As we all debated the lack of ECR sanction at Daytona, it appeared that the region was self-serving in it's position. Well that was reinforced loud and clear at the track yesterday.
The schedule was setup to have enduro qualifying (2 groups) on Saturday morning, with the races being the last two on Sunday. This was fine. Although it created a bunch of downtime, it allowed an early departure on Saturday, and a late arrival at the track on Sunday, which worked out well for me.
So the first enduro goes off at 12:46 pm by my watch. An hour into the race it is raining, not storming but steady. The race finishes on time at 2:16. The rain has stopped. A worker break was to follow on the schedule. By 2:45 we are getting announcements that 'severe' weather is being forcast with high winds and possibly hail. No more rain has fallen since the end of the first enduro and the track is beginning to dry on the banking. By 3pm a pit lane marshall informs me that race officials are deciding whether to go forward or not. By 3:05 the race is cancelled and everyone is escorted off the grid. Bear in mind, IT'S NOT RAINING!!!
At 3:10 the rain starts. It rains steady, not storming, for about 15 minutes before beginning to subside. There is lightning in the area. By 3:30, the rain has mostly disappeared; no high winds, no hail. The lightning is gone as well. By the time I leave the track at 4:05 the rain is history and much of the sky has lightened. I don't see another drop of rain.
So many questions remain unanswered. Why the hair-trigger response? Why the total lack of patience to see what the weather would actually do? Why risk pi$$ing off the 60+ drivers who, to that point, had only been on-track for one 30 minute session on Saturday? Why not start the race right after the first one and attempt to at least get some of the race in? Why not wait, and run the race when the weather cleared, even if it had to be reduced to a 60 min race?
The comments above are facts as best as I can remember. The following are my opinions based on those facts.
The racers got screwed. It appears that the region made a calculated decision to take the money and run. Once a car hits the track, they are under no obligation to refund any money. It also appears that they saw an opportunity to be able to get out early and jumped on it. How else do you explain calling the race when no rain had fallen in more than 1/2 hour? It appears that the decision was made without serious consideration to waiting it out. There were over 420 entrants this past weekend. There were 42 cars and over 60 drivers qualified for the race. It seems that they were willing to take their chances pi$$ing off only 10% of the racers, because hey, at least they get the money.
We are reminded time and again how financially healthy our region is. The money we are sitting on is safe, properly invested, and quite large compared to most regions I would guess. Our relationship with the Daytona speedway is good. I believe the race should have been run in its entirety. I believe that if darkness was going to be an issue, the region should have requested that the lights be turned on and paid to have it done. Where does the region think that the money comes from? It's the members money! And while it may have only benefitted directly maybe 50 or so members, it would have gone a long way toward solidifying CFR as a region that puts its members over the money. Doesn't look that way anymore. How many racers would have been bragging from the roof tops today that they got to run Daytona under the lights? And while it may seem like a small amount of people would benefit from a large cash outlay, I'm quite certain that there are other non-racing regional events that get subsidized to varying degrees by the money that the racers contribute. To underline that point about the money, I walked over to Tech at about 3:45. Tech had long since cleared out, but there was one official listening to the weather radio. I overheard the same description of the storm we were warned about come over the radio again. Oddly though, the storm was 30+ miles south of us between Titusville and Christmas and moving away! When another competitor walked in and jokingly asked if we would all get refunds, this official smiled a big smile and gave the competitor a wink with a slight chuckle. I'm sure inside he was all broken up though.
So what does the region do? The racers are clearly, if not technically, owed something. Free entry into the next enduro? Half-price vouchers for a future race? Or, take it in the shorts if you don't like it. All three are possibilities, what ends up happening will be the real story here.
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