7.45 Dial for Bill O'Connor

[Rory McNeil]

Not at Pomona, so I never saw the run in question, but it sounds like the 7.45 was NOT on the scoreboard, rather seems to have just been a typo on DRC. But even if the dial on the score board WAS wrong by 10 seconds, is it not still the drivers responsibility to check and ensure the correct dial is displayed before putting the 2nd stage light on?

[Lenny5160]

Originally Posted by Rory McNeil

But even if the dial on the score board WAS wrong by 10 seconds, is it not still the drivers responsibility to check and ensure the correct dial is displayed before putting the 2nd stage light on?

Technically you need to check this before lighting the first stage bulb per the rule book, but your general point is correct.

Incorrect dials don’t happen often, in my experience, but they do happen and it’s part of your job as a driver to verify it. My car doesn’t go in low gear after the burnout until the dial-in is up and correct.

[Bruce Fulper]

As an NHRA announcer and worked at Pomona for seven years until the new bunch took over and hired "whatevers," catch me in the pits sometime and I'll tell you what goes on. I can't write it here.

[Warren Evans]

So maybe some insight here... The computer operator may have put in 7.45 instead of 17.45 and hit the key to advance the pair to the active state. THAT is the number that Live Timing and the NHRA timing screen sees. When the operator corrected the dial, that does not always push to Live Timing or the timing screen. It's a quirk / bug / ??? of the data capture programs that NHRA built and happens more often than you think. The important part is that the Compulink got and processed the corrected number. Now, if it should have been 17.45 or 17.05, that is a shoe polish issue.

[Larry Hill]

Thanks Warren!