At any other track the contact between the two cars that were totaled would have been a spin and get back on the track and keep going. It was a perfect storm of events. It happened at exactly the wrong time. 50' farther down the track and most likely a completely different accident.
I cant believe that any competitor at the track that weekend in 944 would have intentionally caused an accident. I did not get to spend alot of time with any one driver due to racing in two classes but from my interactions with Javier he seemed to be a stand up guy.

Sonoma is a dangerous track. Laguna is as well but not nearly as much. Miller is a very forgiving track and very wide so contact was minimal there. Never been to Mid O so cant comment.

Foxx and I paired up between T9 and T10. It is a long way from there to the start stand.

It is a big event for all the marbles so everyone is a little nervous. It is an unforgiving track. Maybe a bad combination for us.

An attempt was made in 2009 to split the pot through the field. The powers in charge of that had failed to speak with Nasa about that ahead of time. Toyo sets the payout and sends the money to Nasa. Nasa distibutes the checks. The competitors who are on the podium are also given a 1099 because they have to claim their winnings on their taxes. So now you can see the problem with paying out through the field, somebody has to pay the taxes.

The dyno will always be an issue. They are inherently in accurate. This was clearly demonstrated at the WSC. I had dynoed my car at Buttonwillow one month before this event on a Dynojet. It was 137/137.

Ron Dale dynoed his car before the event and was 129. He dynoed at 139 that weekend.

Every car tested except Rons tested over. Clearly a dyno issue.

That said it is still a better system than a specified build sheet and engine teardowns.

No easy answers here.

Can we do better as a class? Of course we can.

Charlie, I really didn't mean for this to focus on the wreck. I agree, that was a matter of circumstance - not so much because of the "National" event.

Your taco night was the kind of spirit we should focus on for this type of event. Friendly camaraderie with stiff competition on the track.

I started 3rd in all 3 races and paired up behind Foxx ASAP. I guess it takes longer than we expect to trickle back.

The point about taxes is interesting but surmountable. I personally like the idea of a charitable donation. If set up in advance, the tax issue is probably surmountable. How great would our class look if we stood on the podium with checks donated to St. Jude or some other worthy charity?

My stance on the dyno is if you have a rule, you have to enforce it. This isn't aimed at you or anyone else - my own car dyno'd over in my testing. Just like weight, the number is the number, like it or not. If the scales had read 10% low, we all would have scrambled to put in gas or weight. It should be the same for the dyno. I think Tim handled it well but I think in the future, the limit is the limit. Blow it on a compliance run, pay the price.

I think on the line up for a start to the race the pace set by the pace car has alot to do with that. If it is faster than we are used to then the back of the field runs out of time to get lined up especially since it is more cars than we are used to having on track at one time.
So we should work on an earlier line up in the larger events. That should solve this problem.

My personal opinion as far as the Toyo Bucks goes is that the guys standing on the podium worked hard to get there. It should be a personal decision to donate or not. I personally donate thousands of dollars every year to my favorite charities to help those in need. I do that because I want to and can afford to.
I am left leaning in that respect. That said, because of the effort I put into getting on the podium I like the reward that comes from that. My philosophy to racing is that I am only racing myself. It is not my goal to beat my fellow competitors it is my goal to drive my car as well as possible with as few mistakes as possible. In a sense I am Time Trialing. I do love the wheel to wheel competition but breaking free and laying down fast lap after fast lap is what helps me be a better driver.

The comraderie of racing is also a big part of what I love about this sport. We are all like minded in that respect. The get togethers for dinners, helping a fellow competitor get back on track for the next session or giving advice to the drivers farther from the front of the pack are all things I cherish.

I agree that we will have to make a concerted effort next year to get a few cars on the dyno on the test day to see if the dyno is reading true. Based on my experience last year at Miller with this same dyno I felt my car would be fine at 137/137.
We will again be near the ocean with cool weather and high density air so we should expect the same results even though the dyno is supposed to compensate for all of these variables we now know that is not the case.
I too feel Tim made the right call but I was not happy that the call had to be made. I know if I was one of the cars that did not get dynoed and I saw what happened I would not be happy about the decision.
Fortunately it was obvious that there was a problem.
The front runners are just going to have to accept that they will be paying for dyno time at Nationals.
One possibllity is to have an option to buy dyno time (3 pulls) as part of your entry fee.

Charlie, you earned the place and I understand your perspective on prize money/charity. I too consider giving a personal thing usually - it is just a thought.