/race on Saturday, qualify/race on Sunday, drive home on Monday. We're also talking about co-sanctioning the weekend as a Mid-Am event as well, so we're hoping for 200+ cars for the weekend.

Butch Kummer
Atlanta Region Competition Director
 
Not a lot of entries this year, but the racing was still intense and the best part (at least in my mind) is that you can see the entire track from just about anywhere. I watched the entire Pro-IT race from atop my trailer on Saturday afternoon and was able to keep track of five or six individual races going on!

Results are posted on MyLaps (http://mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=161789).

See y'all at the SIC and/or the ARRC...
 
... but the GCR prohibits working on one's car under a Red Flag or Black Flag All condition. We got burned back in 2002 for putting a row of tape on the grill when our race was stopped (Black Flag All) because the track was littered with expensive automobiles due to a deluge (it was already a rain race, so NO work could be done on the cars while stopped).
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That's the way I allways thought it was, but I sure can't find it written in the good book.

Do you have a reference, Butch?

/edit/ Nevermind, I found it. It's in 7.7, restarts.

No replenishment of or assistance to cars shall be allowed after a race is stopped and before it is restarted. However, any method of restarting the engine is permitted.
 
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