THE MEN IN STRIPPED SHIRTS

This week, F-X reporters looked to deepen the understanding of what goes on in the Fuel Speedway and as such we looked to the referees.

The F-X Referees can usually be found perched on a high deck on the infield. Unlike wrestling (for once) and boxing or any field sport, they do not get into the action. Instead they call their shots from their high deck.

Image sourced from Clipart-Library.com

It’s a referee's job to officiate the race which involves making sure that racers who do not follow the rules are quickly penalized. Penalization of a racer involves the racer being immediately directed to the pit usually for an extremely short duration almost always less than 5 seconds.

They execute their orders by signaling to their flag men who wave the appropriate flag in front of the racer to let him know his call. F-X Ref’s have been compared to cricket umpires in that they are the least active officiators in sport.