Race Day 2013 Comments....

[McCue]

Bumping to talk about SigEp fire safety and Fringe women's DQ instead of other things.

[Ben]

So this is what I have heard, but I have a feeling someone more official can explain it better.

SigEp's issue was that they had a gas can for their leaf blower too close to their prep area. SDC let them know before telling sweepstakes, but it was apparently later found in a bush still near their truck. I guess this was determined to not be an egregious hazard, but still DQ worthy for 2 teams of their choosing. I hope there's some statement from the fire marshal that can make this make more sense, but all I can guess is that a gas can is not as combustible as a propane tank (i.e. to compare against SDC in 2010).

From what I hear, Fringe women's A was DQ'd on a spot safety since their hatch was falling off. specifically I think they quoted the "pencil test" or something like that.

I'm pretty sure these are accurate, but I know some details are probably off.

[McCue]

OK so, the parts I am not clear about:

• Why would SigEp get some of their buggies DQed and not all of their buggies?
• What on earth is the "pencil test?"

Regarding the second one: Officially, I don't think any such thing exists. Apocryphally, I always thought it was "if you can stab through a shell with a pencil, it is not strong enough" -- which, having been safety chair, I do not see anyone ever doing and leaving that safety with their life (even with an infinitely stiff bar for defense).

Clearly the test used was not this, and I had heard something about a hatch being askew. There is a picture of Spirit in 2004 with a wheel about to come off a buggy at drops that led me to believe that if the buggy survives the course with all its mass intact, it doesn't really matter how rattly it is. So why was Fringe A DQed?

[shafeeq]

Given that there are some useful fuel-powered things, it'd be nice to get "how far away is far enough" advice from the fire marshal. The gas generator in the timing guy's van was probably close enough to get everyone DQ'd if anyone noticed.

Everyone can explain what the pencil test is, but nobody can point to a line in the rules that make it an official thing, other than "whatever else the safety chair feels is unsafe."

The hatch was doing a hungry-hungry-hippo imitation down the back hills, but still finished on the buggy, so I don't see how it could've been called loss of mass unless they left a screw somewhere on the course. Presumably the buggy never passed a safety inspection with a loose hatch, and so had just raced with an unapproved modification to its protective cage. It sucks for Fringe, but with the way teams have been getting lax with hatches in recent years, the only things that might result in change are either a contender getting DQ'd, or a driver eating hay after her hatch fell off, so maybe some good comes of it.

[SigNuSi]

OK so, the parts I am not clear about:

• Why would SigEp get some of their buggies DQed and not all of their buggies?
• What on earth is the "pencil test?"

Regarding the second one: Officially, I don't think any such thing exists. Apocryphally, I always thought it was "if you can stab through a shell with a pencil, it is not strong enough" -- which, having been safety chair, I do not see anyone ever doing and leaving that safety with their life (even with an infinitely stiff bar for defense).

Clearly the test used was not this, and I had heard something about a hatch being askew. There is a picture of Spirit in 2004 with a wheel about to come off a buggy at drops that led me to believe that if the buggy survives the course with all its mass intact, it doesn't really matter how rattly it is. So why was Fringe A DQed?

Well, it would have to fall under this:

7.1.3 Spot Safety Checks

"Helmet, mouthguard, goggles, windscreen, interior windscreen (where required), harness, and gloves
of the buggy driver. Additionally, the manner in which each is secured should be checked to ensure
safety and clear visibility without obstructions."

"General condition of the buggy to ensure that it is in as good, or better condition, in regards to safety
related items, as it was during its safety inspection, and that no modifications have been made to the
buggy since its inspection which could reduce its safety."

Total judgment call, frankly no well really to tell except to have been in the truck at the time. And Spirit's dropped a wheel at least once since '04, they lost one in the chute during my time.

As for the pencil thing, Kaufman said he wanted to do that at least once...

For the SigEp thing -- shenanigans -- time for Sweepstakes to really define what a buggy preparation area means in terms of distance from truck, buggies, etc. Put everyone on notice of what exactly it is, that way there's no problem -- you violate it, you lose X, Y, and Z. From what I've gleaned from drunken 80's alumni of years past is that the ATO incident nearly killed buggy, hence broad rule.

Fire Marshal Bob should be able to define a space easily based on the size of the U-Haul/tent, take a measuring tape from the outermost edge of the truck and measure to the point where the flammable is found. Then the organization is on notice and there's hard evidence.

[cmuTV]

Does anyone know what happened to the commentator audio on the women's prelims? It's completely missing, and I'd love to be able to hear it.

The commentator audio was an issue with our streaming setup that was fixed eventually. DVDs and Youtube uploads will have the complete audio.

Luke Davis

[cmuTV]

Hey cmuTV, I think I represent a number of voices beyond my own when I say I missed the tag team of Bordick and Estes on the broadcast. Having folks with so many years of experience is what sports broadcasting should be all about. Will is doing great, but he needs to have those guys with him to make it a power team.

I personally agree with you on that one; Bordick and Estes individually brought a lot of experience to the broadcast and worked great as a team. WRCT made the decision to leave Estes out due to their concerns about being radio safe. I personally would have loved to have him in the booth but we let WRCT make the final decision this year.

Luke Davis

[cmuTV]

Personally, I'd rather see drops, which are a part of the race, than booth announcers or filler videos, which are not. If there is replay capability, then not showing the drops live, but replaying the ones that fail or close would probably satisfy everyone.

This is in principle something we could try doing and did consider in our preparations for raceday. The issue is that this takes the replay operator off preparing footage that the commentators want to see or preparing sets of clips to play as a recap of a series of races. Our feeling was that drops are failed so rarely that having a replay of the one time it happens in a year is not worth missing out on more exciting replays of the actual race action.

We're also bumping up against a bit of a deeper conflict here. We always try to serve the buggy community first in our coverage but also make the coverage interesting and exciting for uninformed observers. I think this approach is important for helping Buggy continue to grow but it can sometimes create issues when what's exciting to show is not the same as what Buggy veterans know is important (drop tests).

Luke Davis

[McCue]

"General condition of the buggy to ensure that it is in as good, or better condition, in regards to safety related items, as it was during its safety inspection, and that no modifications have been made to the buggy since its inspection which could reduce its safety."

Aw man. That's actually a good justification, if kind of an unbelievably hardass move on the Safety Chair's part. I probably would have let it slide, especially to an elite team. Thanks for informing/reminding me of that one.

WRCT made the decision to leave Estes out due to their concerns about being radio safe.

Well there goes my hopes of ever announcing.

[Zatchmo]

We always try to serve the buggy community first in our coverage but also make the coverage interesting and exciting for uninformed observers. I think this approach is important for helping Buggy continue to grow but it can sometimes create issues when what's exciting to show is not the same as what Buggy veterans know is important (drop tests).

It's not that us veterans don't know it's important more than the uninformed, it's just that it isn't particularly important to see live (everyone else, feel free to yell at me if I'm alone in that thought). After the first buggy crosses, I'm far more interested in seeing the times of the next ones than anything, and if the camera can whip around and provide more coverage for something with a pusher that is better still. It's no more important to see a drop failure live than it is to see a harness DQ or anything else, the announcers covering it is enough

PS You all did a fantastic job this year, and I am absolutely loving your candid answers in telling us the thought you all put into this. Thanks so much!