My Experience
by Jim Murphy
or, LOLers at Large
from Championship Racing Magazine, October 1999
I was given the opportunity to spend Friday at Road America working as a course marshal in Turn 14, the final corner before the cars head up the hill towards the pits. Going into the weekend, I had to admit to a certain level of apprehension. Would I be accepted by the team or would I be seen as an intrusion? Would I find the day interesting or interminably long? Thanks in no small part to the duo of Dick and Barb Coburn of Windsor, Ontario, my fears were completely unfounded. After being welcomed warmly, I was told in a stern, fatherly manner by Coburn "I hope you realize we’re going to put you to work." I think the grin on my face was all the answer he needed. In fact, I discovered a fascinating world of dedicated individuals completely unafraid to share any and all aspects of what they do while holding high the principles of fun and camaraderie. During the course of the day, I had the chance to act in nearly every position on the team. One of the special features of Turn 14 at Road America is that is where the officials display the "Black Flag Board" to drivers. In the event that a black flag is called for, the car's number is displayed on a large black board labeled "BLACK FLAG", allowing the driver to pit immediately rather than proceed around the 4-mile course another time. Standard procedure calls for this board to be displayed (minus car number) to all cars on the first lap of the opening session of the weekend. That way, the drivers are familiar with its location. As the Champ cars took to the track, Dick turned to me and said, "Come here, grab that board and step out
here with me." Standing behind me for support and safety, we stepped from behind the barrier and prepared to stare down the advancing train of charging Champ cars. Soon, the scream of engines through the woods of Wisconsin was getting louder, and then, almost without warning, the first of the cars crested the hill under the Billy Mitchell Bridge. The true speed of the Champ cars through that section of the course can only be really appreciated as they are heading nearly directly at you, under braking, with the cars skidding and slipping on the track. You don’t have time to even glance to the side as the cars pass by, since your attention needs to be focused directly down the track towards the oncoming cars. To turn away is to invite disaster. Throughout my all-too-short lap out there, Dick was constantly quizzing me to identify the cars the instant they crested the hill and came into sight. In order to blue flag, you need to recognize the cars immediately and determine whether the pass is for position or just lapped traffic. This task became even more challenging later in the day when I was called upon to blue flag the Barber Dodge Pro Series qualifying session. This time, it was Barb Coburn looking over my shoulder, but the principle was the same. Eyes forward at all times. Looking into the setting sun, my ability to identify cars was nearly zero. However, when one car slid wide off Turn 13 and began to head towards us, I didn’t have any problems at all paying attention to that! Fortunately, just about the time we were getting ready to grab our yellow flagger and dive back behind the wall, the driver got it gathered up and headed back onto the track. Probably the hardest job to perform was yellow flagger. Called on to perform this task during the Trans-Am qualifying session, I had to stand facing Turn 14 with my back to the oncom
ing cars. You’ll never realize how many cars squeal tires and lock brakes on a routine lap until you stand there with your back to them, fighting every natural instinct to turn around or dive for cover. However, you quickly learn that you can trust and count on your blue flagger partner. After all, he’s standing out there farther than you! The most amazing thing I found was that every member of the team took each job extremely seriously and performed with a level of professionalism that should be the envy of many. This is not to say that fun wasn’t the order of the day. Between sessions, or even during minor lulls, you’d be hard pressed to find a group of folks having more fun. I think I spent more than half of the day laughing. At the smallest provocation, everyone became all business, clicking seamlessly into action. Just as quickly, the smiles returned. "You have to keep the mood light," Lori Gibbs explained to me a couple weeks later, "because it’s so intense when you’re on." And that intensity is something that I can personally attest to. Given any chance, I’ll rejoin my newfound friends on the corners in a heartbeat.
MINNESOTA WINTER RALLY
Saturday January 15th
Duluth, Minnesota
Randy Jokela Rallymaster
218-879-6221 eves.
www.arrowheadscc.orgThis is the first event in the 2000 LOL Road Rally Championship Series!
Tonneau On-Line January 2000
Page 7
Copyright 2000, Land O'Lakes Region Last revised: January 3, 2000
