Mike Cotten you are the MAN!

[Michael Beard]

Originally Posted by M Brand 505B

The same exact thing happened to me at the denver divisional in 2011 but there was no rerun though i showed them the video. Check it out.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=3A5BI...%3D3A5BIAz6W2w

If you step frame-by-frame, it appears that the red-light comes on before the pre-stage and stage even go out. Realistically, it must be happening simulataneously, and it's just the slow reaction of the incandescent stage bulb as they lose their glow when power is removed. Also, this car is up against the converter, and obviously not a "shallow stage red" from rocking back.

When the system red-lights, it locks our both the pre-stage and stage beams, which is why both go out. When system resets, it allows them to come back on.

I'm sorry, what? The red light should be a function of the stage light not being lit prior to the green light coming on. Why is the red light supposedly making anything happen with the stage beams? If they are being blocked by a tire, they should be on, period. If this is not the case, then they've eliminated a possible checksum for situations such as this.

Come to think of it, I've seen this happen at a bracket race in the east as well, no camera flashes involved. While this is going to be a crazy tough error to diagnose and repair due to its infrequency, we have to recognize that it *is* happening.

P.S. Anyone else wonder why Jimmy's car leaves when the last bulb never came on? It's like he wasn't even looking at the bottom bulb. I wonder how you can legally get your car to delay enough to leave off the top bulb like that...

No, not at all. I'd be more surprised if he didn't leave. We've had practice tree races where one lane had the bottom bulb burned out. I took that lane, and my reaction times did not change. Most people anticipate the 3rd bulb, whether they realize it or not. You can learn more about the how's and why's on my guest editorial on www.thisisbracketracing.com.