<VV> Who needs pylons?

[Bruce Schug]

On Jul 24, 2007, at 3:28 PM, Tony Underwood wrote:

> I recall back in the Dark Ages here in town, when autocrosses were run 
> at the mall parking lot down the hill from my place.    They marked 
> lanes with a baseball field baseline chalker...  just push the little 
> wheeled cart loaded up with powdered chalk around the course to make 
> lane lines, worked out nicely.
>
> Maybe they just had a shortage of pylons.
>
> They DID have some cinderblocks that marked the outside limits of the 
> actual course, with cute little flags sticking out of them.    A '60 
> Corvette lost it sufficiently so as to slide all the way off course 
> and into one of those cinderblocks, cracked a  big chip off one of the 
> alloy wheels on the car.   'Vette pilot kept running through the day, 
> with a chunk the size of a ballpark frank gone from the rim of the 
> wheel.    Corner workers gave him a wide berth when he came by.
>
> I often wonder why more autocross courses (at least around here 
> anymore) aren't chalked like that...  looks like it would prevent a 
> lot of people from getting lost.


I think that lining a course is a good idea, if it's done right. The 
wrong way is to use flour, lime or a similar material that will get in 
your eyes when the wind blows. Someone like me, who wears contacts, 
just can't stand this. There may be some lime that is heavy and will 
stay put, I'm not sure; I've never really researched the subject. I've 
seen guys drag a piece of dry wall on its edge to line a course. This 
seems to work pretty well. It gives a thinner, lighter line, but it 
won't blow away.

Lining is good for novices, but it can be a distraction for experienced 
drivers. The lines tend to describe a line to drive, but it won't be 
the fastest line. A driver trying to find the fastest line can be 
distracted by this.

Those two things are the only problems I see with lining. Another way 
to do it, is to simply make one line in the middle of the course, 
between the pylons. This can work too and may be a bit less distracting 
to the experienced driver.

Bruce


Bruce W. Schug
President, CORSA South Carolina
Greenville, SC
bwschug at charter.net

CORSA member since 1980

'67 Monza. "67AC140"