Appeal has been filed and accepted by the National Office today. Here is the letter I sent. I would also note that I did not submit new evidence, as my appeal has more to do with the inactions of the stewards than the incident itself.
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I am writing to appeal the decision of the SOM regarding the Protest of the driver of car 73 ITS by Matthew Green, driver of car 96 ITB, in the Saturday afternoon Group 2 race at Mid Ohio on July 31st, 2010. The sanction number of this event was 10-R-1124-S.
Description of the on-track incident:
A few laps into the race, I began to be lapped by faster cars, while still holding off another ITB car. On one lap, while accelerating down the main straight (under the pro-start stand), I noticed that two ITS cars, and Acura and a Miata, were gaining on me, after having passed the ITB car behind me. As I entered the braking zone, I pointed the lead car, the Acura, by me to driver’s right. I then turned in, while maintaining 1.5-2 car widths at the apex on my right. As I completed my turn, I was impacted heavily in the right rear, causing my car to spin clock-wise, off-course to driver’s left, coming to a stop at the lower end of the gravel trap. After restarting the car, I recovered myself from the gravel, and proceeded on point from the next station at the crest of the hill. I then continued driving while assessing the state of the car, and chose to continue, albeit at a reduced pace.
My account of the protest process:
Following the Group 2 race on Saturday afternoon, I, Matthew Green, driver of car 96 ITB, approached the Chief Steward, Pat McCammon, to file a protest for on-course contact. I cited GCR sections 6.11.1.A-D, regarding avoidable contact, racing room, and passing responsibility. After some delay (handling other incidents), Mr. McCammon introduced me to the Operating Steward for Group 2. I mentioned the incident, and the OS looked at his notepad and nodded affirmatively. Mr. McCammon asked the OS if he was choosing to take any action, and the OS replied that he was not. At this time, I completed a protest form and gave it and the $25 protest fee to the Chief Steward. He suggested that, prior to officially submitting the protest, I see the driver of car 73, Mr. Pat Kean, to discuss the matter if I was comfortable doing so. He also said he would hold my protest in good faith and, should I choose to lodge the protest, would consider it submitted at the original time. Prior to this, I had not approached the driver out of concern for holding my temper, but at this point, I felt I could speak to him constructively.
Upon approaching Mr. Kean, I introduced myself, and he offered something of an apology (something like, “Yeah, I’m real sorry about what happened to you out there.”). I attempted to explain to him that I was upset due to the severity of the hit, and that I thought there were several things he could’ve done to prevent the situation, such as staying closer to my side as we approached the corner. He replied that when he saw my point-by, he expected me to just “let him go by”. I explained that by giving him two car widths at the apex, I thought I was allowing him to pass easily and safely. Mr. Kean then began to explain to me that his tires had been going away, which was why he wasn’t as fast as he should’ve been, and that as he entered the braking zone for turn 7, they “got much worse”. At this point, I felt that Mr. Kean was not taking proper responsibility for his actions, and I informed him, very clearly, that I had filed a protest about the incident. He responded, “Well, if that’s what you think you have to do…” and I walked away.
I then went immediately to the Chief Steward, Mr. McCammon, and confirmed that I did wish to file the protest. He accepted it at that time. He informed me that the SOM would want to speak to me. I said that I had in-car video, and he told me to bring it with me to the SOM if I wanted to present it.
I returned to my paddock space and began to work on my car. A while later (not sure of the time, but possibly 1-1.5 hours later), I heard Mr. Kean paged over the PA to report to the SOM at the medical building. Fearing that I had missed an announcement of my name (it had been a while), I went to the SOM, and was informed that they wanted to talk to Mr. Kean first, and that they were looking for him. They said they would page me when needed. I then returned to my paddock space, and had one of my crew, Matthew Rowe, take my rear wheel (hit in the incident) to be examined by the Hoosier Tire workers. While having the wheel balanced, Mr. Rowe overheard the one worker remark to another that the tires nearby were from an ITS Acura, and that the tires needed to be saved because they had “caused the driver to hit someone and now there was even a protest filed”. After a while longer, I returned to the SOM, at which time I was told that Mr. Kean had left the track, and that they would be delaying things until the next morning. Once again, they would page me when they needed me.
The next morning, I reported to the SOM when called. I offered my testimony of the incident, as was written on my protest form. I offered in-car video, and was advised that I “may not want to do that unless it shows something specific” because “most people don’t get those back.” Considering that my in-car simply showed my point-by (a point that I was told was not in dispute) and my leaving of racing room for Mr. Kean (again a point that I was told was not in dispute), I took the advice of the SOM and withheld my video. The SOMs then thanked me for assisting in that, called the other driver, and dismissed me. As I was leaving, I asked if any action was to be taken for Mr. Kean leaving the track. I mentioned that I told him I was filing a protest, and also brought up what has overheard at Hoosier Tire. The SOM Chairman said they would check into it, as they were going to Hoosier to see the tires that were on Mr. Kean’s car. I then went to watch the ITA/ITC/IT7 race which had just started.
At the conclusion of the race I was watching, I headed back to my paddock. As I passed Medical, I saw the SOMs returning. They motioned me over and took me inside. I was told that the SOM was having trouble locating another witness to the incident because “there was nothing in the control log” and they “had no idea who the other ITB or ITS car was” that was racing with us. I said that I knew the other ITS car was a Miata, and that I had been passed by a pair of different Miatas on a previous lap. I was told that neither Mr. Kean nor the SOM could identify the car. I asked to see the provisional results, and pointed out a Miata in ITS that had finished immediately behind Mr. Kean, noting that the other two Miatas in the results were several places higher and paired up the same as they had passed me on track. They then paged the other driver, whose name I do not recall. We then spoke again briefly about when had occurred on- track, and in short time, the Miata driver arrived. The SOM asked me to wait outside, because they “didn’t think this would take too long”.
After about 5-10 minutes, the SOMs asked me to come back inside so that they could deliver a verdict. I was told that my protest did have “foundation”, but that they felt that Mr. Kean did not hit me maliciously. They returned my protest fee of $25 and said that they would “speak to Mr. Kean extensively about his car preparation and mechanical condition.” I then asked if any action was to be taken for Mr. Kean leaving the track, and I was told that there would be no action, because they couldn’t determine if he really knew about the protest.
