VaSteve

Keeping the race moving is key to me as a spectator. While seeing the wad up in 1 was exciting, it was boring as hell baking in the sun watching them clear it. I'm glad they didn't have to dig guys out of the sand traps. Banging sheet metal and ruining you car is often panalty enough. Scootin...what turn were you flagging? The showed a giant chunk of debris in T10 or 11 on the video screen (when it was working) and the caution came out. Took the flaggers in the esses half a lap to show the caution.

Scootin159

I moved around throughout the weekend. Sunday I was between turns 5 and 6-short/10-long.

The delay between the debris occurring and the yellow flag is a nature of the business of NASCAR. Most other racing bodies are better, but there's always some delay. I do remember that specific piece of debris you're talking about (it was a spring rubber), but I don't remember the specific reason for any delay on that call.

However, standard procedure would be:

1) Flagger reports debris over radio (no debris flag in NASCAR) to Race Control
2) Once Race Control has a good idea what it is, or at least the scope of the debris, they report it to NASCAR
3) NASCAR finds it with a camera (likely what you saw), and makes a decision
4) ????
5) NASCAR informs everyone in the tower of yellow flag
6) Race Control informs flaggers of yellow flag
7) Yellows actually are displayed by flaggers

The delay from 1-2 is often as much as 20-30 seconds for a few reasons:
a) We can't see the debris often until the whole field has cleared
b) We will wait until the field clears even if we do see it, as often following cars will clear the debris before we have a chance to report it. We would flag instantly, but again, no debris flag in NASCAR.
c) Time to get binoculars, time to figure out what it is, time for radio traffic, etc.

The delay from 2-3 is nearly instant (we often see the debris on the jumbotron the second we call it in), those guys are pretty quick.

There's a mystery delay at 4 which I'm not sure why. Other racing bodies are much quicker on this, but I noticed a few times Sunday where we knew a yellow was coming, but they waited a quarter lap before actually throwing it. On a few occasions they actually waited a full lap to see if the cars would self-clear it. On one occasion they actually waited long enough that the debris was cleared well before the yellow even came out.

The delay then from 5-7 is nearly zero. Because we all know it's coming, we often have our hands on the lights and flags ready for the official call.

VaSteve

The weird thing was that they called it on the radio to the drivers and they had already slowed before the flags came out up the essess. Scanners are a mjust have for in person viewing.

Scootin159

Ahh... I remember that incident exactly. It was weird, they even informed the fire & rescue people about the yellow well before they told us. It wasn't until we asked "are we supposed to be yellow?" that we got the call "yes, we just got word - full course yellow, full course yellow" from control. It was about half a lap delay between the two. Occasionally it does seem as though NASCAR forgets that it has flaggers out there - which is somewhat understandable given that they normally don't.

VaSteve

Good point....usually one guy and the lights around the track. I was told the glen doesn't use radios for the flaggers. I tried to find them on the scanner but wasn't sucessful. I listened to them at a Continental race at VIR (since the announcer sucked). It helped to follow the action....the commentary wasw fun. Flaggers got confused with the similar cars with consecutive numbers.

Mikelly

I was furious with the commentators after Steward punted Boris exiting T1. I guess Nascar is the only series where the overtaking car is expected to be "given room to race". Boris was very gracious in his post crash comments, but it just confirmed for me that NASCAR is full of idiots, from the commentators on down...

Mike

mdrums

Boris squeezed Stewart...you expect Stewart to just run off into the wall .....BS Boris got what was coming to him playing with Stewart like that. Yes Boris was gracious with his on camera comments.

VaSteve

They always are. You should have heard some of the scanner chatter. I didn't hear anything specific to that event, but just before the first green, JPM who's usually pretty colorful was trying to figure out what that "dumbass Allmendinger" was going to do. Kyle Busch had to pit during the first pace laps due to a problem with his wheel or something and tore into his pit crew. That dude can't race unless he's up front in "clean air" and was bitching about "f***ing lapped traffic" during the Nationwide race. They were all concerned about the divebombers. Scanner traffic is the best.

JPM during Friday's practice.

johnclay

I agree, Boris considered the runoff area part of the racing line when he tracked out to the gators with a car on his outside, but then decided the line ended and that Stewart must merge behind him when the extra pavement went away.

RedlineMan

Hmmm...

I might imagine that Stewart now wishes he had given it up and tucked in, and Said wishes he gave him some room. Think they both learned anything?
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Probably not.

mdrums

I bet Boris wishes he did not try to squeeze Stewart off the track into a wall but I doubt Stewart has thought about it since.

shiners780

Boris: "I didn't know he was there..." yet, at the beginning of the video 1:06 you can clearly hear his spotter telling him "still there, still there, still there..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj2yiwoWiNY