Grass Lake ASH Appeal to National Commissioner

[Affholter66]

My opinions on upholding our rules (especially safety rules) is in no way a reflection on yourself or Matt. This is about the integrity of our rules, not about the people involved.[/QUOTE]

DITTO!!!

[Dave M]

Examples

Why don't we hear the same cries of outrage at all the illegally painted helmets? Isn't that also a safety rule?

Dean,

I agree. But I think a lot of folks are simply tired of it. All they want to do is race, hassle free. What someone should do at each race is walk around with a camera and take pics of all the non rule conforming boats, helmets, cockpit side re-enforcements, vented transoms, 60% rule, bottom widths on runabouts, throttle locking devices, kill switch findings, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc. Then post them on a a website so we all know how many violations there truly is.

George,
I feel for you, to bad these type of rules are in place. I also feel bad for Tony.

I am not taking sides, just the side of common sense and the fact these rules are a driving force behind the decline of memberships. People can only take so much.

[3rd Chance]

Why don't we hear the same cries of outrage at all the illegally painted helmets? Isn't that also a safety rule?

And also boat numbers!!

[sponsonhead]

Catalyst

Why don't we hear the same cries of outrage at all the illegally painted helmets? Isn't that also a safety rule?

Has any safety inspector disqualified anyone for their helmet yet?

Has that person appealed their disqualification to the SORC?

Has the SORC overturned such a disqualification of a driver for an illegally painted helmet?

The answer is not that I know of, at least yet...but give it time.

R-19

[Big Don]

And we wonder why we can't get volunteers.

[mike ross]

At this rate who's going to make the final's

[csh12M]

Has any safety inspector disqualified anyone for their helmet yet?

Has that person appealed their disqualification to the SORC?

Has the SORC overturned such a disqualification of a driver for an illegally painted helmet?

The answer is not that I know of, at least yet...but give it time.

R-19

So do we wait until someone wins the Nat's with an illegal helmet....then the rule is in-forced. Then we go through the process....then spend the next month arguing each side on the internet and criticizing everyone involved. This is crazy...Matt won on the water fair and square. I am sure they are going to fix the boat immediately. I don't think anyone did anything intentionally. Dave is right, it's this kind of continuous BS that sucks the fun out of the hobby. He fixed it, no one is hurt, lets move forward.

If we spent half the effort we do on this kind of BS and directed it towards promotion and new name members, we might make a difference.

12M

[mcbain]

So do we wait until someone wins the Nat's with an illegal helmet....then the rule is in-forced. Then we go through the process....then spend the next month arguing each side on the internet and criticizing everyone involved. This is crazy...Matt won on the water fair and square. I am sure they are going to fix the boat immediately. I don't think anyone did anything intentionally. Dave is right, it's this kind of continuous BS that sucks the fun out of the hobby. He fixed it, no one is hurt, lets move forward.

If we spent half the effort we do on this kind of BS and directed it towards promotion and new name members, we might make a difference.

12M

well said!I have been finding "hydrowiener" very entertaining lately, maybe some people should put their equipment on the market so someone who wants to "RACE" can....

[sponsonhead]

So do we wait until someone wins the Nat's with an illegal helmet....then the rule is in-forced. Then we go through the process....then spend the next month arguing each side on the internet and criticizing everyone involved. This is crazy...Matt won on the water fair and square. I am sure they are going to fix the boat immediately. I don't think anyone did anything intentionally. Dave is right, it's this kind of continuous BS that sucks the fun out of the hobby. He fixed it, no one is hurt, lets move forward.

If we spent half the effort we do on this kind of BS and directed it towards promotion and new name members, we might make a difference.

12M

And I'm not saying it's right or wrong, Dean. This is what our boat racing culture, sadly, as evolved into. And it's just not SO, or any one category. It happens in other categories too.

R-19

[david bryan]

how about a $250 dollar fine or a a disqualification and give the money to the guys in the patrol boats you know like 30 days in jail or $300 buck you dont castrate a guy for a Small infraction

[tj15m]

I have warned some people about their helmets, some of them have some painted graphics "just above" the line. Next year I will set up a surface plate, height gage with a magic marker for a scriber, measure to the top of the helmet, record the height, divide by 2, drop down to that number and "scribe" a line with the magic marker. Any graphics above that line and the helmet is out. Several people at Top-O had to tape their graphics before they got their safety inspection.
TJ

[rumleyfips]

Pete Babchock saw the elephant in the room: insurance. There are complaints on this site about costs, but some seem willing to put affordable insurance aside .

Insurance agent "Do you have safety rules.
APBA "Yes".
Insurance agent" How are they enforced?"
APBA " Selectively"

I heard about " squooshed KG4 blocks in the 70"s but was never sure they were real. Over at BRF the concensus was that it only happened to C blocks. Nice to get another perspective. Too bad I never saw one,

John

[Danny Pigott]

Helmets

Why not go back to orange helmets like we had for 100 years this would be one less thing for the inspector to have to worry about. As to the pickel fork the inspectors that passed them in the pass likley looked at them and saw they had radius in them and thought they were good if only off buy 1/8 of and inch would be hard to see.

[Danny Pigott]

This is about the most nit picking stuff i have ever seen in my 50 years of racing boats/ cars /karts . I was a com. for years in Mod and [I] have seen other com's want to let things go because of who it was . You would not think this happens but it happens. Then they wanted to dq the driver for somebody comming in the insp. area for open toe shoes . If you can't beat him in the race you just pat him on the back

[daveracerdsh]

Inspection

This is one of those issues where everybody is wrong and everybody is right at the same time. There is no doubt..none...in my mind that we need to tighten up inspection at the races....like Pat Gleason indicated to me in a pvt e mail we are under the microscope after the accident last year in Madison.....we are dang lucky to have insurance at this point. If, god forbid, Matt had gone out and had an accident in ASH, hurt somebody with non legal pickleforks.....where on earth would we be. That being said...I now wish I had stayed in my freaking pit area and got my D stock hydro ready to run...we were I think the first class on the water after commission meeting over this matter. I do not think I was in the best frame of mind to make the correct decision on matter....I was very nervous and thinking of other things. But....the way it was presented to us indicated that we need to look at the fact that Matt passed a recent 2012 safety inspection...and that we also need to give the driver in question the benifit of the doubt. Even with that being said...we do need to draw a line in the sand on this stuff. We are racing for nothing more then a handshake and a pat on the back.....and safety should be a TOP priority. I have proposed that we make a nationals safety inspection MANDATORY before a boat hits the water. No exceptions. Some of you have scoffed at that....stating it is to much work etc...I disagree. Have dedicated nationals stickers handed out to inspectors and commisoners...and have the person doing the inspection initial each sticker, along with the driver....ya...it is one more thing to do at nationals...but so what. There has been instances where an inspector doing a safety inspection on my rig at nationals has caught something wrong I have missed...and I had a current safety sticker in boat. Anyway....just sorta wanted to throw my 2 cents in. 9US