I think its too bad really.
It was Jeff who contacted me a few years back, took me in, and encouraged me to continue doing Shadow Reports here on CRO. This is going back to the autumn before the Bulmer/Dugas February resignation. So Jeff and I go back a couple of years. In fact it was he and his dad Jerry that allowed for me to do the "Hoppy" thing a couple of years ago, which had always been a dream of mine since I'd gotten into that biz. So I owe that to them, and CRO owes it to them for the Shadow Report still coming in every week.
We didn't always see eye to eye, and that's to be expected with him doing his job as the head race official, and me doing mine as a reporter. Even when an official call was perhaps not the right one in my eyes. I had to call them as I saw them, and there were occasions where my phone would ring and he'd let me know his side of the story. To his credit, only once did he ever actually ask me to retract anything...and to his credit, it was a fair request. I'd been fairly well misinformed about the issue. I've heard a couple things over the years where some folks may have thought that my pro-Delaware stance might have been mandated by management, but no...it was all me. No one, Jeff included, ever once suggested that I gloss anything over or leave anything out. So kudos to him for that.
The job of the Race Director can be a thankless one, and the position leaves you open to a hell of a lot of criticism. There was some of it that was fair, and a lot of it that wasn't. People need to remember that at the end of the day, the officials can't always see everything and have to make the calls on the spot, and maintaining a consistency for those judgment calls from week to week is tough to do, especially in the age of YouTube and instant replay. It was not a position that I envy....nor would I ever apply for.
So I'm sad to see Jeff go, and at the same time would like to offer the suggestion to Delaware that in the future, the Race Director and the Tech Director be 2 different people, entities in and of their own and not accountable to one another. The problem that arises as I saw it was this: In the situation where there have been conflicts with competitors over tech issues, be that rule enforcement, rule implementing, rule amendment, or rules allowances, there is often conflict and bad feelings involved. Thats par for the course...always has been, always will be. And for sure there's politics involved with the position. (I won't even get into how murky it can get when a major track sponsor is also a competitor.)
The main problem arises when the guy who's been making those calls and those decisions is ALSO the guy in charge of who gets black flagged on the track and who doesn't. A conflict of interest is a pretty easy scenario to come up with. And the ref should be impartial. Its easy to feel you weren't being flagged fairly after you spent a week arguing car rules with the guy holding the flag. I think there may have been a number of guys frustrated by the arrangement.
Thats my two cents anyway. Best of luck to Jeff in the future. And a personal thank you to him as well. I wouldnt likely be doing this if not for you.
Happy Travels
Trev
Well stated Trev, and lets all hope as in everthing in life the lessons learned will be implimented for the betterment of all fans, participants, and officials...
Keep up the good work, and with any luck I too will be seeking you out on the hill and or in the stands next season.
Steve
I share shadows sadness over Jeff's leaving the track. I only had the pleasure of being his acquaintance for just a little over 2 years. It was Jeff's who urged us to come out and try the track. It was Jeff who welcomed us to the track. It was jeff who asked to come back. It was Jeff who asked me what I thought and did not tell me what to think.
I know allot of you guys on here bash the hell out of him without mercy and now you can pretty much go nuts as poeple do when somebody leaves.
Do i think he did a good job? Yes i do! Did he make mistakes? Hell yah! Who doesn't?
Jeff if you read this I want to say thanks for treating Jake, my team , and myself the way you did. This is not anything we had ever expereienced in racing before.
Keep in touch.
He's going to be hard to replace.
I think its too bad really.
It was Jeff who contacted me a few years back, took me in, and encouraged me to continue doing Shadow Reports here on CRO. This is going back to the autumn before the Bulmer/Dugas February resignation. So Jeff and I go back a couple of years. In fact it was he and his dad Jerry that allowed for me to do the "Hoppy" thing a couple of years ago, which had always been a dream of mine since I'd gotten into that biz. So I owe that to them, and CRO owes it to them for the Shadow Report still coming in every week.
We didn't always see eye to eye, and that's to be expected with him doing his job as the head race official, and me doing mine as a reporter. Even when an official call was perhaps not the right one in my eyes. I had to call them as I saw them, and there were occasions where my phone would ring and he'd let me know his side of the story. To his credit, only once did he ever actually ask me to retract anything...and to his credit, it was a fair request. I'd been fairly well misinformed about the issue. I've heard a couple things over the years where some folks may have thought that my pro-Delaware stance might have been mandated by management, but no...it was all me. No one, Jeff included, ever once suggested that I gloss anything over or leave anything out. So kudos to him for that.
The job of the Race Director can be a thankless one, and the position leaves you open to a hell of a lot of criticism. There was some of it that was fair, and a lot of it that wasn't. People need to remember that at the end of the day, the officials can't always see everything and have to make the calls on the spot, and maintaining a consistency for those judgment calls from week to week is tough to do, especially in the age of YouTube and instant replay. It was not a position that I envy....nor would I ever apply for.
So I'm sad to see Jeff go, and at the same time would like to offer the suggestion to Delaware that in the future, the Race Director and the Tech Director be 2 different people, entities in and of their own and not accountable to one another. The problem that arises as I saw it was this: In the situation where there have been conflicts with competitors over tech issues, be that rule enforcement, rule implementing, rule amendment, or rules allowances, there is often conflict and bad feelings involved. Thats par for the course...always has been, always will be. And for sure there's politics involved with the position. (I won't even get into how murky it can get when a major track sponsor is also a competitor.)
The main problem arises when the guy who's been making those calls and those decisions is ALSO the guy in charge of who gets black flagged on the track and who doesn't. A conflict of interest is a pretty easy scenario to come up with. And the ref should be impartial. Its easy to feel you weren't being flagged fairly after you spent a week arguing car rules with the guy holding the flag. I think there may have been a number of guys frustrated by the arrangement.
Thats my two cents anyway. Best of luck to Jeff in the future. And a personal thank you to him as well. I wouldnt likely be doing this if not for you.
Happy Travels
Trev
+1 - well said Trevor. Your idea has merit. In the end, race decisions are a matter of escalation points. No matter what any outcome is, there is always going to be someone who walks away unhappy. It is a thankless job that most fail to recognize as such.
Perhaps Jeff will compete again...
I have to say I have seen a few head scratcher calls over the years but over all Delaware has one of the best if not the best run shows in the business. Whenever my father is in town I bring him to the track and he has been to several tracks in the province over the years. He always comments on how well the show is run at Delaware and I am sure Jeff was responsible for a lot of that. Good luck in your future endeavours.