| American Road Race of Champions |
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| American Road Race of Champions |
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Corner Worker Report, or “Flags of Fire” In our eternal quest to get the best possible
adrenaline rush and give something back to the SCCA for a great season,
Art and I did our first stint as corner workers at the ARRC. What an
experience! We knew we’d have a good time, but the spinning, diving,
smacking, and racing we saw from Road Atlanta’s turn #10 was
explosive…literally. |
2003 Races
November |
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What happens when you mash 40 Spec Miatas into the ninety-degree turn at the end of the ¾ mile back straight? Absolute mayhem. The class is nicknamed “Smash Miata” by the corner workers. Our trainers for the ARRC, Bob and Pat Ziner, warned us that the Miata race would cause the most carnage during Saturday’s sprints. Sure enough, the start of the race was madness, taking out three cars (check out www.specmiata.com for pictures of the mess). Then, in the 3rd lap, another wad lost it at our turn, causing three more cars to limp back to the pits for the duration. Art did his second vertical jump of the weekend when one Miata lost it and smacked the retaining wall just a few yards upstream of the worker platform. Corner Captain Bob Ziner spent the majority of the race filling out incident reports, and the race stewards were so incensed at the banging going on that they impounded the entire lot of finishers (about 30 cars, I think). For the record, Will and Vesa demonstrated how turn #10 is supposed to be taken. They ran a clean, fun race with Gareth Rebstock, Stephen Douglas, and Blake Meredith. You want to learn good, clean, fast lines? Work a corner station. Even my inexperienced eye could pick out the exceptional drivers (the Chattanoogans, of course). The corner worker learning experience started with the 7:30 AM (ouch!) meeting, where the atmosphere of jovial respect between Flag Chief Stan Martin and his workers got our attention immediately. There was no question about who was in charge, never mind the ribbing and banter exchanged. We were warmly welcomed, and we received our first of many “thank you’s” for just being there to help. Our trainers, who were exceptional, gave us a good run-down of corner procedures (thanks Dave and Linda, for the training manuals), then let us step right up to the plate with blue and yellow flags. I spent most of my time under the supervision of Pat Ziner (Girrrrrl Powah!) and Art worked with both Harry Kulp and Scott (we’re sorry, we forgot your last name). Long story short: we were busy. The real fireworks of the ARRC happened during the GTA/SPO/Touring Corvette race. Pat and I covered the infield. Art and Harry worked the flagging station. The first car that lost it was a red SPO that waggled its way down the hill, glued itself to the inside wall, then proceeded to belch smoke out from underneath the hood. You wanna get in shape fast? Run with a 40-lb fire extinguisher. Art was right on it with the standing yellow flag. Then, just as Pat and I were checking on the SPO driver, a gray Corvette careened down the hill with smoke pouring out from underneath the exhaust. Just as it pulled parallel to the flagging station, the whole rear end of the car exploded in a 15-foot fireball and enveloped the entire corner in smoke. Professional demeanor intact, I yelled “HOLY S***!!!” and gaped at the smoldering car limping up the grassy hill. Art did much better keeping his act together, though his arm was sore the next day from all the yellow flag waving he had to do. The truly impressive results of all this carnage were two, uninjured drivers, and the quick responses of Stan, Safety Steward “Cap’n” Bob Forsten, and the track fire crew. Scott must also be recognized for running the length of a football field, uphill, with his fire bottle. There are dozens more stories to tell about our two days at corner #10. Every driver should work a corner station at least once. The benefits are immeasurable and you’ll be giving something back to the sport that’s given you so much fun. We learned that flagging takes concentration, focus, and quick reflexes. How fast can you jump out of the way of a disintegrating Formula Ford? When you wave at the corner stations, wave big. Art pointed out that the reflection on windshield glass obscures dark-colored driving gloves, and those waves from drivers are really appreciated. Workers work HARD. The days are long and your feet are really sore after standing through two, 2-hour enduros. However, the most important thing to remember about working a corner station, as cliché’d as it may sound, is that you really do have the best seat in the house. It don’t get any better than that. -- Ruthie Cartlidge
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November 12, 2003
"Flags of Fire" added November 26
