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Basic Rules
Imagine if you will, a race in which there are no rules, no penalties, and no customs. Oh, I'd like to be there to see it, but there is no way I'd ever drive in it. Can you imagine all the crashes that would happen? It would be a true mess!
In Auto Racing, just like in other sports, there are rules that all participants must follow in order to produce an event that is fair to all drivers, that keeps the competition on the same level, and that is as safe as possible.
Rules developed to keep everything fair means that rules are enforced the same for all drivers and teams. Race Series Officials seem to bend this theory every now and then but not on purpose. As a former Race Director, I learned very early on that you can't possibly see everything that goes on during a race. You sometimes have to rely on what others see and report to you. Sometimes, this type of officiating turns into something less than factual, it turns into something like gossip, which is why some calls from the tower might seem unjust. Keep that in mind!
The rules developed to keep the competition on a level playing field include technical requirements of all sorts pertaining to how the car is built and maintained. There are even rules that limit the types of wire that can be used in a race car. These types of rules limit or restrict race teams and car builders so that they are all using the same parts, made by the same manufacturers, and being used in the same way as all the others. There should only be a difference in the driver's ability and the stickers on the body. Yes, this helps keep the competition on a level playing field, but if a certain team can do something to enhance their equipment that hasn't been discovered yet and that there are no rules that prohibit it, is it an infraction of the established rules? Not necessarily, and it's this fact that keeps racing teams constantly looking for that edge. Some teams find it and do better than others, and some don't. So, before the green flag drops on the track, the race actually starts in the rule book. Teams figure our how to tweak something to make their car faster and the inspecting officials try to figure out what it is, determine if it is detrimental to a level playing field, and write more rules in order to prevent it. The basic rule book for NASCAR is 953 pages long and that was last year's book.
The rules developed to increase safety and to prevent mishaps that result in lose of property, injury, and death are as numerous as the technical ones. Most of these rules are the direct result of such a loss. When someone gets hurt, they lose their cars to crashes, or when someone is unfortunately killed, the post investigation reveals hazards that were previously unknown or were never considered to be a serious risk. Safety experts then developed preventative measures, which means more safety rules that racers have to follow. No, this is not a bad thing as Auto Racing is now a fairly safe sport. Ever wonder how a driver just pops up out of a car that just barrel rolled 13 times down the track after striking another car at close to 200 MPH and just waives and walks away? It's all the safety devises and features that are now built into race cars today!
One of the first things you need to learn is the track conditions and the racing flags used to indicate them.
Secondly, you need to know why they do certain things during a race as precautionary measures, like checking the track for debris or oil, making an unsafe car leave the track, stopping a race due to a major crash that blocks the way, or making penalty determination calls against a driver for unruly or overly aggressive moves.
Third, you need to get an understanding of how all the safety rules work in conjunction with competition rules to produce as safe of a racing event as is possible, both for the race teams and you as a spectator.
Once you have mastered these things concerning the rules of racing, the sport and the way it is conducted will start to make more sense than ever before.
James Jones, A2Z Auto Racing
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