Track Tac

Respect

Respect is earned if you drive clean most others will notice and return the favor. But there is always the bad apple of the bunch that will drive rough regardless. Because that's how they feel they got to win, and like playing bumper cars instead of racing.
 
So here is what happened at eldora speedway in ohio we had a driver looking back at us and when we got right up there to pass him he would turn into us high or low it was very apparent he was blocking we were the faster kart and he new it happened 3 times and the final one he ran us into the infield and the flag man sent us to the rear [bad call ] well we did try and talk to the # 25 but he was not haveing it after the race was over some words were said and that # 25 steal did not get that we were not playing bump karts ges it does take all kinds hope he went home and tryed to figure out what he was doing wrong
 
you can lead a horse to water, blah, blah, blah.....you will never convice the #25 that he was acting like an idiot. some racers would say that you should have taken him out...possibly injuring yourself or him or someone else that had nothing to do with it. would it have been worth it? maybe momentary satisfaction, but in the long run, he would have been the victim becuase of your bad driving. see what I'm saying? you drive as best as you can..... he will get his in the end because like all bullies, he will come up against someone that is bigger and badder and madder than he is. calls will go for and against all of us all the time. we just have to try and make the best out of any situation. we do it in life, so why not on the track?

looking at it from what you said....he probably went home and thought "what a cry baby"....bullies are like that. they aren't the ones with the problem, it's everyone else that has them. one guy had a video of a race (taken by his son) which clearly showed that he took a kart out....and he tryed to convince me and himself that he was right in doing it because the other racer had disrespected him...how i asked? "he wouldn't let me get ahead of him because he "knows" that i'm always faster".... he said that i cost him a win because I sent him to the rear for intentionally spinning a racer...and he was wronged...and that i should declare him the winner because it wasn't right...

right....and the tooth fairy forgot to come by his house and leave a quarter.....

respect is earned....being labeled a good , clean driver is also earned. it only takes a second to be labeled as a bully and bad driver.
 
Flipped my kart last race of the season, last fall. Hit a dirt mound off of the turn:) WOW. I didn't know what happened until it was over. Got a nice scar from a header burn and was pretty sore for a couple of days. I formed a new opinion and respect for how quickly things can turn ugly. These things aren't weapons!
 
I suppose there's always the "pull the plug wire off" trick....and the ensuing fight at the scales. Tracks have to enforce the rules, not vigilante justice -- otherwise things just escalate and fans/families see a lot of bad examples. Seeing someone handle a situation gracefully even though they're wronged can be a good teachable moment for you and your kids...
 
Some people wont allow you to talk to them. A guy thought I took him out intentionally, which I didn't, he cut down and spun himself out, an went through the pits in his kart wide open like a wild man. What if a kid had walked out and got hit? Nothing was ever said to him though. Tracks play a huge part in keeping this kind of stuff under control. Most officials are afraid to wave the black flag or ban a driver because theyre are afraid that the driver in question will not come back. Yet you have good drivers leaving because they do not want to be injured or have their stuff damaged beyond usual by the bad driver. Neither is a good outcome for a track, but which option will make the LEAST amount of people upset? Obviously a black flag and/or ban.
 
Ted Hamilton said:
I suppose there's always the "pull the plug wire off" trick....and the ensuing fight at the scales. Tracks have to enforce the rules, not vigilante justice -- otherwise things just escalate and fans/families see a lot of bad examples. Seeing someone handle a situation gracefully even though they're wronged can be a good teachable moment for you and your kids...
Click to expand...


Where's the like button?? Agreed fully Ted.

Thanks
 
all it takes is one time for the black to be waved and most, i said MOST, will get the message. but you will always have those few that think they are bettter, faser, smarter and have a "connection" with the track that lets them get away with being a rude and bad driver. our flagman, Seven (yes that is his honest-to-goodness name!!) will warn once (rolled black flag) and then throw the black flag if you don't get the message and call the tower and tell them to stop scoring you. he's done it in almost every class, no one is immune....and it works!! he's done it to last place cars/karts as well as the leader.....

we also have to police ourselves....the track is only half of the issue. we have to respect each other and repsect the track if we want it to work. those that disrespect the track and racers are the ones that make for long and miserable nights....

good comment ted!!! well said!!
 
I am all about teachinig the right things but when we try to do that and they just dont lisen and there purposly blocking and running you off the track no matter how young or old they are something needs to be done i do prefer to let the drivers dicuss it first and when the guy doing the wrong thing just does not hear anyone welll his nose or his kart stuff is always fare game and if he is under age and you try a talk to his parents or who he is with and they dont get it well we all get the point here i do believe some people are just idoits and i dont have or want the patience to have to put up with it and the thought of not haveing the bodys on a kart just donr work cus if there is a real accident [not on purpose] to much stuff gets torn up ok i think i am done hope some learn something !
 
johnelliott said:
It seems like respect is in short supply. We have raced for a long time and when we started if somebody got beside you , they had the line. Now it seems the thing to do is run the inside guy into the infield or at least cut into them. We see this from J1-adults, with some of the kids being really blatant--obviously instructed by nondriving adults. Just venting, John
Click to expand...

I believe that in most incidents of "turning into" a passing kart is less intentional than incidental to normal reaction.
Karters will tend to pull the steering wheel into the direction that the driver's head moves when turning the head to look either right or left...........as when being attracted to a kart passing to either side.

Highway vehicle drivers tend to do the same thing when the drivers is trying to "rubber neck" to view vehicle wrecks, or anything unusual visual to the sides of the moving vehicle. In highway vehicles, minor movement of the steering wheel results in minor movement of the steered wheels.
In karts, minor movements of the steering wheels can result in major movement of the steered wheels.

One night at the track, we conducted a demonstration of this phenomenon, placing a kart on blocks, putting a helmeted driver in the seat with instructions to hold their head looking straight ahead, holding the front wheels straight ahead...............then getting the driver to suddenly look sharply to the right or left..........as they might do when a kart suddenly starts passing on the track.
In every instance, with every driver tried..........the driver pulled the steering wheel to the direction the head turned, unintentional, but with the same results.

Try it at your homes, at your tracks...........then start retraining your drivers. :)
 
dang duck!! you have made a very good and valid point! thank you for your insight!! not sarcasm...truth...you are 100 percent accurate!!
 
I agree Duck about people veering in the direction that they look, but there's a difference between a little veer (usually quickly followed by a correction) and riding somebody into the wall or the infield. Rookie drivers are more likely to veer than experienced drivers, and some experienced drivers are more likely to give racing room if they remember getting onto their heads in the past, but it's unsportsmanlike to run people off the track. Even more unsportsmanlike when parents coach their kids to hit people.
 
Someone ... said:
I agree Duck about people veering in the direction that they look, but there's a difference between a little veer (usually quickly followed by a correction) and riding somebody into the wall or the infield. Rookie drivers are more likely to veer than experienced drivers, and some experienced drivers are more likely to give racing room if they remember getting onto their heads in the past, but it's unsportsmanlike to run people off the track. Even more unsportsmanlike when parents coach their kids to hit people.
Click to expand...

Our demonstration showed that in karts there was no "little veer", it was a full turn...........and usually when contact is made, correction is not easy since the tires tend to "hold onto" what they touch..............like what my tires would do when I got too close to the fence tires in the turns and straights.
 
When I learned to race, the track that was holding driver's clinics intentionally did drills teaching the driver to pivot their head and keep arms straight....after some conscious attempts, it becomes largely unconscious.... like upper/lower body movement seperation, head/shoulder movement separation is possible, but takes some training. But there is a limit --- to turn the head beyond 90* requires some torso movement... I find that I can spot most drivers that are 1/2way up via peripheral vision, and if they're not 1/2way I don't care about them.... :)
~Ted
 
i like it brickert77! i'm going to look around sure, but i'm not going to spend my race time looking over my shoulder trying to see who's coming up on me...i'm going to run my line and try to be consistent....if you creep up and grab the inside (or outside too!) and try for my spot, then we's gonna race for it!! i'm not going to give it to you....you'll have to earn it...but i'm not going to play peek-a-boo all race long worried that you're coming up on me.

again, the thread is all about respect. you want respect? show me some too...you want respect? earn it....you want respect? race me clean....

i'm not afraid of racing hard....but i'm not going to play bumper cars and run the risk with my health, my life, or my safety...on the track...back in the pits might be a different story....

you want respect? respect is earned, it's not free. and you'll NEVER get it if you demand it....demand it from me? be right back, i forgot my "attitude adjuster" in the trailer...........
 
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