Rule of the Day - Double Yellow Flags

[Todd Covini]

19.3.6 Double Yellow Flags
Description: Two (2) solid motionless yellow flags, displayed at every manned flag
station around the course.
Uses: NO PASSING is permitted. This is used to indicate “a full course yellow.” This
means that there might be a problem somewhere on the track. Drivers are NOT
required to significantly slow their vehicles, however they should be prepared to
encounter a “local Yellow Flag” situation and/or a Pace Car (or a very slow moving pack
behind the Pace Car). The displaying of Double Yellow Flags does not guarantee the
appearance of a Pace Car. It is a command that NO PASSING IS ALLOWED until the
Pace Car has pulled off the course (if applicable) and the driver has passed next
manned flag station that is not displaying any Yellow Flag(s).

[Waco Racer]

CCR 2.12 & 21.1 means that Drivers are required to slow their vehicle to pace speeds during a Double Yellow Flag course condition whether a Pace/Safety car is dispatched or not. The lead car is required to maintain that speed until shown a green flag at the Start/Finish line 20.12.1 & 20.13.

(MODERATOR EDIT FOR CLARITY)

2.12 Officials / Rules Hierarchy
This section is intended to clarify hierarchy among some officials and rules. Where there
is a conflict, the following order should be used. Each item on this list supersedes the
prior listed item whenever there is a conflict:
• Club Codes and Regulations
• Class Rules
• Local or Event Supplemental Rules
• Drivers’ Meeting Information
• Orders From Officials
• Race Director
• Executive Director
• Medical Staff (with regards to patient care and their duties).

21.1 Adjustments By The Race Director
The Race Director reserves the right to make changes in rules and/or penalties to
ensure fairness of all aspects of competition. He/she will make every effort to correct
problem situations to the fairness of the majority before invoking penalties, in full or in
part.

20.12.1 Pace Car Restart – General
Note: This section indicates the normal procedures for restarting a race however CCR
Section #20.13 does apply.
The Pace Car driver will take direction from Race Control or the Race Director. When
the Pace Car is used to restart a race, the Pace Car driver will slow the field and allow
the drivers time to realign themselves in preparation for the restart. The Pace Car driver
should turn out the Pace Car lights approximately two (2) turns before the Start/Finish
line to indicate a restart. The lead car will be responsible for pacing the field slowly, and
at a steady pace, until the green flag is shown. [Note: Pace means “steady speed.”
Acceleration (or deceleration) after the pace car leaves the track, but before the green
flag is displayed, is illegal.]
If the lead car does not pace the field slowly enough, or the field has improper alignment,
the Starter will display no flag or a yellow flag, thus indicating one (1) more pace lap. At
this point, it is up to the lead car to pace the rest of the field at half-race speed until the
final two (2) turns. The final two (2) turns, and the approach to the Starter, will be done
slowly enough, and at a steady pace, to allow all cars to come into proper alignment. If
the leader does not maintain a proper pace that results in two (2) aborted starts or
restarts in a row, the green flag will be displayed, and the leader will be issued a penalty
by the Race Director, after the race. The penalty shall be no more severe than
disqualification, and may be as little as a warning, however the typical penalty is loss of
three (3) positions. Alternatively a warning with a $250 fine (fine suspended for six (6)
months) is considered another acceptable penalty for a Rookie or drivers relatively new
to NASA.

20.13 Restarts and Resumptions
Restarts and Resumptions occur when conditions change from a Full Course Yellow
and/or a Pace Car situation, or a Red Flag had previously been shown. A Restart is a
formal way of resuming a session described below. A Resumption is an informal
continuation. Generally, a Resumption is used to continue a session other than a race,
and a Restart is used to continue a race. Competitors should understand that a race
session might Restart or Resume without notice. Restarts are single file, unless
otherwise stated by the series rules, directors, etc.

[evarner]

I'm confused and this really needs to be crystal clear before we go out on-track again.

[GlennCMC70]

well the rule says we do not need to significantly slow our vehicles. we still need to slow down, just not significantly.

[evarner]

Pace speed is definitely significant over race speed. When the pace car came out, we were runing at 3/10ths as opposed to the 9/10ths everyone was traveling during the double yellow.

The problem as I see it is if Racer X2 in second place decides to slow down to pace speed while having Racer X3 behind him who wants nothing other than to catch Racer X1, but is unable to pass and sees Racer X1 pulling out 40-50 car lengths ahead. This could potentially cause a situation where Racer X1 is 3/4 a lap ahead when the green flag drops.

Thus, we all need to be on the same page and know how fast "pace" speed is as opposed to "race" speed.

I didn't feel comfortable traveling at 9/10ths during the double yellow, but had I not kept up with the car in front of me - the above scenario had potential.

.02

[GlennCMC70]

when the pace car came out, it was way too slow. i was woried my car was going to overheat.

[Rob Liebbe]

[ It is a command that NO PASSING IS ALLOWED until the
Pace Car has pulled off the course (if applicable) and the driver has passed next
manned flag station that is not displaying any Yellow Flag(s).

I guess we all violated this rule on the back to green in Race 4. We all took off after passing the last flag displaying yellow, not waiting until passing the first corner station not displaying a flag.

This needs to be cleared up and I never did understand why NASA rules differed from SCCA and others.

[ShadowBolt]

I didn't feel comfortable traveling at 9/10ths during the double yellow, but had I not kept up with the car in front of me - the above scenario had potential.

My thoughts exactly.


JJ

[mitchntx]

when the pace car came out, it was way too slow. i was woried my car was going to overheat.

In my best ViniDrumDez voice ... "No one says you have to remove the fans. If you do, it's the risk you run."

That's no different than me going out with minimal fuel and fuel starving the last 5 laps of R3. Could I have called a time out to go get more fuel?

I made the decision, I rolled the dice ... I paid the price.

The words "pace car speed"and "significantly" are too ambiguous and too subjective. No one that I know has a working speedometer. So it's absolutely unmeasrueable.

Jerry's and Eric's comfort zone was "significantly" lower than mine or James' or Al's.

Yes, I heard Clifton say that track rules require a DY when an extraction is in progress. And MSRC is the only track that has that administrative rule and it's probably driven by insurance.

[rpoz27]

Control had me slow y'all to 25mph before Big Bend, in an attempt to get Jeremy clear before we passed hot pits so that I could duck in and y'all could have a green flag, asap. He didn't get clear until just before we got to the new course and control told me to leave the track there, instead of going all the way around. It was close and you guys were lucky. At any other track, y'all would have been stuck behind my helmetless, street car driving butt for another lap.

Anyone who was afraid they might overheat while behind a pace car in March should maybe think ahead to potential scenarios during the summer months and consider putting their fans back in. Just sayin'. BTW, the Cup cars in Group 7 didn't bitch about the pace speed and I made them go just as slow or slower. In fact, I had to pass three of them to pick up the race leader. Amazingly, the leader knew that and had already slowed significantly in response to the flags and workers, so I was able to catch him quickly.