(boy, i seem to be blogging a lot today)
the relationship between drivers and tech can be a touchy one. lots of drivers really don't like interacting with tech inspectors, they just kind of assume that it means trouble. and i have, at times over the years, seen incidents that would seem to justify this sort of reaction. but there's another type of driver and tech interaction that i'm blogging about today.
giving tech a heads up
from time to time, drivers will tell a tech inspector what they think is going on in their class. this can be pretty interesting, and usually happens at the beer party after the day's activities. i kind of like hearing this stuff - but drivers need to understand certain things about how i might (or might not) respond to their information. and it's rarely personal, unless something comes up that spins it that way. and the spin usually comes when the driver is being disingenuous about something.
first example
years ago, an ITS driver who is no longer active came up to me at the beer party and told me about all the stuff that he was sure the RX-7 ITS drivers were doing. i listened carefully, but didn't commit to a response (i generally don't). the funny part was that when i did impound ITS to check for the (mandatory) window glass and ride height later that season, this very driver had substituted plastic windows for glass windows in his doors - which is not permitted. this driver was clearly trying to use tech to go after other drivers in his class, and this is the sort of situation where if that is discovered, i might just take it personally - because i feel like someone is trying to play me for a fool.
second example
more recently i recall a National race where two drivers in showroom stock kept showing up in tech to describe bad things the other driver was doing that we should check. Really Guys? if you think he's cheating, file the protest and post the bond. or maybe get a room - either way, just leave tech out of it. we are not going to respond to this.
what may happen
If you do come up to me and suggest something that might be going on, I will probably not do anything right away. I may want to research, and may want to talk to other drivers in the class to get their take on things. I may need to take steps to get certain tools to the track. Even bringing something up a couple of days before a race is likely to not get anything done promptly. Tools may not be easily accessible. Two weeks is way more time than 3 or 4 days if you need something shipped or have to buy something. And I need to be careful about appearances; tech should not be perceived as responding to any particular driver's agenda, unless the agenda is clean racing. If you do contact me 2 weeks before a race to arrange equipment, you should be planning to file the mechanical protest, and not be trying to get me to impound someone you don't like.
tools
Also, if you do decide to actually file a mechanical protest, a couple of suggestions:
1) file it early in the race weekend. that gives us time to decide how we're going to approach it. once the protest is filed, we can take steps to secure the vehicle and prepare for whatever is needed. for intrusive things, we might seal the engine and plan for disassembly after the race. and by the way, be aware that mechanical protests filed in the last hour before the race are not timely and won't go anywhere.
2) don't offer us tools. the protested party will use their own tools for any disassembly, under supervision of a tech inspector. after disassembly, tech can't use measurement tools supplied by a party to the protest. on one occasion, a bunch of drivers got together to file a protest of one of their competitors, and since they'd planned well in advance, they brought some very nice tools to the track for the needed measurements. they were very offended when we told them we couldn't use them - but if we had, there would have been nothing but trouble down the line. i seriously doubt we would have made it past the committee at the track if we'd used the protestor's tools to measure the protested engine.
what's in the toolbox
There are some useful things in NEDiv that can be at the track, but they won't necessarily spontaneously appear.
1) bore and stroke gauges for center plug engines. yes, we can bore and stroke some cars without pulling heads, but not all of them. but we won't necessarily have these tools at every race.
2) there is a whistler which can be used to measure compression without pulling a head
3) some regions have puff testers, which can be used to measure displacement in some motors - in particular, american pushrod v-8s are candidates for this measurement.
If I knew in advance I might need this stuff, it can certainly be at the track.
