The Ely Times - elynews.com :: News: Race promoters accuse NDOT of unnecessary cancellation
Published on Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Race promoters accuse NDOT of unnecessary cancellation
By JOHN PLESTINA
Ely Times Reporter
Backers of the Nevada Open Road Challenge are blaming the Nevada Department of Transporta-tion for more than five hours of race delays Sunday and the cancellation of parts of the 21st running of the race, resulting in 41 drivers never leaving the starting line.
This 1996 Dodge Viper flipped and burned in Nye County 44 miles south of the starting line early in the race resulting in a delay of more than four hours. Driver Jerry Moll was not injured.
Several drivers said they spent thousands of dollars bringing cars and crews to Ely from other parts of the United States and one crew and car that did not race came from Europe to compete in the Silver State Classic Challenge-sanctioned speed event that runs about 90 miles along Nevada 318 from a starting line south of Lund to Hiko.
The SSCC and others are saying that NDOT officials made decisions about delaying the race after a crash and the continuation of the race was in jeopardy. NDOT's role was to close the highway and keep it closed until the race was completed. Just 19 of the 143 cars that entered the event had started the race when the crash occurred.
“I got there yesterday afternoon and I was pretty shocked at what a fiasco it was,” Ed Spear, White Pine County Tourism Director, said Monday.
“It appears from what I have seen that NDOT made the errors,” Spear said.
Those errors included a failure by NDOT to post signs in the Alamo area alerting motorists of the Highway 318 road closure. That caused a 56-minute delay in starting the race. He also chided NDOT for mistakes that led to a four and a half hour delay following a crash and not allowing the race to be completed.
Spear said NDOT's mistakes in handling the event delayed portions of the race, and reflect badly on Ely and White Pine County. Those mistakes have a negative impact on tourism in White Pine, Lincoln and Nye counties and the state.
“The Nevada Department of Transportation needs to issue the permit and let the promoter run the race,” Spear said.
He took it a step further. “I believe from the day one the NDOT has not liked this race,” Spear said.
“If they take two hours they should have to give two hours. I think the state has no business taking up five and a half hours of race time and not giving back any time,” Spear said.
“The worst thing is there are no repercussions. The state is held harmless. NDOT is never held accountable for a bad decision. If they make a bad decision they should be able to be held responsible,” he said.
“The racers know there is an inherent risk in racing,” Spear said, adding that the SSCC does an incredible job with safety.
He said both sides should discuss the issues. Spear said if it becomes necessary, legislation could resolve future problems with NDOT related to the race.
SSCC President Steve Waldman, driving in the 150 mph class, was the fourth driver starting the race. He was behind the ill-fated Dodge Viper driven by Jerry Moll, a sponsor of the event.
About 40 miles from the starting line south of Lund, Waldman saw smoke in the distance. “I realized it was Jerry Moll. I could not stop. I was not allowed to stop. We immediately red flagged the event,” Waldman said.
Moll escaped the crash with no reported injuries.
Waldman explained that he started early so that if he was needed during the race he would be at the finish line for most of the event.
He said Kathleen Weaver, NDOT's assistant district engineer in the Ely Office and Randy Hesterly of NDOT in Elko, were in charge for the NDOT at the event.
The race organizer said NDOT didn't like the response to the crash by race personnel. “They told the race director they were going to stop the race,” Waldman said. “They could have discussed it with me” but did not. He said NDOT claimed race communications were not running well. That is a claim Waldman said was not true.
“Then they proceeded to tell me it took too long for us to get to the cars (crashed vehicle and two others that had broken down). They have no idea how to run an event and they proceeded to tell us how to run an event,” Waldman said. “We have been running it for 21 years and very safely.”
The delay following the crash lasted just over four and one-half hours. “They held up over 500 people from 9:39 (a.m.) until 2:10 in the afternoon when the event resumed,” he said.
NDOT officials drove back and forth between the starting line south of Lund and the finish line at Hiko and between other locations along the 90 mile race course while the delay continued.
“We lost over four and a half hours because of all this driving back and fourth. Where was the thinking that there was over 500 people out there and they took their time driving back and fourth?” Waldman asked.
“In the mean time it was getting extremely hot -- very very hot,” Waldman said.
The race resumed with starts for less than a half hour. Then NDOT stopped any further drivers from starting the race to complete it by the 4 p.m., the road closure time limit. NDOT did not agree to any additional road closure time.
“NDOT never, never communicated with us,” Waldman said.
“Forty-one cars did not start. People who came from Texas, people who came from Norway, Pennsylvania and on and on did not start the event,” Waldman said.
“I am very, very angry. What happened here was uncalled for. They (Weaver and Hesterly) could have come and talked to me,” Waldman said.
“It cost us thousands of dollars extra,” he said of costs for hourly employees and to keep ambulances stationed along the race course.
We don't want incidents. If the car breaks down that's fine. If the car flips that's fine. We are interested in the person inside the car,” Waldman said of safety taking a high priority.
Weaver did not return two telephone calls from the Ely Times Monday.
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