Scott Gress’s Comp School Guide, SpecE30 addendum
2Jan19

Go to SpecE30.com and download the SpecE30 Regs. Print them out and put them in a binder. That binder goes with you to all events. If you have any problems getting an account at SpecE30.com, contact me.
Read the SE SpecE30 Supplementary Driver Conduct Rules http://spece30.com/t/se-supplementary-rules-etc/6769

See this thread for SE SpecE30 contingencies. http://spece30.com/t/se-spece30-contingencies/6587

Qual Grid. Saturday Qual Grid is based on historic grid times. It will be published a couple days prior to the event and emailed to racers. Sunday Qual Grid is based on Saturday Race lap times. Both documents will be available on line and taped up in my trailer.

Incidents in SE region. Triggers to bring the incident immediately to my attention. Any one of the following.
• You are annoyed re. the incident.
• The incident involved another class.
• There was damage per the NASA definition, which is a relatively severe standard.

I won’t go looking for trouble so if something occurred that doesn’t meet one of the above triggers, I won’t go stick my nose into the issue unless asked. The problem scenario is when someone’s annoyed re. an incident but I don’t find out about it for days or weeks. Problems are always best addressed when they are fresh in everyone’s mind.

I will collect videos of the incident. Those that have an interest in the incident are welcome to watch videos with me as we figure out what happened. The group, a mix of those involved and SE SpecE30 informal leaders, watching the video inevitably reaches a consensus. Lots of learning takes place in those sessions because some people have funny ideas re. the rules or interpreting what we are seeing. Then I take my recommendation and the videos to Jim Pantas, the NASA-SE Regional Director.

The fact that the group watching the video reached a consensus re. fault is important. It is good for us that it be “our” conclusion. We, the SpecE30 racers in the SE, collectively run SE SpecE30.

Consequences. These come from Jim Pantas, wearing his Race Director hat, not me. He usually buys off on our recommendation, but not always. He will sometimes direct a consequence less severe that what we asked for.

SE SpecE30 is not very tolerant of unfriendly driving. Sure, it’s a race and everyone’s trying to do well. But those are your friends that you are competing against. We occasionally get a newby that is there to win and will happily shove everyone out of their way so they can win the coffee cup of glory. Over-aggressive people like that don’t last long in SE SpecE30.

Our culture of treating the other racers like they are buddies is very important to us. We will DQ or suspend drivers that are slow to get that message. When in close quarters with another car, always give the other guy room to survive.

Incidents in MidAtl region. Each region runs their own show their own way. For incidents in MidAtl, the drivers involved need to go to Impound immediately after the race and talk to Jeff Hall, the MidAtl Race Director. Theoretically, consequences come from Race Directors, not Regional Directors. In practice, Regional Directors usually like to be involved. The MidAtl Class Leaders, like Andrew Zimmerman my MidAtl counterpart, aren’t normally part of the incident adjudication process. Stated another way, a SpecE30 incident in SE is my problem. A SpecE30 incident in MidAtl is Jeff Hall’s problem. Each region runs things their own way. It’s not a matter of our way being right and there’s wrong, each is a reflection of how the regional director wants it run.

The reason that SE SpecE30 does incident adjudication differently than MidAtl is that in 2012 SE SpecE30 asked to be part of the adjudication process, and Jim Pantas graciously agreed. In our early years we used to have a lot of incidents in SE SpecE30 and it was hurting the class. We decided that we wanted harsher consequences and we made that happen by getting a voice in the adjudication process. As a result we reversed our declining #’s and we’ve grown every year since. SE SpecE30 is now the largest group in all of NASA.

Driver conduct.
Defending your position by squeezing. This is bad. NASA-SE defines Racing Room as full car width for all Lightning racers. This means that once any Lightning Passer has earned Racing Room, the Passee cannot squeeze as a defensive tactic. This applies to our interactions with SpecMiatas, Spec944s, etc.

SE SpecE30 goes a step further tho. Per the SE SpecE30 Supplementary Driver Conduct Rules, if there is any overlap at all, even 1”, both SpecE30s have a right to a full car width. But as discussed later, this is about preventing the defensive tactic of deliberate squeezing. The “right to a full car width when there is overlap” does not license the offensive tactic of “sticking your nose in”. Not that this is a SE SpecE30 rule, so it doesn’t apply to your interactions with other Lighting classes.

Attempting to use “any overlap means I get Racing Room” as an offensive tactic.
See diagram below. Passer (B) sees Passee (A) heading for the turn’s “school line” turn-in point, and dives in to the inside of a turn. By the apex there is some overlap and the surprised B punts himself over A’s bow.
 

Analysis. The intent of “Any overlap means drivers provide each other racing room” is to prevent the defensive tactic of squeezing. It is not to be interpreted as to encourage the offensive tactic of “sticking your nose in and you have to make room for me”.

Driver A did not intentionally squeeze B. The situation developed quickly. Driver A likely didn’t spot B’s move, and therefore made no new plan that would give both room to survive. Rarely does one “choose” to punt themselves.

Had this pass developed more slowly, say on a straightaway or fast sweeping turn, Driver A would have seen B’s move. So when adjudicating a squeezing incident, we will ask ourselves, “Was this a slowly developing situation and a deliberate defensive squeeze, or was this an offensive “stick your nose in and make room for me?”