Crew Safety Questions

Rick Stewart

At the Seattle National Event last year we had some crew work conflicts. My wife is the person who brings me into the lights normally but she couldn't be there. So on our first qualifying run there wasn't anybody to bring me into the lights. The guys backed me up and walked away to their normal positions. It was a single and I looked up to see NHRA starter Rick Stewart looking around. He stepped up, found the prestage light with his foot and brought me into the lights. The only thing he missed was the two whacks on the fender to tell me to give it hell. Yep, changing crew roles can be a problem and when guys can't always be there it can get a little more confusing. I don't know if Rick Stewart reads this but I wanted to THANK him for helping us out. Now if he could tell us a little more about Manzo's tune-up.............? Dave Germain

 

my advice to you would be find someone with YEARS of experience to go over your car before you go to the track the first time, Then have them at the first couple races to give you some kind of procedure. Then follow that procedure the rest of the time you race so it becomes second nature. I was lucky to have Bunny Burkett's crew help me set up my car in the beginning and they went to the first several dates out. They gave me a check list and routine that I still follow to this day and because of that, nobody has ever been hurt and I have never been shut off on the starting line from not being prepared.