WanganRunner

I just thought I'd throw this on here in case anyone is interested in come out to Summit Point and working corners this year.

I do it from time to time and it can be fun. I'm working the SCCA Spring Driver's School on Saturday and there should be a really cool variety of cars (incl. Formula Atlantic, SRF's, etc...)

If anyone wants to know what goes into corner working or thinks that they might be interested in trying it out, PM me. It doesn't cost anything other than an SCCA membership and once in awhile you get to do something cool like setting a car on fire (training).

getfast

If you flag with NASA, you don't have to buy a membership... plus you get paid (cash per day or credits toward track time.) Plus meals/drinks. Plus free camping or free/discounted lodging sometimes too.

http://www.nasaracing.net/work_event.htm

It's really fun AND the best seat in the house,

Jon

Tarzan Bakerada

NASA>SCCA

WanganRunner

Hmmmm

I will have to look into this. So long as they have Summit Point events, because it's a REALLY long drive from DC to VIR and I prefer to keep it to day trips.

getfast

NASA has four weekends at Summit from Jun-Nov:

http://www.nasaracing.net/sched_regis.htm

WanganRunner

Awesome, thanks. Now to see if I need to go through their flagging school also or if it's similar enough to SCCA that I can just walk into an event.


EDIT: Wow, membership fee is half of SCCA's also.

D_Eclipse9916

NASA in terms of grassroot motorsports is a shit ton better than SCCA in my own opinion. A lot of Madison Motorsports works for NASA on their track weekends, and some of the people you work with are amazing, unlike what I can acknowledge for SCCA.

Ev_

I hate for this to be my first post but I just found this forum.

Part of the issue with some of the NASA events is the corner staffing is far lower than with SCCA events at the same track. You will find that where SCCA will have 5 people, NASA will have one or two people on a corner. With NASA not stopping the action for so much as a minute, when does a corner worker have a chance to take a bathroom break? I think that's why NASA has to pay it's people.

With all the things NASA does so well, I would like to see this changed. Not only from the above mentioned bathroom situation, but from a safety perspective. Where as SCCA has extra staff to respond to a car/driver in distress, your NASA workers have to decide which way to go. I have seen corner workers abandon their duties to deal with a car on fire. Sure that car was burning, but 30 other cars on the track NEEDED that worker to pay attention to what was going on, and there was no one there to help them. Even after I mentioned this situation to the corner worker, they didn't care. Maybe it was just a one off thing, but when the corner is so short staffed, it's going to happen.

I hope lots of people will sign up to work NASA events. It will make for a safer event..

getfast

Flaggers aren't required to put out car fires. They're not supposed to do anything but monitor/report/advise, and let the EV staff handle the rescue-based operations. So to me that sounds like a one off thing...

VT Remmy

That might be true, but why does NASA send every corner station a fire bottle? Surely it's not in case the flag station spontaneously combusts.

I've flagged with NASA several times, I've been in a stand with 3 people and I've been in one by myself, and it's much better (read safer) with at least 2 people operating a station. There are so many things a corner worker is tasked doing, you need one person to look ahead ready with the yellow flag all the time no matter what corner you're working. Ideally one person looking back prepared to offer blue flags, catch car numbers, work the radio, notice if anybody is doing something erratic approaching the turn, somebody to help be a spotter getting someone on track and communicate with drivers.

Working a flag station solo is exhausting, even at relatively dull turns (my experience was the top of T4 the chute, and T9 before the bridge at summit point). Your always alert, and with nothing happening you run the risk of not being sharp when something does happen. Last year at hyperfest there was a e36 gts car in the autobaun group that lost it in the short straight before the chute and hit hard into the tire wall. I wasn't sharp when it happened and couldn't give a very descriptive incident report concerning the cause of the accident. Luckily the driver was alright, but it looked pretty bad and the track went red for the debris across the track and to get an ambulance out to the driver. An extra set of eyes would have likely seen the cause of that incident. With two people you can take turns manning the yellow flag responsibilities, talk to someone, and cover each other on bathroom breaks, etc.

All that said I think NASA does a very good job and puts people to work in the most active turns. The SCCA flaggers that come to support NASA are some of the most knowledgeable people I've ever met at the track. They have helped me to become a much better driver, they know the line, they know racing strategy, they know when someone is driving 10/10ths, and when they've gone to 11/10ths. They are communicators, they can give immense amounts of information in just a few seconds over the radio connection with control. This compact dialog they use translates very well to instructing which I've just recently gotten involved in. I've made the suggestion, and heard it proposed by others that all comp. school students (and all racers really) should have to work a day in the flag station. It's not punishment, but extremely educational. You see what to do (and what not to do) when you go off track, how to communicate using hand signals to flaggers, and get a much needed appreciation for the hard work being put in at the flag stations.