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Topic: people in the pits
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May 02, 2012 at
11:49:52 AM
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We went to Sedalia a couple of weeks ago and got pit passes and i was amazed at how many other people were walking around too. Of course this doesnt hurt anything early in the day but as the program started and the cars started moving a lot of people werent paying attention. It amazed me that someone didnt get ran over. I have seen this at several tracks since ive been a fan. Do people actually get hit and we dont hear about it? i dont see how this could go on every race night and there not be an accident.
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May 02, 2012 at
11:59:19 AM
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Reply to:
Posted By: outlaw_fan_7_8 on May 02 2012 at 11:49:52 AM
We went to Sedalia a couple of weeks ago and got pit passes and i was amazed at how many other people were walking around too. Of course this doesnt hurt anything early in the day but as the program started and the cars started moving a lot of people werent paying attention. It amazed me that someone didnt get ran over. I have seen this at several tracks since ive been a fan. Do people actually get hit and we dont hear about it? i dont see how this could go on every race night and there not be an accident.
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I've used to watch the races from the pits years ago but I sit in the stands now. I too was amazed at the number of people walking around and making the cars dodge them. It's just too dangerous and it's just a matter of time until someone get seriously injured.
The sad part is that once someone gets seriously injured, it might just shut down a lot of racetracks.
I hope I'm wrong.
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May 02, 2012 at
12:05:21 PM
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im sure it has to very annoying to the drivers when they come off the track and there is someone just standing in the middle of the road and not even looking. it never fails. or someone standing in an empty pit staring at the truck. If the car is gone you might want to watch your back. just a thought. Its like people have no sense.
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May 02, 2012 at
02:10:23 PM
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I think the posters here have a very valid point. I won't go to a race without being pitside. For us it is a learning tool, to be able to watch what others do, especially the professionals, to adjust for certain track conditions. But we are very aware of our surroundings and make every effort to stay back as far as possible and watch for other cars as well. It can be a bit of a pain at some tracks, making sure that you are not on the roads leading to and from the pit stalls, staying 10 feet or so away from the teams that you are trying to watch and stay out of the way, moving along fences to make an effort not to infringe. I see these things get over looked when we spectate to learn, and when we race. So these are very valid points that are brought up here. Spectators, us included, need to remember that the pits belongs to the racers, not us. I make sure that I tell everyone that comes to a show with us that if you are in the pits and you get it hit, it is not the racers fault. That is why we sign waivers. More people need to respect that and give the competitors room.
Never hit stationary objects!
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May 02, 2012 at
02:38:47 PM
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i don't remember what year maybe 2005 or so a first time spectator to sprint car racing was hit and killed in the pits at grays harbor raceway in elma wa. be aware of your surroundings at all times!!!
Ascot was the greatest of all time..
West Capital wasn't half bad either..
Life is good...
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May 02, 2012 at
02:46:25 PM
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I have had the misfortune to see a fan lose his life when he turned his back on a racecar in the pits,the poor soul driving the car has never returned to race again and the young guy that died was 15 feet from me and with all the noise and hollering he didn't hear people screaming at him to move,the steering had failed in car and there was nothing the driver could do except get it off the track and out of the way,never knowing this guy was going to be where he was I'll never get over the sight of that and my opinion is go to the pits,learn all you can,pay attention all the time, and never turn your back to a race car or a race track,and stay way, out of the way, and don't get yourself trapped in a crowd in the pits,always leave yourself a hole to getaway,just like defensive driving. If you can do this you should be fine,if not buy a ticket and go sit in the stands and if you do go to the
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May 02, 2012 at
02:50:22 PM
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continued from above,if you go to the pits,go sober,just like the highway. Take care stay safe.
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May 02, 2012 at
03:04:01 PM
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Reply to:
Posted By: Bet n Housen on May 02 2012 at 02:50:22 PM
continued from above,if you go to the pits,go sober,just like the highway. Take care stay safe.
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Yep, that's right. A few years ago there was a car that came roaring off of the track at Grundy without any brakes. Thank God there wasn't anyone in his path, but he soared through the pits and headed out towards the farm field before he could stop. Thing is that you never know. There are so many things that can go wrong in the pits and in allot of cases folks don't consider them until it is too late. Just like baseball, HEADS UP people!
Never hit stationary objects!
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May 02, 2012 at
03:11:26 PM
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I've often said that at many tracks there is more danger with the people in the pits than there is for the photographers standing in the scariest spots on the track.
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May 02, 2012 at
03:17:55 PM
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A couple of things.
1. I believe that Sedalia was a SLS promoted show. If you pre-purchase your reserved seat they will give you the pit pass for free. I attended one of their shows last year and it was nice to be able to walk the pits before the races and during intermission to see what was happening. However, there were a lot of people in the pits that did not understand pit etiquite.
2. Back in the day, there was an age limit to get into the pits. I believe that we need to get back to have an age limit in the pits. While there are a bunch of stupid adults who can not control themselves, they are old enough to know better. Having a bunch of 11-12 years old running around the pits is not safe because they are not old enough as to what is dangerous.
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May 02, 2012 at
03:20:36 PM
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This message was edited on
May 02, 2012 at
03:26:51 PM by jackhole22
My dad use to lie about my age to get us into the pits to watch races (12). Even at a young age I was taught that this was a dangerous place! Before walking any place you looked both ways. this was not cross walk where you had rights. This place every vehicle had the right to run your ass over. Before crossing any empty pit stall you looked around. You stayed at least 5-6 feet back from the car, if the crew was working on the car. You didn't bug the driver unless he was being chatty. A fly on the wall so to speak. During this time is when I learned how a lot of things worked, for my time to be on a crew later.
I enjoyed every night of it!
*edit The whole brakes thing too. If ANY race car was coming down the lane, DO NOT think you can just hurry and cross. He might have just used his last brake fluid to slow down to come in and maybe now can't stop. My dad might have been wrong for taking me in the pits but I was made sure of my discipline and rules. My behavior, in the pits at that age, was better than I acted in any other situations. I promise you I was better than most adults act today.
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A healthy diet of dirt in my nachos and beer.
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May 02, 2012 at
03:47:09 PM
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I don't know how many times I "failed" my Iowa drivers permit test and that's why I didn't have ID to prove I was 14....then act sad and belittled. 
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A healthy diet of dirt in my nachos and beer.
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May 02, 2012 at
04:11:56 PM
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I've been working on sprint cars for 32yrs. and have seen a few people get killed or injured because they weren't paying attention while in the pits,there is no completely safe place around a track.I know I'm always looking around to see what's going on and have still been almost hit by flying debris from crashes,blown tires and wheels coming off of cars,I constantly see people walking in the pits that are completely unaware of what's going on around them,the pits are a very dangerous place and people need to be aware of that.
I had an incident happen to me at Hanford Ca. one time that if I hadn't been paying attention I wouldn't be writing this right now,the pits at Hanford are outside of turns 3&4, the car I was working on was next out to qualify so I started walking towards the track to get a better vantage point when the right front tire came off of Mark Kinsers car and bounced over the catch fence,now at this time I was probably 500ft from the track, the tire was coming towards me at a very high rate of speed and bouncing along and I had to dive to the ground to keep from being hit it went over the top of me and I kept watching it's path after it passed me, there was some other people walking about 30ft. from where I was laying completely unaware of what was happening and luckly it bounced high enough that it cleared them but a guy mounting a tire on his trailer door wasn't as lucky,the tire hit their tralier right above the back door and came straight down and hit this guy in the back resulting in some serious internal injuries.
Moral of this story,whenever at a race track always pay attention to what's going on around you,even if you think you're in a safe place because it could save your life!!
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May 02, 2012 at
04:37:03 PM
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You know you're an old timer when you can remember that Back in the Day, you couldn't even buy a pit pass unless you were WITH a racecar.
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May 02, 2012 at
04:58:27 PM
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Learn what the haulers look like, Not just the car. So if you are in the pits while they are firing the cars to warm up. As you are walking around & coming up to a hauler that doe's not have a car there you can look back & see if 1 is coming & if you need to stop or not. Pretty simple concept but then again some are pretty simple.
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May 02, 2012 at
05:09:17 PM
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Reply to:
Posted By: JonR on May 02 2012 at 03:17:55 PM
A couple of things.
1. I believe that Sedalia was a SLS promoted show. If you pre-purchase your reserved seat they will give you the pit pass for free. I attended one of their shows last year and it was nice to be able to walk the pits before the races and during intermission to see what was happening. However, there were a lot of people in the pits that did not understand pit etiquite.
2. Back in the day, there was an age limit to get into the pits. I believe that we need to get back to have an age limit in the pits. While there are a bunch of stupid adults who can not control themselves, they are old enough to know better. Having a bunch of 11-12 years old running around the pits is not safe because they are not old enough as to what is dangerous.
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I agree with you there 110%. And while we are at it why don't we reinstate the minimum drivers age as well. It is hard to limit the pit access when adults want their 11 and 12 year old "children" driving the cars as well.
Never hit stationary objects!
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May 02, 2012 at
05:17:10 PM
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If I remember correctly I think that the owner of Bob Joe Speedway in Sycamore IL was killed sitting on a golf cart in the pits when a tire flew over the wall during a race and struck him. And in the stands is sometimes no better. There was a fellow killed at The Indy 500 from a flying wheel in either '86 or '87. I can't remember which. Point here is, the stands are dangerous enough. I know that there have been several times when my car was coming in off of the track and I had to shoe someone out of the way. Sometimes it is almost like they are not even aware that cars are running. One night last year my daughter couldn't get it out of gear and tapped our trailer. She had bent the rear end heigm in an on track altercation and it wouldn't move far enough to come out. Good thing that hadn't happened with someone in front of her.
Never hit stationary objects!
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May 02, 2012 at
05:21:14 PM
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This message was edited on
May 02, 2012 at
05:26:06 PM by jackhole22
I was on top of Jac's Hauler at eagle in Sept of 2002. Joey was parked next to us. Jac was set to start on the pole but had to change an engine. When it came time to pull out the engine they of course pushed the car into the hauler. I was watching from on top. Someone's tire comes off going into turn 1 and jumps the fence, misses several people and comes across Jac's pit stall (where the car should have been) and nails Joey's trailer, leaving one large dent. God was looking out for a few people on that one. Forbrook's kids were up on top the hauler too.
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A healthy diet of dirt in my nachos and beer.
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May 02, 2012 at
05:28:15 PM
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It's all about money.....When I started You had to sign in with a car.....Only 5 Men ( no Women or children were allowed) could sign in with a car.....You had to wear White Pants or Shirt.....The Pit Pass was only a dollar more than a Grandstand Ticket.
When the Track Operators (can't call them all Promoters) found out they could charge whatever they wanted to, they just let everybody in......
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May 02, 2012 at
05:40:45 PM
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Reply to:
Posted By: jahmo55 on May 02 2012 at 05:28:15 PM
It's all about money.....When I started You had to sign in with a car.....Only 5 Men ( no Women or children were allowed) could sign in with a car.....You had to wear White Pants or Shirt.....The Pit Pass was only a dollar more than a Grandstand Ticket.
When the Track Operators (can't call them all Promoters) found out they could charge whatever they wanted to, they just let everybody in......
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Well said jahmo55. Especially the note about Operators VS Promoters. Too often nowdays the "operators" cram as many classes of cars and people in the pits as possible to make up for declining revenue from the front gate. Wish there would be more effort to "promoting" and maybe the front gate would increase and everyone would be a winner. Just saying............
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