Your Pit person

[Bill Gibson]

In the way home from the Winternats i was thinkin....i cant help but feel sorry for the brave soul who pits for me..i mean man, im a HANDFULL! :lol: I thought about what an awesome job my buddy "GO FAST FOLEY" along with John Otto, and Brett English did....and how many heat races i would have thrown away without thier skills...3 totally different styles of pitting and all so very, very GOOD! Maybe one day ill drive better, maybe not...either way, ill keep racing because of these guys and what they do so well...if you have a good pit person, better buy em dinner, because you, the driver have the easy part...the pit person....they make you look GOOD! :lol: Oh and Donnie D., thank you for steppin in at the last second in 20 hydro...next time ill TRY to get the boat past turn three!! :lol: :lol:

 

[Andy Greene]

Bill I have pitted for you before , And I can honestly say - your easy

You have a TON of laps under your belt and just usually need the normal stuff -

Clock/Laps, dead boats and a little kick in the rear now and again

That said , don't ask Foley about the first time I ran Open Offshore @ Tpa and he pitted for me ,

I KNOW at one point he said -what the hell are you doing ????????

Im pretty sure I skeered him

Hell I scared me.

A good pit guy makes ALL the difference in the world, There are a handful of guys I would have pit for me, and you and Foley are 2 of them.

Andy

 

[Dick Loeb]

I would like to thank my wife for being a great pit person,she is alot prettier than then you guys and makes great cookies(maybe she will make some for HOTLANTA).. Robin you are good too except for when you pull my hat down over my eyes at the start of a heat going into turn 1 . :blink: :blink: :blink: :blink: What a blast :lol: :lol: :lol: .I try to be a good pit person and help anyway I can ,remember this is a HOBBY good fun, good friends, good racing. Hope to see all my ole friends soon. HAVE A GREAT 2011 season see you there Dick an Carol

 

[NITROSNIFER]

What's the secret. My pit people can't stop me from doing stupid SH*T. Could you please make a training video as my wife said "I'll never learn" :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Glenn Gates]

What's the secret. My pit people can't stop me from doing stupid SH*T. Could you please make a training video as my wife said "I'll never learn" :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I'll take one of those videos :lol: :lol: :lol: !!! Tony C(UGOT8RACING) does his best. I just need more wheel time and need to get my boats trimmed better this year.

Glenn

 

[Joe Wiebelhaus]

I agree, your pit man can help you allot, up north my friend Garl has put up with me for 20 years, and in Florida, Marty Davis taught me some new things too.... I like to be reminded about everything on the course, so I like the constant jawing of dead boats and slow boats.

At 60 to 70 plus mph, things happen quick.

Bill, it looks like you did good in Orlando, keep it up.

 

[Grimracer]

To me the pit person is a HUGE part of racing nitro boats. I have LOST the big one because of my pit person and I have WON the big one because of my pit person..

but.. its also important to me to not become to dependant on them. As the driver you have to stay very aware and focused. You might not get the same guy you had last time you raced and now you HAVE to be able to deal with that.

To get to the point where ALL they do while you are driving is call the dead boats (each lap) and tell you what lap you are on, is when I feel you are in your driving zone. But when it comes to your starting routine and the launch that is were a very good pit mans true experience comes in.

You can NOT replace a good pit person. It really can be the difference between winning and loosing.

Grimracer

 

[Tom Foley]

I agree, your pit man can help you allot, up north my friend Garl has put up with me for 20 years, and in Florida, Marty Davis taught me some new things too.... I like to be reminded about everything on the course, so I like the constant jawing of dead boats and slow boats.

At 60 to 70 plus mph, things happen quick.

Bill, it looks like you did good in Orlando, keep it up.

Same here ..all the info ..all the time if possible . bill did very well this past weekend , he's getting used to thee power and drivability of the Picco in the Scale and the quickness of the .21 hydro !

 

[Hydro Junkie]

I can't help but agree with Grim on this so, lets change things up slightly. How about telling everyone what you think the ideal pit man should do. I've already seen posts about calling slow and dead boats, keeping track of the lap count and, in some cases, helping start, launch and recover the boats, so what else makes the perfect pit man? For the record, this is for new boaters mostly, but even experienced boaters can learn something as well

 

[Rokieboater]

I can't help but agree with Grim on this so, lets change things up slightly. How about telling everyone what you think the ideal pit man should do. I've already seen posts about calling slow and dead boats, keeping track of the lap count and, in some cases, helping start, launch and recover the boats, so what else makes the perfect pit man? For the record, this is for new boaters mostly, but even experienced boaters can learn something as well

Keeping you calm and letting you know what boats are a lap down so you only "race" the boats that are necessary to race. I cant tell you how many times I have seen a lead boat dump racing a boat thats not even on the same lap.

Robert

 

[Ron Olson]

I've watched Grimmie and Big Bry racing and was really impressed with how well they worked together. Watch other teams to see how they do it and learn both the good and bad to make yourselves better.

Me, my kid says that I talk too much. I'm trying to get him to communicate more to me if he feels that something isn't right with the boat.

 

[Tim_Duggan]

Some people I pit for don't like a lot of chatter, and others can't get enough. So if I'm pitting for someone I have never pitted for or haven't pitted for in a long time, I usually just ask them before the race how they want it to be done, rather than assuming.

Sometimes a subtle reminder during the mill clock to "think about postioning on the course for the start" or "don't race in mill time" goes a long way.

 

[TomMoorehouse]

Someone should make a pit person guide list.

 

[Wally Marsh]

I am thankful for Dick Jones and Chris Wood pitting for me over the years!

Wallster

 

[Tim leyde]

Totally agree with Grim. Lights is not only my Pit man, but motor man, tech. man, storage man and also my anger management psychologist :lol: .

I will never let him forget starting up my tunnel backwards :lol:

Seriously, thanks for all you do for me and others in this hobby!

Tim

 

[Ron Olson]

Someone should make a pit person guide list.

That's kind of hard to do as most racers have got their way of doing things. I prefer to start my nitro boats myself but with the gassers, my son would rather do it which is fine with me. Most drivers that I've seen start theirs also as they know their boat better than anyone.

I generally don't pit for anyone than my kid but did it for Jul at Hobart. I try to find out how the driver prefers everything.

I like to know what's gong on. Let me know how I'm doing on mill time. LKet me know if and where there are any dead boats at on the course unless the guy on the PA is on the ball. Let me know what lap I'm on. That brings up one more thing;

CD's/announcers who talk too much. Drivers don't need to be told repititiously as after the first time, you and your pitman have heard it and he/she will keep you informed from there on. You have enough going on already with trying to drive and your pitperson also in your ear.

 

[Ted buckley]

I can't help but agree with Grim on this so, lets change things up slightly. How about telling everyone what you think the ideal pit man should do. I've already seen posts about calling slow and dead boats, keeping track of the lap count and, in some cases, helping start, launch and recover the boats, so what else makes the perfect pit man? For the record, this is for new boaters mostly, but even experienced boaters can learn something as well

O.k., So let's list this out.. I have my own opinion (10) of a good "Pit Man" and here they are: Hydro & Rookie Boater have good one's..

#1. A person that is very a-tuned to everyone else's boat - besides their own. (i.e. how they start them/ect.)

#2. A person that is able to assist in starting and lend aide to the little things that that get over-looked(i.e. leaving the fuel-line plugged by mistake).

#3. A person that knows the difference between a Mono/Hydro & Tunnel and how to launch them correctly.

#4. Giving Eye contact to the driver before Lauching said boat.

#5. A person that keeps eye contact with driver to let him know when he's gonna lauch said boat(i.e. Not launching into traffic).

#6. A Pit man that is going to keep his driver Calm (i.e. putting his hand on the drivers shoulder when he's shaking to death) This goes a long way in keeping the Driver's mind off of his nervousness.

#7. Aiding in getting the driver positioned for the start.

#8. Letting him know where his position is(In the race) at all times. (i.e. is he racing himself or someone else)?

#9. Counting and watching for dead boats (verbalizing without being annoying).

10#. Takes care of the afterward/post race things - like recording his scores/re-fueling or even wiping down his boat for him..

Lot of these things, go a long way for the driver to ask you back again - to pit for him.. If you mess-up, it may cost him the race.

 

[Andy Greene]

10#. Takes care of the afterward/post race things - like recording his scores/re-fueling or even wiping down his boat for him..

I'm liking that - "fuel and clean the boat part". Your hired Ted.

If Im pitting for someone new to me ( which happens a lot - I like to help

)

I always talk to them a few heats in advance with the boat and let it be up to them what they want. If it's someone new to racing, I make sure all the basics are covered in case they don't know or didn't ask. From the time the clock starts till his boats back on the stand.

A couple of helpful things I had not seen mentioned yet-

A calming voice helps a ton, don't get caught up in the excitement of the race in the tone of your voice, even when things go sideways.

And Lord know's that never happens

Encouraging words are a plus.

Make sure he has an extra glow plug and wrench nearby, before - you need it .

Make sure the radio is off after the heat, if the recovery boat driver didn't do it.

Bottom line is nearly every driver is a little different , Some guys like to start their own boats-some don't, ect. If your doing something you have never done before (ie-starting a gas boat) ask them how THEY want it done- how the cowl secures( even if your not putting it on) He may miss something himself and you can catch it.

Funny story then Im done, When I was first getting started, I had Marty pit for me in a heat of 40 Mono. I was SOOOO nervous.

Not because of the boat, but because who was pitting for me

( I REALLY wanted to impress Marty) I promptly went out and clobbered buoy 6 on the first lap and Marty has never pitted me again

However one of the things he was trying to teach me , has stuck FOREVER ......

Andy

 

[dwb2620]

Addendum to Number 6 above: Telling your driver to "Bend" their knees a little and relax!

 

[Rokieboater]

I can't help but agree with Grim on this so, lets change things up slightly. How about telling everyone what you think the ideal pit man should do. I've already seen posts about calling slow and dead boats, keeping track of the lap count and, in some cases, helping start, launch and recover the boats, so what else makes the perfect pit man? For the record, this is for new boaters mostly, but even experienced boaters can learn something as well

O.k., So let's list this out.. I have my own opinion (10) of a good "Pit Man" and here they are: Hydro & Rookie Boater have good one's..

#1. A person that is very a-tuned to everyone else's boat - besides their own. (i.e. how they start them/ect.)

#2. A person that is able to assist in starting and lend aide to the little things that that get over-looked(i.e. leaving the fuel-line plugged by mistake).

#3. A person that knows the difference between a Mono/Hydro & Tunnel and how to launch them correctly.

#4. Giving Eye contact to the driver before Lauching said boat.

#5. A person that keeps eye contact with driver to let him know when he's gonna lauch said boat(i.e. Not launching into traffic).

#6. A Pit man that is going to keep his driver Calm (i.e. putting his hand on the drivers shoulder when he's shaking to death) This goes a long way in keeping the Driver's mind off of his nervousness.

#7. Aiding in getting the driver positioned for the start.

#8. Letting him know where his position is(In the race) at all times. (i.e. is he racing himself or someone else)?

#9. Counting and watching for dead boats (verbalizing without being annoying).

10#. Takes care of the afterward/post race things - like recording his scores/re-fueling or even wiping down his boat for him..

Lot of these things, go a long way for the driver to ask you back again - to pit for him.. If you mess-up, it may cost him the race.

Good List.....

Don"t forget... someone that can crack a joke at you after you completely ignore them and screw up.

Robert