D is for Drivers Meeting

This week’s post is contributed by friend/teammate/mentor/rival Ben Dawson.

Listen up, Suckas!

If you don’t pay complete attention at the drivers meeting for whatever race or track event you’re attending, you’re likely to miss details that can be crucial to what you’ve got to do on track or in the pits. You may have already lost the race if you’re not paying attention and comprehending the information delivered in the drivers’ meeting. Our teams have misunderstood instructions about pit road speed limit zones and blend line instructions. Those misunderstandings netted us a penalty and we gave away some pace and space on track we sure could have used.

Since races may have crappy PA systems (if at all), it can be difficult to hear. Make sure all your drivers go to the meeting and then have a post-drivers’ meeting, meeting. Make sure every team and crew member has the same understanding of rules in the pit, entering and exiting the racing surface, pitting and fueling. If you need clarification on something, find an official and get the answer. They’d prefer you do it right. And if you get it wrong, some racing series have a cruel sense of humor.