TheBigWheel
Member
On a gloomy day here is something fun... In British stock car racing (really, big block mods) the flagman or Mr. Starter as the Brits call him, gets a real workout... standing in a hurricane of wind and dirt he flags the race, with some unusual quirks. Since the '40's when oval track racing started in the UK most tracks did not have score boards, and with the chaos of many cars on the track and no yellow flags (except for really nasty crashes) the starter kept the the spectators (and the drivers) informed with who was in the lead, second, third, etc. He does this by pointing with his hand at the lead cars with 1 finger, 2 fingers, 3 fingers... up to 5. Then with 5 laps to go he puts out a paddle with the laps left... the tradition still continues today. Enjoy the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu0bFyyjMVg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu0bFyyjMVg
