Tech Corner

The best advice that I can give a tech official is to stay active throughout the day.  The easiest way to prevent a problem is to spot it before it becomes one at the end of the day.  Whether I am helping in tech or representing Briggs & Stratton at a track I take the time to look over every engine that comes by me.  From helping load a kart after a practice session to walking the pit lane as everyone stages, this is time well spent.  "This fastener has to be stock, your exhaust needs to be wrapped completely, your carburetor overflow line has a low spot which could rob you of performance if it fills with fuel, and so on."

By showing a vested interest in helping racers you earn respect, appreciation, and most of all you save yourself from an unnecessary situation.

If the rules don’t say you can then you cannot.  Most of us will agree as will the racer that this is not performance enhancing.  In some cases rules are meant for simplicity and to control cost.  While some fasteners can impact performance (an intake fastener used to change the alignment or air flow angle) to make rules on which can or cannot be used in what is a stock class defeats the intent.  It adds unnecessary complexity and makes you have to sift through the can and can’t of fasteners. 

When I find something like this doing visual checks in practice I will occasionally have a racer ask me if I would DQ them for this? 

My response is simple, “Why put yourself in a DQ-able situation?  If another competitor wants to point this out the rules are clear.  I would suggest changing this out to prevent any chance of that from happening.”  To add to my sincerity I might even throw in that I have one in my tool box if they need one.  At this point we as tech officials have done everything we can to alert the racer to correct the action and the consequences.   The racer is ultimately responsible to insure that their engine is compliant.

I had a national series call to say that they were having ‘all kinds’ of problems with the slide tech tools.  The tech official told the principle owners that this was a ‘known’ Briggs problem.  The conversation started off that some of the Sox tech tools were .001” and others were .002” oversized.  I responded that .001” is the typical standard safety margin unless it is specified differently in the rule set so .002” would give each racer even more safety margin.  That was quickly followed up by racers are using the tech tools to set their slide height and that the tech person decided to use a pin gauge AT the maximum opening.   To that my reply was that a .570” plug gauge could legally go in.  How was this communicated to the racers?  Were the perils of using an inspection gauge for setting a part also talked about?

The takeaways to correct/resolve this issue:

• Be consistent, transparent, and when there is a question about a method/gauge ask your fellow inspector – The ‘change’in this example was made during the event without informing competitors and to a gauge size without any safety margin. 
• Communication -  A drivers meeting is the PERFECT opportunity to reiterate to parents that every .010” in slide opening is the equivalent of .1 hp.  Do NOT put your son or daughter in harm for something a dyno nor lap time will never show.   In tech if this tool clears the front lip that is on YOU.  Again, by alerting them to their responsibility as racers (or parents of racers) it alleviates any emotion or reaction should it become an issue at the end of the day.
• Educate – This can also be shared in the drivers meeting:  Using the actual tech tool to set the height is a recipe for failing this check.  We also see many parents that make a mark on the cap that helps them when they go to set the height.  Make them aware that aluminum threads can stretch and gaskets crush every time they re-tighten their cap.