On Friday, May 29, I had the opportunity to serve as a trophy presenter at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, New Hampshire.
After locking my car keys in my house and waiting for my landlord to save the day, my plans of arriving very early were foiled! Fearful that I would be late for such an important appearance I abandoned my Grandma-ish means of driving and booked it to the speedway as fast as I could. I flew through the traffic circle as if I was in Spain (each round-a-bout was an adrenaline rush), parked on the Lawn next to the big trucks, and booked it to the announcers box taking the treacherous flight of stairs two at a time….only to find out that I was still early and the preliminary races were only half-done! So I settled in with a slice of pizza and a diet Pepsi (compliments of the camera boys) to familiarize myself a little more with the rules of racing.
For those of you who know the ropes, this paragraph is not for you…but for those who always wondered what all the colored flags and flag waving antics mean…here’s a few answer (compliments of the camera boys once again).
Green: The go flag-when it flies, the race is on.
Black Flag: This is no good, nobody wants to see it! The black flag is terminal, and the racer who receives this signal must exit the track and stop racing.
Red Flag: This flag stops the race and applies to all the cars on the track. Like a traffic light…red means STOP.
Yellow Flag: Slow down, just like a traffic light…it doesn’t mean speed up and try to make it through the intersection before the light turns red!
Single Cross Flag: This flag is rarely used and is similar to a traffic congestion relief signal…aka…racers move over and let this other car pass!
Double Cross: The double cross (or X) flag means the race has reached the half-way point.
White Flag: This flag means there is one lap remaining in the race.
Checkered Flag: This flag means the race is over and you have crossed the finish line.
And, when the man twirls two wound up flags over his head like batons there are two laps to go. This is my favorite part because it is an exciting gesture and makes the flag-man look as though he is having a great time!
Once preliminaries were complete it was race time, and I presented six trophies to the winners of the final heats in each category. I was amazed to see how young some of these drivers were! One driver nearly missed a race after coming from his high school graduation party, and one of the winners ( a front runner from last year) was most definitely younger than me!
I had a great time, met some wonderful fans and talented drivers and managed to escape the looming thunderheads that had been threatening a downpour all night! Thanks Lee Speedway for giving me the opportunity to be a part of your festivities, I look forward to volunteering again this upcoming July.
Peace, Love, and checkered flags,
Erika Lehman, Miss NH ANTSO National Miss 2009
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