RaceNewYork Historical Perspectives > Moments In Time

When the flagger was on the track

(1/3) > >>

Travis Bickle:
As a youngster my Dad would take me to the races at the Medford Bowl in Medford Mass. I recall the flagger running across the track waving the green flag to start the race. Anyone recall the seeing this? Where? When?

dustydarkwater:
Oh, yes. I took some time away from racing back in the mid seventies to the mid eighties and was shocked that the flaggers were starting the races on the flag stand.   The last time I saw a flagger start a race on the track was at Weedsport for what I believe was a 320 Modified series race around 1984 or 1985.  (It may have been sponsored by Ithaca Gun, I could be wrong)

oldguy:
Flagging from the track was common in the 1950's.  So were injuries and death to the starters.  Can you imagine pit stops on the home stretch at Syracuse, placing race teams in mortal danger?  USAC used to allow that.  Sanity slowly entered the picture and the starters were removed from danger.

More advancement in safety is needed.  I cannot understand the necessity to have workers near/on the racing surface or in the infield.  Lights and radios should have removed them from danger long ago.  If you have seen someone struck by a race car, you know what I am writing about.  I hope you never have to witness something like that.

I have.

Groundpounder:
Oxford Plains Soeedway in Maine had the starter on the inside of the frontstretch as late as '87 or '88. 

Last season (or was it '08?) at Seekonk Speedway the flagger started a NEMA feature on the track as kind of a one-off throwback thing.  He ran along the inside of the frontstretch towards turn 4 waving the green until all the cars had gone by, then darted across the track back to the flag stand.

Rocket88:
Harold DeWitt used to flag at Spencer Speedway, from the track,until he was hit and broke his leg.Well, that's what I was told by my fatger. By the time I started going,he fleagged from the "new" starter's stand, but would stand on the track for line-ups. Afer Harold retired, Dick Westfall would do the same thing. The one-way radios put an end to that.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

Go to full version