Wall Stadium announced another disqualification Monday. This time it was Factory Stock driver, Jim Downey, who was flagged the winner of the first of two feature events for the division, this past Saturday. The win was then awarded to Shannon Mongeau, who had followed Downey across the line.
While all racetracks have problems, from time to time, with cars being found to be illegal, the problem seems to be excessive at Wall Stadium. The most well-known issue involved the disqualification of Jason Hearne, son of Wall legend Gil, after a Wall Modified win earlier this season.
The Hearne disqualification got the most coverage since it came in the track's headline division, and was a very popular win among the fans. However, there have been other disqualifications in the lower divisions throughout the year that haven't attracted as much attention.
When it comes to competition, there will always be those who try to bend, if not flat out break, the rules. However, I have had the priviledge of working side-by-side with many of the competitors at Wall Stadium, as a crewmember, myself, in the past, and know 99.9% of them try very hard to abide by the rules. They know how hard a win is to come by, and don't want any chance of having it taken away.
They also compete with their friends, and family. People they don't just see at the track. People they see while working, at the local deli, or local bar. The last thing they want is a bad name among people they interact with often.
The only conclusion I can draw is there must be a problem of some sort at the speedway itself. I am not blaming Cliff Krause, and his staff. They are doing their best at trying to keep the Jersey Shore speedway running. I don't think it is anything intentional. More likely, is a misunderstanding of the rules by officials, competitors, or both.
However, it is the track's responsibility to make sure disqualifications don't continue to happen. Fans hate leaving the speedway thinking one person won, only to find out later that wasn't the case due to a disqualification. For a track struggling to attract fans, the last thing they need is to is to add any negativity to a fan's experience, especially when it can be avoided.
There should never be a disqualification for weight at any racetrack. The track has scales. Every car should be required to go over the scales every time it goes onto the track, if it's legal going on it shouldn't have to be reweighed unless it came to the pits during the race.
The situation with Hearne, was for a rearend violation. A part that is out in the open, on a car in the track's headline division. A division which usually has a car count of about 15 Modifieds. This is inexcusable, if any division should be watched closely, it's the track's headline division.
Disqualifications don't benefit anyone. Let's hope Wall Stadium can get a handle on this situation soon. The track, currently, has some pretty low car counts in it's divisions. If this problem can't be solved now, it will only get worse should the track improve it's car counts in the future.
Again, this is all most likely a result of miscommunication. Everyone involved only wants to see the track prosper and grow. However, the leaders of Wall Stadium need to make sure this doesn't become the norm instead of the exception.
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