Flag man at gateway

[speedemon3b]

Sat right behind the flag stand, that had to be the best flag man I have ever seen.

[Worleybird10]

I agree Speedemon, by far one of the best I've ever saw. I love the way he seemed so excited every lap

[cjp0354]

I have to say just about the opposite. I haven't said anything because I don't want to bring negativity to an awesome event. I agree he could wave a pretty flag but in my opinion(which doesn't matter) he was not a good flagman. I was there for Friday and Saturday night and on multiple occasions he would fail to get the yellow out when needed. He also was very slow to get the yellow light turned on. I've never seen anyone use the flags used the way he did. He would use the yellow and the red for 2 to go. That made no sense to me. Most every flag man I've ever seen uses the white and green or white and checker or white and yellow. Using the yellow and red meant that he had to thrash every time to get those two flags put up and grab the white flag. I know its only his job to watch 3 and 4 but they would delay throwing the yellow until the lead cars were right up on the stopped car. It seemed as if those who were in charge of calling for yellows were watching the race instead of officiating it. I realize that this was a small track and it must have been hard to switch the flags in time but I felt he was too focused on trying to put on a show instead of being a good flagman. I have never flagged and I am sure its harder than I think it is.

[cjp0354]

I will say that it was much better on Saturday

[callmez]

I don't come to watch the flagman but I noticed his style, he was certainly active and dramatic which was fitting with everything else surrounding the event -- I thought that was a good thing. As for being slow on the cautions, I noticed this right away and it seemed clear to me that unless he felt it absolutely necessary to throw the caution right away, he was trying to get the leader back to the flagstand to check off that lap. I'll bet if you go back to watch the video it will be obvious that the yellow usually flies as the leader passes the flagstand. I don't necessarily think that's a bad idea especially when you're dealing with a lot of cautions, but there were times that I felt like he should have thrown the caution a lot sooner as racers seemed to be in vulnerable positions. Sure he's making that judgement call on the fly, but the next time around I'd like to see him be a little more cautious with cautions than he was this year.

[calverton]

who 's running the show

[RiffRaf67]

It wasnt that UMP guy that does all the shuckin and jivin was it??
Whomever that dude is, he irritates me to no end. He's more worried about his theatrics than he is about the race. Last year at Volusia, he gave his white flag dance THREE laps in a row... and I wrote him off from there on after....

[Clayton_Wetter]

who 's running the show

I am, now go back to bed!!

[jog49]

Pay attention.....the guy running the show was the poor flagman!

[zyoung25]

It wasnt that UMP guy that does all the shuckin and jivin was it??
Whomever that dude is, he irritates me to no end. He's more worried about his theatrics than he is about the race. Last year at Volusia, he gave his white flag dance THREE laps in a row... and I wrote him off from there on after....

That guy is a flagman for the big block mods, he just does late models when the 2 series' are at the same track. His name is Dave Varney.

[plunks7]

I couldn't even see him. He blended in with the crowd. He needed to wear neon green or orange!!!!!

[calverton]

I am, now go back to bed!!

the only time you run Mr govt worker is to get a beer

[calverton]

pay attention.....the guy running the show was the poor flagman!

pay attention he has a head set on

[Josh Bayko]

That guy is a flagman for the big block mods, he just does late models when the 2 series' are at the same track. His name is Dave Varney.

It's Farney, not Varney. And yes, he's the flag man for the SDS.

[cgrace]

I couldn't even see him. He blended in with the crowd. He needed to wear neon green or orange!!!!!

agreeing w plunks. I sat on otherside of stadium you couldnt see him at all with back drop behind him. hoping they make it so we can all see him next year.

[flagone]

Kyle McGowan was the flagman at Gateway. He did a fantastic job. The majority of the time the slower yellows were on me as we tried to keep rolling unless it was absolutely a necessity or the driver was in danger. Remember that the drivers have RaceCeivers as well so they get instructions about where a car is stopped and what not so yellows are easier to control.

[zyoung25]

It's Farney, not Varney. And yes, he's the flag man for the SDS.

I wasn't far off. Kinda hard to tell the difference through a loud speaker. I think he does a good job, definitely entertaining.

[non driving fool]

Farney, Varney, McGowen-- it all sounds the same. If the guy was good that's all that matters!

[genericracefan]

I would have bet money it was the first race he had even flagged.

[BloomerHarvickFan]

Who goes to a race to watch a guy throw green and yellow flags? I hardly ever notice the flagman. I am watching the race. I know a caution is out because the cars slow down, and the yellow lights come on.
Do we really even need a flagman?? It could all be done through the lights and in-car communication to the driver.
I think flagmen are just a product of a bygone day.