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That is a damn shame for all. The same people that run the sprints don't run the runoffs do they?
Pat
Many of the same people will be working the Runoffs. But you also get volunteer officials from all across the country who come in to work the Runoffs. Just like the racers, the Runoffs used to be staffed by the "cream of the crop", but today, you can also get some participating that are not up to that level.
I haven't seen the videos yet, but I am confident that when I do, I can verify what happened. There should be a Grid Official at the pole position for the SM's (probably in the number 20'ish spot on the Grid), and a Grid Official at the head of the second row (Grid spot 26 if I remember correctly). These two people have to communicate. As the last few cars in the right hand row are released, the person at the head of the second row should be giving the driver at the head of the left hand row a count down of cars so they can feed out seamlessly. The Grid Officials, and Grid Chief, should have realized the mistake right away, and should have communicated with Race Control of the error. Grid made a mistake, but it could be corrected if they notified Race Control right away. I don't know if they did or not.
If Race Control received a notice from Grid that there was an issue, they should immediately notify the Operating Steward (who is setting right next to Race Control and is on the same communication network) who has to make a decision of what to do. The Operating Steward has a lot coming at them at this point, but they are trained and experienced in how to handle these situtiations. Keep in mind that they have the first group circulating the track on their pace lap, following where the two pace cars are to get the correct spacing between the two groups, pace car lights out at a certain point, listening to reports of how the group is forming up. An unusual call from Grid might not register as too important at that particular moment.
If the Operating Steward recognized what had happened early enough, they could either Full Course Yellow or Black Flag the field to allow the SM group to be Black Flagged into Pit Row to be re-gridded. Even if this was done quickly, the race would likely have been shortened by 2 or 3 laps.
I've tried to give a little insite into what all is going on at some of the various official's positions. I don't know what exactly happened, but it appears that the Grid Official screwed up, and I'm sure they feel bad about that. But there were opportunities to correct the mistake, but they didn't get corrected for whatever reason. We live and learn. People make mistakes. We try to learn from our mistakes. Maybe there are improvements that can be made to lessen the chance of this happening again.
One solution to minimizing these occurances is to have more and better trained officials. Many of our specialities are lightly staffed and will take almost anyone which shows an interest. Boosting the volunteer ranks and fostering a sense of pride in their jobs can only lead to better racing for everyone. This includes my challenge for drivers to get involved as volunteers. You would be amazed at what you can learn working out on a corner. But, at the same time, you have to sincerely learn the job and do it right. If not, you just add to the potential for mistakes.
Sorry, I just gave about 5 cents worth.
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