Track gives green flag for safety
Tech-and-tune inspection held at Merrittville track
‘‘ “We never want a fire, so we always double-check fuel, we look at throttle-return springs, we look at break lines being mounted properly.” MARK CHAPMAN Merrittville Speedway head tech inspector
Eagle-eyed Mark Chapman wasn’t looking for cleverly concealed turbo-charged afterburners or flux capacitors when he was going over upwards of 50 race cars at a tech-and-tune at Merrittville Speedway on Monday.
No, there will be plenty of time for determining what is off-street legal at the Thorold track once the 67th season of racing gets underway this weekend, fingers crossed and weather permitting.
The only things Chapman, the head tech inspector at the speedway, was zeroing in on at a session
that already had been postponed twice by inclement weather were all related to safety.
“Right now, we’re all looking at safety, major, major safety issues:
seatbelts, fuel tanks, return springs,” he said. “We’re not really looking at the legality of the motors necessarily, we’re just looking at safety.
“On Saturday night, at our first race, then it will be true tech with engine inspection.”
Chapman worked closely with race teams during the inspections. Drivers or pit crew chiefs were given a checklist of “20 or so” items to mark off while he went over the car.
All the items on this checklist
were related to safety.
“Then we check a couple for ourselves,” Chapman said. “Mostly fuel, because we are terrified of fuel.
“We never want a fire, so we always double-check fuel, we look at throttle-return springs, we look at brake lines being mounted properly.”
“We had a couple of guys with brake lines just loose and flapping.”
Racers have the option of equipping their cars with fire extinguishers, but very few do.
“Next year, they’re mandating fire extinguishers built into the cars for the Sportsman and Modified classes,” said Chapman.
Race cars have fuel cells, rather than tanks. Surrounded by a bladder, the after-market cells are very safe, “absolutely” safer than a fuel tank, the inspector said.
For race teams in dirt track’s regular divisions subject to inspection — Modified 358, Sportsman, Hoosier Stock, Mini Stock and, now, 6-cylinders — getting a thumbs up from Chapman wasn’t necessary before they can compete on opening night Saturday.
He said the track understands that some areas require more than a week to correct.
Not surprisingly, race teams with the most work to do is in V-6, an entry-level division that is the newest class at the dirt track.
“They’ve got a little bit of work to do unfortunately,” he said. “It’s brand new, we haven’t even set a weight for the class yet.
“It’s learning curve for us, and for them.”
An emphasis on safety extended beyond the car at the inspection Monday. Also on the checklist at the tech-and-tune were the fire suits and helmets.
“The majority of the time they’re either wearing it when they come through tech or it’s in the car,” Chapman said. “So we do visually see it.
“Then again, we’re going to see them when they’re coming on the track. Our corner steward is going to see it, so if they’re not wearing their fire suit, they’re going to be told right quick.”
Newcomers to dirt racing and drivers returning after an extended absence benefited most from the inspection. For others, it was a refresher course.
“We’re just after that new class and just the basic safety of the new guys coming.”
However, inspectors looked at everybody, regardless of experience behind the wheel
“We don’t care, even Pete Bicknell came through here,” Chapman said of the former Merrittville co-owner who was more than 20 track championships to his credit in the speedway’s premier racing class.
Inspectors will be looking for more than compliance to safety requirements during the racing season. Top finishers in a race — usually, the top five — have to go over the scales and pass tech before the results can be declared official.
Random inspections are also commonplace.
“We might pick somebody out of the field, you never know,” Chapman said with a laugh.