First time push truck driver. tips, tricks, ideas?

[Tman]

Stayed with our second truck last year on course 3. Never needed to go down to retrieve. Looks like myself and tims wife will be running the chase truck this year. What do you experienced folks want to share? TIA, Trent

FWIW, we probably will not push unless needed like last year. It will just be a chase truck.

[Glen]

Tman this should be covered in the Crew/driver orientation after the big meeting at the starting line, feel free to ask any questions at that time.

[maguromic]

As Gale Banks once told me "use the push truck as first gear"  Tony

[Nortonist 592]

Don't follow the car you push off down the course.  And if you do make sure you don't pass the car.

[NathanStewart]

Go to rookie orientation.

[Jonny Hotnuts]

Its fun to get Lee Kennedy cranky when you drive 100+mph on the chase road....just ask Pop Hotnuts!

(*just kidding, its not fun and yes he will get cranky....dont drive too fast to catch up to the vehicle).

~JH

[wheelrdealer]

The return road switches from your right on course four to your left on course one. Last year, someone's push truck driver got confused and exited the course after the push into the emergency lane. That will make Mr. Kennedy cranky. He got a trip to the penalty box. I think he had to put a duct tap arrow on his push truck steering wheel to remind him of the proper return lane location.

Bill

[fast_TA]

I will be pushing for the first time this year at WOS.  Me and the driver are going to go out and practice taking off here, before going.  Just a tought

[wheelrdealer]

Fast TA

It is not that hard, just decide what MPH you want the push truck to reach. Decide if you will leave in first or second gear. Ease off the clutch so you pull away and don't spin. If you have radios the push driver can call out the mph 20, 30, 40 ...

From a push truck accelerate gradually, if you bump the car too hard it can trip the inertia switch on the electric fuel pump. We wasted a run last year when the car hesitated and the push truck bumped the push bar. The inertia switch tripped and that was it for that rn.

Bill

[Saltfever]

That darn inertia switch, I forgot all about it. Great point-out, Bill.  Thanx

[javajoe79]

The return road switches from your right on course four to your left on course one. Last year, someone's push truck driver got confused and exited the course after the push into the emergency lane. That will make Mr. Kennedy cranky. He got a trip to the penalty box. I think he had to put a duct tap arrow on his push truck steering wheel to remind him of the proper return lane location.

Bill

Yup.....  I might know that guy  :|

[wheelrdealer]

Last year when we kicked a drive shaft, my crew truck driver was so paranoid of doing something wrong SCTA had to tell him two or three times it was ok for him to cross the track and retrieve our car. Matt was sitting there and I could hear from the SCTA guys radio they were telling him to go retrieve but Matt just sat there. I am sure we held everyone up for a few minutes but better to be safe than cross the corse with someone making a run. Lesson learned, turn that CB volume up on that push truck. If in doubt call back to the tower and ask. It is said better to ask a stupid question and be thought of as a dumb a$$ than to do something stupid and prove it. If you don't hear or understand call in your course # and car # and the SCTA guys will tell you what to do. I am sure they have seen and heard it all before.

Man, I think this push truck stuff is harder than driving. All I had to do is wait for the starter to signal me to go, shift 4 times, pull the chute and remember if I was on a left or right return road course.

Bill

[fastman614]

I personally like using an automatic trans equipped truck for pushing off.... you don't have to worry about a disengagement from the racecar during gear changes if pushing with a manual trans equipped truck....

As Nathan said - DO go to rookie orientation as well...

And Do be mindful of the course on which you are running as the direction to which you pull off to chase to the other end is different from the short course(s) to the long course... I know about this - even after 20 and more years of running two or more courses I got confused momentarily when, after licensing a driver, we moved over from the short course to the long course....

[Tman]

Cool, nate won't let me run w/o orientation anyway. Tims rig has a C6 auto. Thanks

[jimmy six]

OK, heres' my way since 1975.

I will assume one thing, both drivers know where they are going after the race vehicle leaves the push truck under it's own power. The push drive has the CB on and the driver knows ALL the speed limit rules.

1.The push truck is running and in park

2. The race vehicle is against the push vehicle and the push vehicle driver is positioned where the race vehicle driver can see him.

3. When told it's our time to go. The driver starts the race vehicle. Maybe easy, squirting into the injectors, shutting the   hood ...whatever is your procedure. (we use the push vehicle driver for this)

4. The race vehicle driver puts the race vehicle in gear (we have stick shifts and choose different gears) and signals to the push driver with a nod of the head or a finger pointing forward.

5. The push driver goes to the push vehicle puts it in drive (we have alway had automatic push trucks) trying not to have the tires spit up too much salt and kicks the livin' s--t out of the truck for all it's got until the race cars pulls away when it wants.  This is the drivers responsibility. Then slows down and veres off to the return road safely

6. Push drivers procedes to retrieve the race car at 45 mph for us normal on the return road and less by the pits...Hey what could YOU DO anyway...........................

Has always worked for us. The more powerful the push truck the better...............Tone Motorsports