Caution Notification Systems

H3 Racing

Member
Being newbies to the dirt track scene as competitors, it's possible this topic has been ragged on in this forum and others until a heated argument ensues and it ends up going away, but in observation of the death of Bryan Clausen this past weekend, and as a car owner and father of a driver, I'd be remiss to not bring this topic to the front of the conversation.

The issue we see as racers that we didn't necessarily pay attention to as fans, is the lag in response time between the time an incident occurs that would warrant a caution, and the time the flags and lights are thrown. If we acknowledge that most operating tracks today have systems that were deemed adequate for the speed and skill levels of the cars and drivers of that era, which I would speculate to be in most cases from the decade of the 80's, is it reasonable to assume then that they are still adequate for the speed and skill level of the cars and drivers of today? Recognizing there are many subjective variables in qualifying an answer to this question, I'll express my opinion on the question asked as "No", they are not.

So, rather than burden every track with a one size fits all solution, my thoughts are most conditions can be improved on with some basic improvements to the existing system. So using our home track at Pevely with it's inside wall which can be difficult to see ahead of, or spot a spun out car against, is it as easy as placing more caution lights around the perimeter of the track so no matter where you are positioned in the field you have an immediate visual? Do you supplement the Official Starter/Flagman who typically initiates the caution by radio to the track side flagmen and throwing the caution light switch by adding two spotters in a skybox that have switches and radios of their own, each responsible for one set of turns and a straightaway? Seem extreme? Maybe, but in a hobby sport full of extremes with our equipment and approach to compete, the element of safety always seems to lag behind until we're forced to react, in lieu of being proactive.

Next topic: "Expense burden to the track owners." This is a big enough issue for me, that I'm willing to get behind it with whatever support I can provide my home track in the best interest of everyone that races there. I'd like to think that would be a shared sentiment across the racing community, nationally.

I don't know the math involved with the lag times on cautions, but I know it's real because I witness it every weekend we race, and more than any other element we face in this sport, it is the single biggest threat to the survival of our drivers, current and future, IMO.

Let's talk.
 
I like the ideas but at least from my experience, anytime a car spins on the track, an official will come through our raceceiver warning us about the car spun and yellows out. Something along the lines of, "yellow yellow yellow guys, car spun in turn 1 make sure you go high"

However the length I time they give the competitors to try and spin back around to keep from throwing the yellow could be a factor. I've seen it where they won't thrown the yellow unless the field is about to the spun car, and our cars don't stop exactly on a dime.
 
I understand that Raceivers provide an excellent audible warning, and were a major step toward early warning, but again, the lag can be 2, 3, even 5 seconds depending when the flag man see's the incident. Add to that how long it takes him to make a judgement (easily 1 or 2 seconds more), plus the drivers time to react to the visual/audible warning which could be perhaps another second or two. So in the best case scenario of the example I just gave, we're talking 4 seconds after a car has spun, gone idle, or rolled, for a driver to begin the process of avoiding the collision. A late model on a 3/8 mile track making laps at 00.12.850 will travel an average of approximately 600 feet in 4 seconds. That's nearly 1/3 of the distance around the track. This is all pretty high level stuff, but I'm guessing there have been studies on this kind of metrics that would likely show those numbers are not very far off.

With the infield wall at Pevely, I can't think of a time any disabled car wouldn't be cause for a yellow to be thrown immediately. Even cars seriously off the pace can be sitting ducks.

Not picking on Federated, it's just where we race, so we have nothing else to compare it to from a competitors perspective. Just trying to get the juices flowing.
 
in my personal opinion I think all of the tracks in the St. Louis area and surrounding tracks do a damn good job of providing the racers with on track accidents through the racecievers. Now is there still going to be "accidents" absolutely. Without the risk the racing would not be what it is. What is the answer? There really is not an answer to protect all the drivers from ever getting hurt. I think we have some of the greatest tracks right here in the Midwest. I have raced in probably 30 of the 50 states in my lifetime and I always tell people we have the best of the best in our area. Not only drivers but race tracks and fans a like.
 
Yeah so I'm not trying to imply we're ever going to protect all drivers from ever getting hurt, nor am I saying any track is falling short in their efforts to make it a safe race.

The question is, where throwing cautions are concerned, is everything being done to optimize the response and acknowledgment time, and if not what more can be done.
 
Personally all the tracks ive been too were great on yellow flag displays. Although some people need to be taught what a red flag means!!!! Too many times ive seen a red come out and people are still on the throttle. Heck 3 times i recall a red came out and i stopped as safely as i could and had cars still blasting by me as if we were still racing. No excuses for that
 
So to my point, Westling spun at the entrance to turn 3 last night in the LM feature in clear view of 2 back stretch officials. The field made another 1.5 laps at speed AFTER his car came to rest against the wall before the car was spotted by an official and the caution was thrown. A lap and a half...
 
Yea it was quite a shock when the caution didn't come out!
My steering wheel coupler broke and it doesn't steer to easily without it. Just happy no one else got tore up when it happened.
 
I wasnt watching the score board, but i was standing where Trace hit the wall. They did take quite awhile to go yellow, but it wasnt a lap and a half. Not sure about that as i believe the official at the outside gate watches the back straight. Its not like his car is visible to Ray Charles or anything lol.

At a place like pevely with an inside wall, it can be tough for a spotter in the tower to see that spot. Theres some tall trailers on the infield that impede vision for sure, and if your against the wall it doesnt help.

A mistake by someone, yes. But im not gonna rip them for this. They do a pretty good job at that. Theres plenty of other things that need "improvement" so i wont nit pick. Give credit where ceedit is due.
 
Oh it was a Lap and a half. Race monitor shows most of the field made lap 9 at speed, I spun on lap 8. I did get apologies from the officials. They were not in their normal places this week. And the official that was supposed to be looking in that area thought he was supposed to be looking in the opposite direction. It won't happen again they tell me, if they move officials they will make sure they know where to look.
Officiating there is better than most tracks considering the tall walls and infield obstructions. I'm not complaining and don't think they need a change, just stating what happened. They know what they have to do so it doesn't happen again. Just lucky it didn't cause any damage to any one else.
 
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I'm going to say this one more time...this is not a rip on anybody, and especially not on Pevely, nor am I trying to provoke anyone else into ripping anyone. This is an issue that absolutely exists in the sport that can, and should be improved on.

I'll take my nitpicking suggestions and ideas to the promoters and sanctioning entities during the offseason. Anyone interested in supporting that let me know and I'll keep you informed on what kind if feedback I get from them.
 
A USAC initiative aimed at driver safety was introduced during the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show at the Indiana Convention Center Thursday.

The TraceSAFE system will launch in early 2017 and will be implemented in the three USAC National Championship Series: Silver Crown, AMSOIL National Sprint Cars and National Midgets.

USAC will supply the TracSAFE equipment to teams at each of the series’ national events throughout the 2017 season. USAC has led the development of this innovative new safety feature with support from Toyota Racing Development.

A light system on the dash and the back of the roll cage of each racecar will serve multiple functions. The innovative feature incudes an indicator on the dashboard that will light up yellow when the track goes under a yellow or red flag situation. The system is connected to USAC’s timing and scoring, which will allow for an instantaneous response from race control to the competitors on the track to alert each driver in the event of an on-track incident.

Furthermore, a series of three lights will be located on the back of the roll cage. During green flag periods, the lights will serve as “leader lights” to indicate to fans the running order position of the car on the track. If a driver is leading, one green light will be illuminated, two green lights for the second-place running car and three green lights for the third-place car.

As soon as timing and scoring goes under a yellow or red flag condition, the three lights on the back of the cage of all cars will immediately flash rapidly to alert drivers of a full-course yellow flag condition.

Additionally, scan code stickers will be placed on the back of each driver’s helmet to allow medical personnel quick and easy access to the driver’s detailed medical history.

With an objective of safety and decreasing the response time for communication from race control to the drivers, TracSAFE won overwhelming approval from attendees visiting the USAC display.

"TracSAFE is a first for grassroots motorsports as USAC continues to be a leader in sprint and midget racing nationally,” USAC president Kevin Miller said. “We look forward to the full rollout in 2017 and sharing the technology with tracks and series throughout the country with our universal goal of increased safety for our competitors."
 




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