As with almost any sport, there are usually a few basics that you should know so you can enjoy and understand what is happening on the court, on the field or around the track. And who better to get the lowdown on finding your way around the speedway than from Amanda Balson – Canada’s first female Late Model stock car racing champion.

For more on Amanda, find out how she got her start in Amanda Balson races cars and proudly drives like a girl, and how to progress in racing in Amanda Balson Race Car Driver – tips from a Champion to help get you behind the wheel.

Getting onto the track

You’re sitting in the stands, waiting for the race and you see drivers pushing their cars to the lineup. This seems like a lot of work. Why not just start the engine instead of pushing it? There’s a very good explanation…it’s because starting the car uses up power. These cars are charged – they have no alternators – so by pushing them to the starting line up, drivers maintain that precious power for the race.

Is there any particular order to the lineup? You bet there is. Drivers are asked to form a single file line that is determined by the driver’s position in trials – or qualifiers. The cars enter the track information when they head out for their warm-up laps.

Warming up

As is common in most sports, the warm-up before the race is essential. These cars are expensive pieces of machinery – the engine, the oil, the tires, the brakes – all these parts must be warmed-up to prevent damage.

The number of warm-up laps before the start of the race will depend on the weather conditions. If it’s cold out – you can expect to see more laps to get those engine juices flowing.

Scrubbing the tires

Ever wonder why drivers weave back and forth across the track during warm up? It’s called scrubbing the tires. The scrubbing helps to put heat on the wheels.

And those big, expensive tires are sticky. Moving from the pit to the track, those big stickers can pick up lots of debris. The more debris on the tires, the less grip they will have. And drivers want as much contact with the surface of the track as possible. So the scrubbing gets rid of the junk to improve the contact with the track.

So while the weaving back and forth may look like a lot of fun – it does serve a very important purpose.

Officials

The Flagman

The Flagman is essentially the race referee and is in charge of the track. They use different coloured flags to communicate with the drivers and are stationed in the flag stand above the finish line. They may also have an assistant nearby to hand them the next flag as needed.

The flagman is there to keep the race moving and ensure the safety of the drivers on the track. They watch carefully to make sure there is nothing to impede the safe operation of the race. They are looking for things like fluid on the track, a car that’s stopped, a crash. They will also determine if someone needs to be warned or removed from the race – either because of a mechanical issue or some bad behaviour that is posing a hazard to the rest of the drivers. They may use a wrapped flag to indicate they want a driver to stop what they’re doing – a bit of a warning – or they may ask a driver to leave the race completely. Whatever the case, drivers must heed the instruction being given to them by the flagman.

The Cornerman

There is a cornerman located – yep on the corner – holding the same flags as the flagman. At the Peterborough Speedway, the cornerman is located on the first corner so drivers know what is happening when they lose the visual of the flag stand on that first turn. The cornerman also sits in the middle pit and directs the cars when it is in use.

There are a couple of other ways drivers know what is going on when they can’t see the flag stand. In addition to the flagman and cornerman, there is usually a set of lights strategically placed on the track to indicate the colour of the flags. Each driver will also have a crew member on a radio in their ear telling them what is happening ahead and what to watch out for.

Flags

The purpose of the flags is to communicate to the drivers what is happening on the track – how they can move and what they need to be aware of. There are a few different colours of flags and they all have a specific meaning to the drivers on the track.

Green: Go. Yes, green means go. A waving green flag signals the start of the race.

Yellow: Caution. The yellow flag signals drivers to keep moving but hold their position – there is an obstruction on the track of some kind.

Red: Stop. The red flag signals drivers to stop where they are – something serious has happened.

Black: Move to the Pit. Drivers don’t want to see the black flag. This means a driver or car is posing a hazard. It could be a mechanical issue or the car is wildly behind and needs to leave the track. It could be that a driver has behaved improperly and is out of the race.

Blue with yellow: Move Over. Cars that have been lapped will be asked to move over out of the way. The fast cars are coming and they will be passing the slower ones.

White: One-lap Remaining. The white flag signals one lap to go – at either the end of the race or the beginning when there is one more lap in the warm-up. Two white flags rolled up and held by the flagman will indicate two more laps left in the warm-up.

Checkered: Winner. This is the flag the driver wants to see first. It signals that the winner has crossed the finish line.

The parts of the track

The diagram below highlights the parts of the track at the Peterborough Speedway – Amanda’s home track. While every speedway is a little bit different, they typically have similar features to those identified below. 

(Photo from: Peterborough Speedway)

The track

The Peterborough Speedway is a paved oval track – with four corners. The length of the track is a 1/3^rd of a mile and a complete race is 75 laps.

In Canada, the smaller paved oval tracks are a 1/4 of a mile (Sauble Speedway) and the largest are 5/8^ths of a mile (Jukasa Motor Speedway). The Daytona International Speedway is home to a 2.5-mile track – the largest you’ll find – and a complete race is 200 laps of the track.

Banking

The banking of the track refers to the degree of incline – not who handles the money. The purpose of banking is for safety – to help the cars maintain grip and traction, especially on the turns. Each track has a different degree of banking – with the steeper inclines creating faster speeds on the corners.

Pit wall

The pit is used to refuel, for mechanical adjustments or repairs. For bigger races, the pit wall is located in the middle of the track, making the action in the pit more visible to the fans. For smaller races, the pit is located behind the grandstands.

Cars enter the pit at corner three and exit at corner two. The cornerman is there to direct drivers as needed. There is strategy involved during a race about when to use the pit with decisions potentially making or breaking a win.

The flag stand and grandstands

The flagman is up in the flag stand that is located at the start/finish line. The fans take their seats in the grandstands that typically wrap around the track on either side of the finish line.

Scoreboard

The scoreboard – or lap board – is located at corner one and identifies the top three cars along with a lap counter.

Tech building and scale

Just behind the scoreboard, is the tech building. At the end of the race, the top three cars pull into the building to be measured.

Cars are checked on a number of specifications as identified in the track rules – found here for the Peterborough Speedway. Failure to meet specifications could result in disqualification. Some of the measurements taken include the distance from the frame of the car to the track, the weight distribution of the car – the left side weight vs. the right side weight – the type of tires, brakes, and body etc.

This is the very technical piece of racing. A crew that manages these crucial technical details of the car is most valuable to the team.

Victory lane

This is where drivers want to end up – in victory lane for celebratory pictures!

SeeWhatSheCanDo

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