Black flag and a good lesson for new people

Yep bad call but no yellow you can see the flagger in the vid. My brother said its down hill that's why the truck could leave the dead car and let him coast.

I posted this bad move so other new drivers can learn.

2 hrs latter I'm watching the race and saw the tow truck make that right and then it hit me oh shit, I messed up.

To further complicate this in the last season or two they have been using white flags in conjunction with yellows. I have been told that you can pass the tow vehicles when they show a white flag but I still wait for something from the tow truck drivers. I only actually pass them where I can see far around them in case they are pushing a hooptie or may be coming up to a blown up crapcan.

I never want to put the safety crew in any uncomfortable situations and appreciate all they do for us.

I thought I typed something up before...  Passing EVs is a track by track thing.  Some say don't unless the driver points you by and others say it's OK without the point.  That's one of the reasons that the drivers meeting is important.  The flags for the EV will also typically be discussed as some tracks only do a following waving yellow w/white and others will do a full course yellow while hot pulls are done. 

My little PUY: http://youtu.be/7VsOtHV2qMA

We were at the cause of the yellow and the Mer ahead of me pulled off to the right directly behind the tow truck as traffic stopped for no good reason.  I had to dodge left.  Perspective is a little off with this camera - there was plenty of room.  I paused so the Mer could get back in line but he didn't move so I continued on.

I've only raced in California and they use the same safety crew for Sonoma, T-hill, and Buttonwillow. So they are pretty consistent.

Quite frankly, I think the tow driver was at fault here.  White flag is out, not a yellow, which means you can pass a tow vehicle (under control, of course).  The tow vehicle is all the way to the left, so he decides to just turn right across traffic without warning?

I think the safety people need to be just as aware of the rules as we do.  Heck, they should be even more aware.  In this case, the tow vehicle probably should have given some indication that they were going to dart across the track.

Just because you're driving a safety vehicle doesn't mean you should do moronic things.  In this case, abrupt right turn across traffic while there is a flag being displayed saying it's ok for that traffic to pass you, sorry, I don't think you can pin this all on the drivers in this case.

bs

We are not three wide or even close and I am completely behind the truck but on the gas.
The black car was more aggressive and pulled alongside on a white flag.

To be fair  , this happened because the tow truck was pushing (yes in contact) with the car you perceive as three wide, but he had already exited onto the pit lane.

I thought the tow truck  would stay wide and continue to push but I was not convinced so I was behind. The reason I seem close is the tow truck slammed his brakes to go right .

I'm not saying I'm right just giving more details. I respect the safety people and appreciate what they do for us. My mistake was pursuing the car that had clearly blocked any right turn option for the tow truck.

I understand that the flatbed had finished pushing a car to pit in and was circulating back to his staging spot, but I don't understand why he makes a move toward the apex of that turn.  There are hundreds of yards of asphalt to drive on at that turn and no need to even be on the racing surface at that point.

It seems like the recovery vehicle driving at SP is wildly inconsistent.  Varying from predictable and courteous to downright douche-y.

Van

I thought Sonoma had their own crew, while Lemons calls in Advanced Fire and Safety for Thunder Hill and Buttonwillow races... I could be wrong--wouldn't be the first time.

I'm responding with the spirit of learning and avoiding black flags, like you mention in the subject you put for this thread. So take what I say in that light.

If you want to avoid problems, there is no line when you're near a safety vehicle. You should always be away from wherever they are.  The first thought I had when I saw your video was that that was a clusterf***. It looks like another tow truck is behind you (and also on the left), and cars are just all over the place.

If the truck was swerving like you say it was, I would interpret that as an even clearer indication that you should not pass and you should stay even further away.  This also might explain why the truck cut over like it did.  He may have been swerving to communicate that he didn't want you guys to pass.

Also: it might be worth reconsidering your idea that you always take a certain line no matter what. I think you posted another video where you got tapped as someone else entered the chicane too hot and on the inside, while you entered from the outside. This is the *exact* reason many people will guard that inside line in the chicane and hairpin.  It's easy to get so focused on what's fastest or what's "right" that you end up overlooking what you can do to avoid collisions and black flags.

Like I said, I'm not trying to pick a fight, just offering my input. 

After watching the video again I belive the "kamikaze" car was probably in a blind spot for the EV.  I would think his attention was forward, making sure the car he was pushing goes to the pit lane, then looked to the right mirror, only saw the camera car, and turned hard right.

Obviously only the EV driver knows for sure.