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March 12,1999 Claiming Rule S*****
It looks like I started a hornet's nest about last weekend but for
once in my racing life, I was ashamed by what happened. But
the driver who used the claim rule was not a driver who has been
racing at Orlando for a long time, only for the last month or so.
I will set the scene for you. We had 5 cars in the field that night.
The young man, all of 14 years old, from Indiana had the pole for
the heat race but did not win it. He came in second. But he got
the pole for the feature race and this time he got a good start and
was able to stay in front of our own #71 - Joe Middleton. He did
not run off and leave the field by any means but he ran a very good
line and kept his lead. He won fair and square.
I cannot say what was in the driver's head that made him decide he had to
claim this engine but I think it was more anger than anything. He
did not like losing, which he has not done much of since the field has
been so small since he started racing, and this was a 14 year old kid
that beat him.
Only one other time have I seen this done and it was done to Jerry
Symons when he won at New Smyrna. Of course Symons declined to
sell his engine and forfeited his win and money just like Shelby did.
No one is going to sell their engine for $500.00 since you can't replace
it for that. And the purse money is not enough to even make a driver
think twice about doing this.
I can say that this rule is not used often thank goodness. If it was, we
would see someone claiming an engine every weekend. And I can see
that someone might question an engine if the lead car lapped the whole
field but this was not the case. There was not that much of a distance
between the first and second car.
All I can say is that I apologized to this family for that night. No, it
was not my fault or my job but I was embarrassed that one of our
drivers could not take defeat with grace. But we will always have
young drivers and the odds are that they will win from time to time
so gentlemen you need to be prepared for that.
Yes, I agree, the claiming rule sucks. But thank goodness, it is not
used very often.
-Jane Smith [See also Gary English Responds] Comment on this story? Post it on the Message Board! or e-mail to: behindthescenes@karnac.com If you have a story you would like to publish on this page, please send it to : behindthescenes@karnac.com |
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