Editorial: Two Cents on Two Laps

A debate raged this week over a new rule at Eagle Raceway which does not give drivers who pull into the pits during a yellow flag a set time for making repairs before the race goes green. Since 1998, Eagle instituted a rule that said once a car goes to the pits, or work area under a yellow flag they would have two laps after the lineup is set to come back out. This winter that two-lap cushion was eliminated.

Good riddance.

WHAT?!?! Well, for starters when I worked on a car from about 1985 – 1996, not once did we get the benefit of having a set time in a work area to make repairs. To quote a Knoxville Pit Steward: “We’re going now and I don’t care if you aren’t ready.” So, I’ll hide behind tradition and say that they didn’t do it back when, so too bad.

Now, anyone who knows me knows I’m not one for arguments based on tradition for tradition’s sake or the excuse “that’s the way we’ve always done it.” To me, it’s the equivalent of a 4 year old saying “because” when they explain why they took a cookie away from their sibling. So, I’ll offer you some logical reasons as to why I think this and a solution at the end…

In order (most important first).

1. Safety. By far most important. The pits are a dangerous area. They’re dimly lit, packed with cars staged for the next race, and people are either looking at the track or looking back at their car. Many in the pits are fans or people not experienced with the chaos of the pits. Some crews pack up for the night and leave. No matter how much time you give be it two laps or two minutes, every driver hustles to get to work as soon as possible. It’s human nature. Mix adrenalin with tear-offs, dirt and dust, and people wandering around, and you have a recipe for trouble, especially when you have people racing from their PIT to the track entrance, not just to the work area. In addition, I’m not a fan of slowing on the track to bring out a yellow flag. It's a hazard - that's why they throw the flag in the first place.

2. Fairness. Even though officials try to adhere to the two lap rule, there’s an element of luck involved. How much time does it take to line the cars up? Is someone playing games to buy a friend some time? How long did it take the tow truck to get them to the pits? When is the lineup “set?” I can remember every year getting at least 5-10 emails during the season saying “WHY DID YOU LET (___Insert name of driver ____) GET (___number of laps___) WHEN THE RULE IS TWO LAPS!!!!! I HAVE IT ON VIDEO!!!! QUIT PLAYING FAVORITES TO (Omaha/Lincoln/Beatrice) DRIVERS!!!!!!! Ok, not all of them were that way, but the perception (if not reality) was there. Officials make mistakes.

Remember how this “work area” rule for sprint cars came with the World of Outlaws. Ted Johnson wanted his guys to be able to make more money and not have their night end early. So, he gave them this rule and flew it under the guise of fans wanting to see their favorites. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt but that was secondary. And it wasn’t fairly administered. If your name was Kinser or Swindell, you got more time than if your name was “Wojohowitz.” And that’s not urban legend, it’s fact. I remember hearing officials talk about it when Craig Cormack was the World of Outlaws VP of Race Operations.

And one more thing. Intentional yellows affect the outcome of the race for everyone. It disrupts the flow. One of the great things about short track racing as compared to others is that while many NASCAR/IRL/F1 races are decided in the pits, short track races are decided ON THE TRACK. Adding "pit stops" takes away one of the best things about the sport.

3. Time. The only things a promoter can control time-wise are: the start of the race, the scheduled gap between races, and intermission. All the rest – pushing off, lining up, cleaning up wrecks, yellow flags, and so on is mostly out of their control. The only way a promoter can get any of that back is by NOT adding extra downtime, and keeping things moving as long as it’s safe and feasible to do so. Simple math will tell you that the actual races take up a small portion of the whole program. A 25-lap sprint A feature is about 7 minutes total green flag time.

Let me put this in context: when I did music for the track, the sprint A feature intro from “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble” > “Saturday Night” > “Gimme Some Lovin’” > “Zombie Nation” > “Machinehead” was NINE minutes long, and that’s with the songs CUT. I’m not bagging on sprints, but I wanted to give reference.

Race promoter meetings each year harp on program length. Movies, concerts (unless you saw the Grateful Dead), races on TV, football games, etc. all have one thing in common: they’re all around 3 hours. Markerters, entertainers, and so on know that’s a magic number. I’m sure there’s plenty of fans who would like to sit through races all night (though I’ve had nightmares like that). But, most casual fans and even a lot of die-hards have said they don’t want to be there all night. They’ve told me this in person.

When you get to A feature time, patience runs thin, even if it’s just a few minutes. Chalk it up to being tired, intensity of the event, whatever. I know this for a fact. I can remember sitting in the announcer’s booth hearing the most intense fan yelling for things to get going as a car sat in the work area.

4. Futility. I’m sure we all remember a “worst-to-first” drive from someone who restarted out of the work area. Know why you remember? Because it’s rare. Most of the time, the car ends up lapped shortly after the green flag, or they end up causing another yellow because the car is still broke or the part doesn’t match the intended set up. Again, it’s against human nature to take that away, I understand. But sometimes luck isn’t with you.

So what’s my solution? End yellow flag pit stops altogether.

Again, WHAT?!? Am I crazy? Don’t I know what these people have in their cars? Yes I do. And I already mentioned I’ve been part of teams on the short end of the stick. But I think the reasons above present a logical reason as to why I’m glad the two lap rule was removed and think it could go further.

For the emotional end of the argument, I’ll offer this: those who say pit stops are part of the drama and necessary, OK. But it is different than other forms of racing. Unlike short track racing, NASCAR is a continuous race. Unless there’s a red flag it’s running for three hours, and if you sit in the pits you go down laps, even under yellow. IRL & CART are the same way. In Formula One, where people have tens of millions in each car, if you STOP anywhere but in your pits you’re DONE. No tow to the pits to restart. Done. And, all these pits are “hot pits” and restricted to race teams only. Even then crews wear safety gear and there are injuries on pit lane each season. So, by eliminating pit stops altogether, the danger is reduced, it’s a rule applied equally and can’t be messed with, it speeds up the show, and potentially saves equipment.

Maybe now the horse has been let out of the barn, people are used to and expect work time. But I've become too used to anything that takes away from action on the track has to be eliminated.

That was about a roll of quarters more than two cents, but thanks for reading.

-Jason