THE GOODYEAR ARCA ROCK CRAWLER CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
No, this isn't going to be blow-by-blow coverage of the event, as that's been happening in a number of venues for the last year. You can check out the end of this feature for the final standings for the series, though.
I wanted to write a bit about some things I observed over the year, watching not as an outsider, but as the guy who started to put on the first event in Farmington, brought Goodyear in as the series sponsor and then passed the event on to ARCA.
There's been a lot of complaining about the way things were going, from flag placement and judging, to changes made during an event. Some of the complaints were justified, many weren't.
While 4x4 trials have been taking place around the world for decades, our rock crawling championships have taken place for only the last couple of years. We need to remember that the promoters of these events are trying hard to make rules that are fair and still allow an exciting event. The promoters also don't have much experience, yet, in running rock crawling events, so they're learning, just like we are, as we go.
Judging is one area that could be looked at. As I went from obstacle to obstacle, individual judges were scoring competitors their own way, and many times their own way was at odds with the rules. Take, for instance, one judge I watched who gave a person
| one point for stopping, then, when that person backed up, two more points for stopping and reversing. Now, the rules say that a reverse is one point for stopping and one for backing, a total of TWO points, not three. This kind of thing can be addressed with better education of the judging staff. Lately, I've noticed that flag placement has gotten narrower to the point that even a Suzuki Samurai couldn't get between the flags on one obstacle. Some competitors complain that they think this is to limit the type of 4x4 that can do well in the event. I think it's just bad flag placement. After talking to a number of competitors and listening to their complaints about the series and other competitors, I expected to find Farmington a negative place to be. Boy, was I wrong! I was surprised to see almost everyone having a great time. There were many instances where one competitor would help get another competitor back into the running by loaning tools or letting the broken vehicle have spare parts. No, these competitors weren't teammates, they were COMPETITORS! This kind of upbeat spirit permeated the event and even the grumbling that one hears was fairly good-natured grumbling.
I think that the Goodyear/ARCA Series ended on a positive note. Farmington was certainly upbeat and Phil Collard, Jim Petersen and all the rest who laid out the course did a fantastic job this year. I left with a good feeling toward these events and those who run and compete in them.
Good luck next year, everyone! |
