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Originally posted by Buckeye SLM
I've read all of your posts and I'd like to offer some advice and get back to everyone complaining about something else. 
So here's some simple advice as both someone with over 30 years in the racing business, a racing advocate & fan, and a licensed attorney in several states. 1- Thank you for your dedication to a sport we all love and don't want to see go away. I'm sure promoting races is NOT easy, so thank you for your hard work. 2- However, failing to do your due diligence for whatever reason, isn't going to cut it. How many tracks have had fires this year but no water on site? So you did not have time to inspect the fire truck will be your excuse when you're sued for someone dying in a fire? Or you're willing to just accept a track owner's word that everything is ok and their insurance is current and enough coverage for any potential incidents? The same goes with assuming the track had their scales certified. They are also required to have their certifications posted on the scales themselves, just like when you go get gas the next time, look at your pump and the inspection sticker posted on the pump. Or do you just want to take the gas station owner's word that you did pump 20 gallons of fuel in your car but your gas light is still on and you can't even crank your car? 3- OH DOES REQUIRE scales to be certified in any commercial transaction. Not everything is as simple as weights and measures, sometimes things fall under the Commercial Code for a reason because they are part of a commercial transaction. Or they are in both sections of the state code because the state legislators try to keep from having an abundance of uncertainties. 4- Under the law, every word has a specific meaning/definition that is only up for interpretation by the courts, not just any person. Hence, not following the law or interpreting it in your words, most of the time leads to breaking said law. Or if someone has a different interpretation of the law, then they have every single right under our Constitution to sue you for getting an official interpretation of the law as it applies to their specific situation.....hence we have lawsuits.
So here's some simple advice as both someone with over 30 years in the racing business, a racing advocate & fan, and a licensed attorney in several states. 1- Thank you for your dedication to a sport we all love and don't want to see go away. I'm sure promoting races is NOT easy, so thank you for your hard work. 2- However, failing to do your due diligence for whatever reason, isn't going to cut it. How many tracks have had fires this year but no water on site? So you did not have time to inspect the fire truck will be your excuse when you're sued for someone dying in a fire? Or you're willing to just accept a track owner's word that everything is ok and their insurance is current and enough coverage for any potential incidents? The same goes with assuming the track had their scales certified. They are also required to have their certifications posted on the scales themselves, just like when you go get gas the next time, look at your pump and the inspection sticker posted on the pump. Or do you just want to take the gas station owner's word that you did pump 20 gallons of fuel in your car but your gas light is still on and you can't even crank your car? 3- OH DOES REQUIRE scales to be certified in any commercial transaction. Not everything is as simple as weights and measures, sometimes things fall under the Commercial Code for a reason because they are part of a commercial transaction. Or they are in both sections of the state code because the state legislators try to keep from having an abundance of uncertainties. 4- Under the law, every word has a specific meaning/definition that is only up for interpretation by the courts, not just any person. Hence, not following the law or interpreting it in your words, most of the time leads to breaking said law. Or if someone has a different interpretation of the law, then they have every single right under our Constitution to sue you for getting an official interpretation of the law as it applies to their specific situation.....hence we have lawsuits.1. ) Does OH specifically require all race tracks to have their scales certified? Or is it lawyer talk (as technically a race can be considered a commercial transaction). If it isn't spelled out directly and made clear that all tracks must have their scales certified then I would be willing to bet the vast majority of them don't get them certified.
2. ) As a lawyer, and a race fan do you consider these lawsuits to be good for racing? I can't imagine them being good for anyone (other than maybe the select few drivers with rich owners who have the means to absorb all the additional costs that will occur when tracks need to hire lawyers to look over every press release, rule book and entry form)
My issue isn't even necessarily with the scales, our rules are easy enough for most cars to meet that someone would have to make a really big mistake to be illegal. My concern is with the lawsuits and the continued mindset here that I've been wronged so I'll sue over it. It will certainly make me think twice about DQing for anything. Did I write my rule book perfectly and have it reviewed by a lawyer to make sure the deck width rule can't possibly be interpreted any other way because of word meanings defined by law, etc? Same for entry forms, track agreements, and more. It is hard enough as a very small series to even save up enough throughout the year to pay for web hosting, let alone to hire a lawyer to look over everything. I'm not saying anybody is wrong, I'm just saying that the racing many people enjoy isn't going to be able to exist if we have to pay out a ton of money to hire a lawyer to check everything.
That is my biggest concern about everything, it is just going to show more drivers that there is this avenue as a way around tech or whatever other rules. If they win people will follow in their footsteps and as Kelley said on DoD today there could be a time very soon when we have to find something to fill the void left by racing. Once we start seeing lawsuits thrown all over the place people like myself, and other track promoters are just going to shut out doors and close up shop. I am not a lawyer, and in the past that wasn't a requirement of being involved in race promotion. But I guess it is now, and like engineers getting involved in DLM chassis design it is bad for the sport and will certainly be counted among the contributors to its death when we are all sitting around in 10 years wondering what happened.
Thanks,
Jeff.
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