1 Topic by Bayley (edited by Bayley 2014-09-09 06:16 AM)

  • From: Orion Twp, MI
  • Registered: 2011-04-18
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Topic: Speeding in the pits... the HOT pits?!

I was watching the Autobahn recap video earlier and was VERY surprised to hear that the Speedycop Accord was clocked at ~47mph (some creative journalism might have been added) through the "pits". Our car was parked across from Camp Jeff all weekend and I can't ever once remember seeing one of his cars driving remotely that fast in the pits.

In fact, even if you WANTED to go 47 mph in the pits at Autobahn, I can't imagine how anybody would have been able to get up to those in the short congested distance that was between the paddock spaces and track-in.

So where exactly was this 47 mph clocked at?

The reason I ask, is because our team got black flagged for "pit speeding" as well. 25 mph to be exact. I asked my offending driver what the deal was and he swore up and down that out military grade "precise to within 0.1 mph" 10Hz digital readout GPS never read more than 10 mph in the paddock. Rather than argue with the judges, we took our tongue lashing and got our driver back on track. Can't fault the judges, they have no idea where the infraction occurred.

In the meantime, I walked over to the penalty box area and saw somebody with the matchbox radar gun clocking people coming down the HOT PITS.  Additionally, my driver asked the track-in controller what the speed limit was IN THE HOT PITS and was surprised to hear that it was supposedly 15 mph.  Not wanting another black flag, my driver proceeded to loaf thru the hot pits at a blistering 15 mph.  Meanwhile, track-out traffic was piling up behind him and the start controller was frantically waving him to "SPEED THE F#*K UP!!!" When asking other drivers what they thought the speed limit in the hot pits was, I got all kid of answers ranging from 25 mph to 45 mph.

So what gives with speeds in the hot pits?  There was a ton of confusion at Road America last year when this issue (amongst a few others) never got  addressed.

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Re: Speeding in the pits... the HOT pits?!

I don't remember the exact number, but Miller Motorsports Park had a hot pit speed limit and they also had a radar guy and illuminated sign permanently affixed and displayed so the drivers could see it and there was no excuse for blowing it.

Did I also mention that the Miller crew had their own people in the hot pits in FULL FIRE GEAR, wielding fire extinguishers and "covering" teams who were in for refueling? Not one of the usual, "Do as I say not as I do" places-- they do it right along side of you.  Love that place.

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Re: Speeding in the pits... the HOT pits?!

Spank wrote:

Did I also mention that the Miller crew had their own people in the hot pits in FULL FIRE GEAR, wielding fire extinguishers and "covering" teams who were in for refueling? Not one of the usual, "Do as I say not as I do" places-- they do it right along side of you.  Love that place.

Brings back fond memories of the pit lane "Visor Nazi" at ECR.  He was in shorts, t-shirt, tennis shoes and smoking a cigarette while yelling to put your visor down.  Really dude?  Is my visor being up really the most dangerous situation in the vicinity?
To be fair, I did put my visor down.  Mostly because I was concerned that HE was going to set us all on fire.

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Re: Speeding in the pits... the HOT pits?!

If I remember correctly Speedcops guy got a blackflag for 4 off or spinning or something, and then got the speeding in the pits penalty immediatly after, as in right after leaving the penalty box.  They were barely in the lead of their class at the time so I'm guessing he wasn't thinking and was in a hurry to get back on the track.

As for the 10mph speedlimit at autobahn it always has been a bit odd because 15mph is actually painted on the road in the paddock, and I don't recall them saying 10 in the meetings so most people really assume its 15 and since that is painted on the ground anything above that you really aren't paying attention.  I don't think they actually pull you in unless you are closer to 20mph or more.

Also what I see a lot of team get caught is right after they get off track.  It is hard to realize how fast you are going right after being on track, and go pretty fast up until the first stop sign.

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Re: Speeding in the pits... the HOT pits?!

Spank wrote:

Did I also mention that the Miller crew had their own people in the hot pits in FULL FIRE GEAR, wielding fire extinguishers and "covering" teams who were in for refueling? Not one of the usual, "Do as I say not as I do" places-- they do it right along side of you.  Love that place.

Those guys were awesome.  I think I managed to get a chance to talk to every one of the guys on that crew & they were all very friendly.  And every one of them said that they thought Lemons was good fun, full of good people, and they hoped we would be back in 2015.

Sorry for going off topic, but Spank started it.

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Re: Speeding in the pits... the HOT pits?!

Bayley wrote:

In fact, even if you WANTED to go 47 mph in the pits at Autobahn, I can't imagine how anybody would have been able to get up to those in the short congested distance that was between the paddock spaces and track-in.

We were pitted directly across from the penalty box.  And you would be AMAZED at the number of cars that go speeding right by there.

I know you said your guy swears he never went over 10 mph, but I suspect that concentration on pit road speed right before or right after going out onto track is a little less than it should be.  Once you see the stop sign or a speed limit sign or something, you change your focus.  But as others have stated, your first instinct is to GO GO GO!

If you don't believe it's possible to go 47 mph in the pits at Autobahn, I suggest you watch the autism awareness "Team Straddle Me" Alfa at its next race.  Those guys were the worst.  And they know it.  Because they got clocked repeatedly and reamed out by the judges.

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Re: Speeding in the pits... the HOT pits?!

Now I REALLY want to do Miller. THANKS OBAMA!

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Re: Speeding in the pits... the HOT pits?!

The Speedycop penalty was in the hot pit. At least, that's what the driver said when I asked how it was possible to go so fast in the paddock.

I was always under the impression that hot-pit speed limit was "just be reasonable" and stay in the 35-40mph range. I think they need to be a bit more specific about the rules if they're going to police them.

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Re: Speeding in the pits... the HOT pits?!

I never heard anything about the hot pits, unless he was trying to pass people in the in the hot pits or cut infront of someone that was trying to get off the track.

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Re: Speeding in the pits... the HOT pits?!

BoB wrote:

Also what I see a lot of team get caught is right after they get off track.  It is hard to realize how fast you are going right after being on track, and go pretty fast up until the first stop sign.

If you have radios, it's always a good idea to remind your driver to keep it to 10 mph when they come off the track, for exactly this reason.  We some times lie and tell our driver we just saw the guy with the radar gun.

And yeah, those pit guys at Miller were awesome.

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Re: Speeding in the pits... the HOT pits?!

solman244 wrote:
Spank wrote:

Did I also mention that the Miller crew had their own people in the hot pits in FULL FIRE GEAR, wielding fire extinguishers and "covering" teams who were in for refueling? Not one of the usual, "Do as I say not as I do" places-- they do it right along side of you.  Love that place.

Brings back fond memories of the pit lane "Visor Nazi" at ECR.  He was in shorts, t-shirt, tennis shoes and smoking a cigarette while yelling to put your visor down.  Really dude?  Is my visor being up really the most dangerous situation in the vicinity?
To be fair, I did put my visor down.  Mostly because I was concerned that HE was going to set us all on fire.

+1. While sitting on his ATV.

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Re: Speeding in the pits... the HOT pits?!

Fishah wrote:

The Speedycop penalty was in the hot pit. At least, that's what the driver said when I asked how it was possible to go so fast in the paddock.

I was always under the impression that hot-pit speed limit was "just be reasonable" and stay in the 35-40mph range. I think they need to be a bit more specific about the rules if they're going to police them.

That driver was the guy who cost Jeff his Class B win.  So... umm... I'd look for clarification from officials on that.

Certainly seems worthwhile to ask Jay/Phil/TEO prior to Gingerman's green flag.

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Re: Speeding in the pits... the HOT pits?!

Fishah wrote:

I was always under the impression that hot-pit speed limit was "just be reasonable" and stay in the 35-40mph range. I think they need to be a bit more specific about the rules if they're going to police them.

I think it varies track to track. Last time I remember jay saying something like, "2000rpms in second gear."

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Re: Speeding in the pits... the HOT pits?!

FPRbuzz wrote:
Fishah wrote:

I was always under the impression that hot-pit speed limit was "just be reasonable" and stay in the 35-40mph range. I think they need to be a bit more specific about the rules if they're going to police them.

I think it varies track to track. Last time I remember jay saying something like, "2000rpms in second gear."

Well that is just about top speed in our new car.  It only has a 2 speed transmission.

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15 Reply by therood (edited by therood 2014-09-10 08:54 AM)

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Re: Speeding in the pits... the HOT pits?!

The pit speeding was in the hot pit, directly in front of Jay in Race Control. Jay worked Race Control for about 95 percent of that race and saw every driver enter and exit the South Course's hot pit. That was the only car he brought in for that offense, so I trust it was egregious.

Edit: Also, there was no radar on it, but I suspect the actual speed was considerably faster than 45 mph by the time the car got to the paddock entrance at the end of pitlane, where a marshall is standing behind a fence, albeit in a very vulnerable position.

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  • From: Orion Twp, MI
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Re: Speeding in the pits... the HOT pits?!

Thanks for the clarification Eric.

Hot pit speeds are always a grey area.  However, it's pretty safe to say you shouldn't be drag racing through them like a certain E36 did at Road America last year.

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Re: Speeding in the pits... the HOT pits?!

therood wrote:

The pit speeding was in the hot pit, directly in front of Jay in Race Control. Jay worked Race Control for about 95 percent of that race and saw every driver enter and exit the South Course's hot pit. That was the only car he brought in for that offense, so I trust it was egregious.

Edit: Also, there was no radar on it, but I suspect the actual speed was considerably faster than 45 mph by the time the car got to the paddock entrance at the end of pitlane, where a marshall is standing behind a fence, albeit in a very vulnerable position.

I believe that.  My memory is a little hazy, but I do remember one official (might have been Jay) reminding a driver (might even have been the Accordion - I was at the penalty box at the time) that they had a guy standing in the hot pits and wanted people to be careful.  I got the impression that people were really gunning it entering the hot pits from the paddock, but excessive speeding when exiting the track is more likely.

I've asked a couple times about hot pit speed limit, at both Autobahn and Road America, and Jay's answer both times was "reasonable, say 35."  So that's what I do.  I'm paranoid about getting black flags, so I keep it in first gear in the paddock.  We have a working speedometer, so it's not hard to keep the speed down; but some cars don't, and judges will grant a little leeway, but don't count on much.

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Re: Speeding in the pits... the HOT pits?!

I had heard the 35 mph speed for the hot pit as well, can't remember what race though.....

At Autobahn I got flagged for a pit speed violation.  I was slowly following the tow vehicle with the red 5-series BMW on the hook down the hot pit lane, and once we hit the regular pit entrance, an official waved for me to pass the tow vehicle, which I did.  Unfortunately, that short burst up to 18 mph ( just checked the video! ) for a couple seconds to get by them was enough for the flag.  Bummer, but I deserved it.

I pitted next to Racin_G37, and like he said, there were plenty of cars speeding right past the penalty box, at speeds exceeding 20 mph.

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Re: Speeding in the pits... the HOT pits?!

majo wrote:

I had heard the 35 mph speed for the hot pit as well, can't remember what race though.....

At Autobahn I got flagged for a pit speed violation.  I was slowly following the tow vehicle with the red 5-series BMW on the hook down the hot pit lane, and once we hit the regular pit entrance, an official waved for me to pass the tow vehicle, which I did.  Unfortunately, that short burst up to 18 mph ( just checked the video! ) for a couple seconds to get by them was enough for the flag.  Bummer, but I deserved it.

I pitted next to Racin_G37, and like he said, there were plenty of cars speeding right past the penalty box, at speeds exceeding 20 mph.

A good number of them get a lap in and then get routed back to the Penalty Box.

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Re: Speeding in the pits... the HOT pits?!

majo wrote:

I pitted next to Racin_G37, and like he said, there were plenty of cars speeding right past the penalty box, at speeds exceeding 20 mph.

Who is this guy?  He sounds pretty cool.

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Re: Speeding in the pits... the HOT pits?!

Racin_G73 wrote:

Who is this guy?  He sounds pretty cool.

My memory is kinda vague, but he drove an Infiniti.

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Re: Speeding in the pits... the HOT pits?!

Mulry wrote:
solman244 wrote:
Spank wrote:

Did I also mention that the Miller crew had their own people in the hot pits in FULL FIRE GEAR, wielding fire extinguishers and "covering" teams who were in for refueling? Not one of the usual, "Do as I say not as I do" places-- they do it right along side of you.  Love that place.

Brings back fond memories of the pit lane "Visor Nazi" at ECR.  He was in shorts, t-shirt, tennis shoes and smoking a cigarette while yelling to put your visor down.  Really dude?  Is my visor being up really the most dangerous situation in the vicinity?
To be fair, I did put my visor down.  Mostly because I was concerned that HE was going to set us all on fire.

+1. While sitting on his ATV.

To his credit, "Visors Down!" never ratted any of us out to race control and he did have a sense of humor.  This was his response when my driver asked him to check if the GoPro was recording while we were queued to roll onto the track first thing Sunday morning :-)

http://youtu.be/c8byg51tXAs

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