NCK planning Nov 24th at Sears Point raceway

[Bill Cox]

I'm really looking forward to racing with my NCK friends at Sonoma again. Hoping weather is not a factor.

Any chance we can do a rolling start for race 1 in lieu of the standing start in pit lane?
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Bill Cox
NCK Super Stock CR125 #36

[joseph hollinger]

[Dean Martin]

That an interesting point Bill. Some people are concerned about crashing in to various turns but nobody ever seems worried about 30 karts actually racing down the Hot pit lane in to a concrete funnel. Every year I wonder that is ever a smart way to start a race. Dont recall any other car or bike series doing it???
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DEAN MARTIN

[Roger Miller]

Before this goes too far - go to a WKA race, like Daytona and tell me how many rolling starts they do, and when Eric comes back from Topeka, ask him how many rolling starts KART does.

Now that is not say change isn't something to have happen. NCK starts more races with rolling starts than wall starts and has for years, probably ahead of any other kart road racing organization.

Retaining the wall starts has been part of keeping the TRADITIONAL road race classes going.

And also for wall starts, all of you who have been to NCK races for the last several years know that we use "flights" and split up the groups into pretty darn manageable chunks to enhance the safety of the start, and my pre-race meetings always underline the importance of safety and courtesy going out the pit onto the track.

Along with that, I can't recall the last time there were any problems with karts contacting anything.

Again, always open to the discussion and change, just putting a context on today.

Rally on....
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Roger Miller
NCK President
www.nckroadracing.com

[Greg Lindahl]

Rolling starts seem much safer since I missed a guy push starting a hard starting kart from the group ahead of mine by inchs last year...

[Roger Miller]

And that pusher was reprimanded for doing it. Instructions given are that if the engine dies, wait until the rest of the grid clears the pits to restart.

[Chris Hegar]

We do rolling at PIR and have done many in WKA and other places. It's give and take with possible crashing no matter what form is used. It just depends on who goes nuts at the green and who settles and waits. I like it both ways even though that sounds dirty. I don't think the barriers allow it any longer but we used to run all the way up the drag strip on lap 1 at Infenion just to separate out the runners a bit, this to me might make the big corner pile up a little less probable but then again I might just wreck my brother either way.
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www.Hegar4.com

[Anthony Williams]

For me this is purely a safety issue – and to be honest – I don’t like them!
Barreling into turn 1 or whatever turn it is with cold tires and cold brakes is NOT a good idea – I don’t care who you are or how good you are or think you are - it is not a good idea! Especially at the end of November at Sears Point / Infineon, 1st race of the day on a cold day and a cold track! A recipe for problems!

I have followed guys I know up that hill and have a lot of respect for and watched them spin out right in front of me while I am slip sliding all over the place trying to avoid running straight into them!

I don’t agree with standing on tradition or pep talks before the race starts it just doesn’t work! Again no offense to anyone! Like I said this is a safety issue – you can compare wall starts in Daytona in December however I have to ask what the ambient temperature is there – I am sure it will be higher than Sears!

All professional race series that have a standing start have a warm up lap first – it makes sense!

I would like to see NCK drop the wall start even if it’s only for the Sears race – let’s take a warm up lap then take the GREEN !

And by the way -NCK is a great club with great people that run it and great racers!

[Danny Chew]

I like whichever..

but highly dislike fast warm-up laps carried at 60-80 mph for the majority of that one lap.... then might as well just have a wall start, if there's such a huge gap at the start.
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www.youtube.com/dcworld74

[Benn Herr]

Rolling start or Wall start, it all depends on the track you're racing at. Some tracks have no problem doing a wall start, Big Willow and Streets of Willow for example. Wide pit lanes and just about nothing you could hit without trying to. Daytona is pretty much the same way - or at least it was when I ran there. Pit lane is NASCAR wide and they didn't make you use the pit entrance road for the start, they just went right onto the track. Other tracks can be okay too especially if the start is right on the track surface.

Other tracks are less Wall start friendly. Road Atlanta and Road America are two that I've seen movies of and I'm not impressed. Maybe we need to look at other options for starting some races. I know a long medium speed pace lap is not what clutch karts are comfortable doing.

Ultimately, a race driver should be able to adapt to whatever type of start is used and whatever the conditions are, that is our job after all. Still we need work at making things as safe as we reasonably can.

Anthony, the temps at Daytona can be exceptionally cool. One of the years I was there they had to delay practice until the ice on the track went away!

As for Hegar liking it either way, no news there, that's how he rolls!
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Benn Herr
Come see our Superkart Build Off @
http://www.lostenduros.com/?page_id=1534
beherr3@cox.net
http://www.southwestkarters.com/
http://www.lostenduros.com/
Kart Design
Chandler, Az.

[Chris Hegar]

Yo Yo that's how I roll yo!... so roll over Herr

Last time we were in Daytona it was a standing start at 8:00am off the truck no practice allowed cold ass sheet! Making up for rain the day before, it was way colder than any Sears event thought of being, 125 laydown 130 mph... cold.

So true on the track being a factor for wall starts. Wall starts do sometimes take longer to setup than rolling so from a time crunch standpoint rolling is probably better.
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www.Hegar4.com

[John Benson]

Wall starts are fun but they put alot of extra pressure on everyone and the pit out at sear's does get abit narrer! Danny, I agree. I had never done anything but wall starts until last year and those guy's left the pits for the pace lap like they were shot out of a gun! I'm pretty sure Troy Shooter ran a faster pace lap then I did in the race.

[Greg Lindahl]

Even LeMans gave up LeMans starts (wall starts), but not necessarily for the same reason (drivers not putting on seatbelts, drivers falling crossing the track, etc.).
Sears DOES narrow at the end of the separation wall and is a pucker point, at least for me. Turn 2 is the first tight corner and drivers seem to be okay through there using either starting method, as I recall. Turns 3 and 3A are where cold tires and "red mist" combine for the truly dangerous and blind 3A the first and second laps.
Good fun, either way and can't wait to have a go.

[Debbie Kuntze]

It all depends on the fool under the helmet. The race isn't from starting postion to turn one, it is usually many more laps. This is road racing, regardless of your style of kart, not sprint crashing and pile up racing where you need to be the one slung out on the hole shot by turn one.
I've sent rolling starts around and around and around under yellow because some yo yo kept trying to bonzai it. I always started my rolling start meetings with that warning-it's easier for me to run you around under yellow and give the pole guy a win then it is to let you race-so get your act together at the start. And for the wall starts in pit lane-you ain't going to win in here-although after your crash it is closer for your crew to come get your stupid ass, so prove your skill on the track


Oh and Sears has walls (and blind spots) everywhere either deal or don't go. The challenges of the track is what makes road racing unique. They are not cookie cutter.
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Debbie Kuntze
kart9899@aol.com
www.uskgp.com

[joseph hollinger]