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I know that the question of racing in the rain had been posted last week. Why was there no answer? the rules state this.
9.7.2 Rain tires: The decision to declare a race a rain race is at the discretion of the Race Director. Kid Karts, Jr 1 Comer 80 and Jr 1 Animal classes will not be run under wet conditions. Tires must be manufactured rain tires; No grooved slicks are allowed. When rain conditions are declared for a race, it is at the racers discretion to choose rains or slicks. Rain tires are only optional to use when it has been declared a rain race. The number of sets will be at the Race Directors discretion.
I totally understand the part of up to the race directors discretion. However it was stated today at the TRACK that the powers that be made a decision not to race in the rain at the start of the season. Why were competitors not informed of rules changes? It was only damp, no puddling, and most important no lightining. Was the real reason the racing didn’t go on over the fact money was already collected, last race of the year etc.?
I realize had we not finished the comer 80 class before it started to rain we would not have been able to run. At the regional level as long as the track is safe why would you stop a race in damp conditions? It would have been easy to change to a “rain” race setup with that 30 min delay.
I did however enjoy the three days we spent at the TRACK and don’t regret showing up. Nice to see old friends and even meet some new ones.
Brian Moore,
Father of Brandon comer 80 junior 1 and K3Brian,
The decision made today was the proper one. The rule you are stating is in the 2006 CSC rule book, however, we all had a vote at the meeting IMI hosted last winter. The majority of people who attended the meeting voted no rain racing, except for the GGP for obvious reasons. There are some addendums to the rule book and the rain rule is just one of them.As far as a 9 race season in unpredictable Colorado goes, today was the only race all season that weather played a role. Love it or hate it, Rusty and Jim made the correct call today. It’s just too bad it happened on the last race with so many Championships on the line. I’ll bet that the camera crew filming the special for Chase and Bill would have liked to have seen the mains completed also. There was an awful lot going on today and Mother Nature let us all down.
Now for my adder. Please everyone, take the time to fill out the 2006 End of Season Survey and get it faxed in ASAP. Give the survey your opinion on rain racing and other important issues you want the decision makers to ponder before the rules are set for 2007.
I have to agree with Brian on this one. 😯 I just don’t buy the argument floating around last week on this board and today at the Track that “the racers voted not to race in the rain.”
First, Brad has been especially vocal numerous times on this board that the CSC is not a democracy and that the show is run by the track owners. I don’t agree with that attitude, but you’ve got to admit that he was at least being honest. (Whatever happened to the high-minded concept of “class representatives”?) So how come all of a sudden the racers have a vote? I actually heard one track official berating racers for not bringing rain tires and not being prepared. If we can’t get an answer on this board despite repeated requests, don’t blame the racers. And we wouldn’t have been allowed to use them anyway. (Actually, as Brian points out, the track was only damp and rain tires wouldn’t have been a good idea anyway).
Second, as I said last week and as Brian reiterated, you can’t hold racers responsible for some kind of “vote” at that meeting if it’s not reflected in the official rule book. Not everyone can come to that meeting, and this year in particular it seemed pretty apparent that most of the decisions were being made before the meeting anyway. Doubtful? Go back and look at the postings preceeding the meeting. There was no agenda and certainly no promise that decisions would be made by racers. Again, I’m not saying this is the best approach, but I also recall the arguments by a number of people that racing works best with a benevolent dictatorship. If the CSC is going to publish a rule book, that should be the final word.
Frankly, this was a lousy ending to the season. I hope we can learn from this that we need to be clear about what the rules are so everyone is on the same page about expectations. Let’s quit Mickey Mousing around with a homegrown rule book that is neither complete (for example, there’s nothing in the rule book about weather ending a race, and states that races that are red-flagged before the half-way point shall be continued; as a result race officials were forced to “wing it” today) nor consistent, and adopt a national set of rules that are more completely thought out, that those of us who race multiple series will recognize, and that will be available MUCH earlier in the season. (We can also add some local option exceptions). And then let’s start learning to race in the rain. I can’t help thinking that Nick Neri must have been wondering what the heck is up with us–I’ll bet he has LOTS of experience racing in the rain in Florida! Maybe Doug would be willing to provide a seminar on rain setups–with and without rain tires?? If we are going to wuss out on racing in the rain, let’s have a rain date plan–especially if we’re going to race this late in the season.
P.S. I don’t really buy Brian’s theory that the track ended the race early because they’d already collected our money and the season was over. But I’m still scratching my head over that extended break before the Junior 1 race when it was already beginning to mist/sprinkle–shouldn’t that have been a clue to move ahead as quickly as possible and to shorten races?
Joe,
You make great points with respect to the rule book. Again, this is why so many people are pushing for a more formal meeting this year to determine what will be happening next season. The racing in the rain is a dead horse out here. It was decided prior to the first race, and we all had to live with it.
Lets all learn what just happened and make next season better for all.We now have over twenty surveys filled out to date. Keep them coming.
While it’s no secret I want us to race in the rain, the decision they made was the correct one given the politics here in Colorado. There is a long standing tradition here that we do not race in the rain.
It’s a shame that the rain let up before the stockers took to the track. It would have been great fun to watch them drive in the wet condidtions with the higher hp karts. By the time they went out, it was dry.
This only underscores the need to raise the bar for the CSC. Regional series race in the rain. Club series do not. Regional series often run under national sanctioning body rules, club series often do not. Is the CSC a regional series or a club series?
If you don’t teach the kids here to race in the rain……..please don’t EVER bring them to a regional or national race where it might rain…..or expect them to even begin to race Formula cars anywhere else than Arizona.
They will have no rain experience=====dead last place
Doug has it right.
Just my 2 cents…….but this isn’t Golf. The best racers always race rain or shine……..i think we should owe it to our up and coming drivers to get them that experience.
I know everyone was disapointed in how the season ended on a rain note including us. However, this should of been no suprise to anyone. Every race were we had a threat of rain IMI and Bandi I specifically asked what happens if it starts raining after the heats at the drivers meeting. I received the same response everytime. The heat will count as the mains. Everyone was aware of the situation all week. Even in the pre race article stated some races could even be cancelled. In our pre race strategy meeting I told my son to treat the heat race as it was the main because it could end up that way due to weather.
Needless to say it did. Our division had extra excitement as we got to race in it with cars spinning and wrecking. It was an emotional day in every way. After my son wrecked in the rain I thought the whole season was over for us. However he got back into his car not knowing the outcome and made up at least 30 seconds and was in the lead when the red flag flew.
I just want to say how proud I am of him. With the championship on the line he showed me determination and courage like I never have seen. After the race I inspected his wrecked car. The tie rods were bent as the whole front end. I have no idea how he drove it or how he made up so much time and retake the lead. It turned out to be a moot point as we reverted back to the heats which he finished first.
My hats off to my son David who I feel represents what the CSC is all about. Determination and courage. We are proud to be a part of it. Congratulations your a true champion were the championship came down to the last race but it was won on a 9 race gruling schedule.
David Zippie’s Father
Tag Jr #32@hotwheels1517 wrote:
Was the real reason the racing didn’t go on over the fact money was already collected, last race of the year etc.?
Jim can answer for himself but being a driver himself I think he too wanted to race, period.
Let’s reflect for a minute here: The CSC is a club race on steriods, period. The proof is in it’s actions. Don’t confuse our WANTS with IS. That said, the CSC can move forward and improve and it appears the things that need addressing are two main items. 1) Write a more restrictive and encompassing rule book. 2) ENFORCE the rule book.
It was a great season and I’m glad it’s over. I’m also looking forward for next year and (hopefully) continual improvement!
BTW… The best race of the day a lot of you missed and that was watching the shifter “free for all” after the day was called. Kyle Ray’s starts are something to learn from (I think he passed roughly 6 drivers at the start alone) and watching the faster guys who started at the back pass their way to the front was pure pleasure! And seeing over 20+ karts on the track at one time was a thing of beauty!
Hope everyone got home safely and don’t forget to DRAIN THE WATER OUT OF YOUR ENGINES, it’s going to be a very cold week especially in the evenings. No need to replace those cylinders if you don’t have to.
:cheers:
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