When Leaders Lead

[Travis Miller]

Originally Posted by jwsamuel

That's great but first you have to get them to the track.

And when you get them to the track you take them up into the stands for time trials. You explain that racers get a few runs to either qualify for positions or to make runs to figure out how quick their car is running that day. Explain how the starting system works, first with the staging lights and then the countdown to green. Point out that the scoreboards at the finish line show the elapsed time (ET), which is how long it takes the car to cover the measured distance. The scoreboards also show how fast in MPH the car was going at the end of the measured distance. That gives everyone a clear view of how each car preforms.

Now comes eliminations. If the first eliminations are heads-up, it is easy to see who wins as shown on the scoreboards. When handicapped eliminations start, a driver gets to the pick the ET their car will run. That ET is shown on the bottom of the scoreboard as the driver approaches the starting line. The difference in ET between the two cars is where the handicapping comes into play. The slower car by ET gets to take off first then the faster car chases. As the cars cross the finish line the scoreboards show which lane is the winner. It is possible for a car to lose by running quicker than the dial-in even though they got their first. All this can be seen by the spectators if the dial-in is still shown on the bottom of the scoreboard Tracks that replace the dial-in by showing the MPH on the bottom of the scoreboard during handicapped eliminations can confuse new spectators making it hard for them to understand why a car lost.

If the dial-in is still shown on the bottom of the scoreboard during handicapped racing it is easy for any spectator to understand the race. When the MPH replaces the dial-in it can get confusing for the spectator. There is no reason to show the MPH during handicapped eliminations. Leave the dial-in on the board.