VIEW FROM THE TAILGATE
by Carl
Rackoff
First things first… Thanks to all of
the support of my first attempt to write a column for the
Jam and hope that the rest will be as good as the first
column.
The worst 4-letter word in a racer’s
vocabulary is RAIN! And let’s hope that the rain out for the
second practice date is all of the rain we will see this
season on race days. There’s something about the smell of
Sunoco Racing Fuel in the air that makes the adrenaline flow
and the heart pound. Let’s hope Mother Nature let’s us
enjoy that smell.
I would like to make something clear
about my column. My column will cover all different types of
subjects in the world of stock car racing at this local
level. After all, I have been involved in this sport for
over 30 years in someway or another. This column will not
just be about the Super Pro Truck division.
Hey Eugene, thanks it’s been an
interesting ride. GOOD LUCK!
SAFETY IS EVERYTHING. As a
participant in this sport whether you are the person
counting to 4 and turning left or the crew member jacking up
the racecar, safety should and always be the first thing on
your mind. When you have the equipment available to use, why
settle for less?
When a driver says he doesn’t like to
wear gloves because he can’t feel the wheel or doesn’t want
to go to a full face helmet because they don’t like the
feeling of being enclosed, that’s just B.S. However, it is
up to the individual and what they are willing to risk
for comfort. Would you rather that the driver still be able
to feel with his fingers or to keep his or her good looks
after a fire and/or a hard crash? There are so many types of
helmets, gloves, seats, fire suits and other safety
equipment out there to choose from, that there are no more
excuses.
People working in the pits also need to
understand that injuries can happen to the best of us. That
is why we call them accidents, but if we put safety first we
can minimize them.
Racing has come a long way in the past
10 to 15 years in the safety department and some of us
should catch up with the times.
Nevertheless, this is just my views
from the tailgate.
Carl Rackoff
Want to voice your opinion, check out
our forum thread on this week's View from the Tailgate by
going to:
http://www.racerhub.com/forum/showthread.php?p=38005
Want to comment to directly to Carl?
E-mail him at
CRackoff@longislandjam.com.
