3 heads are never better than 1

The scene on the frontstretch Saturday night bordered on comical, made more absurd for anyone with a radio turned to the frequency used by the track officials at Wiscasset Raceway.

Owner Doug White, right-hand man Johnny Crawford and starter Derek Mingo standing on the track, huddled up like a football team about to call a play. Alternately, each raised his arms, shook his head and pointed fingers. On the radio, one could be heard making one call regarding the NAPA Auto Parts 100 for the Pro Stock division while another made a different decision.

They hashed it out until they came to something that resembled a consensus. I think.

What Wiscasset Raceway needs is a race director. One person. One voice. One final decision. And that race director needs to be tucked away in a tower somewhere, out of view of the fans and teams up where he can see the entire track.

Even if the trio that policed the racing Saturday got things right, the fact remains that arguments over the air lead to a lot of interpretation from a lot of onlookers.

Matt Lee got the worst of it in the 100.

With 17 laps left, Lee and Chuck Colby got together in turn 3. Colby had been running 2nd on the restart, but the inside line was freight-training him as he tried to do everything he could to get in line somewhere and not fade to the tail end of the lead lap. As Lee ran up on him, the 2 cars made contact and Colby spun to bring out a caution.

White wanted Lee sent to the rear for rough driving. Crawford wanted Lee to keep his position. In the end, White's decision was the final one -- but the 2 officials arguing in front of everyone deals a serious blow to credibility. And certainly if Lee went looking for an explanation from someone after the race, he was going to know who was on his side and who wasn't. When Dave St. Clair owned the track, he dealt weekly with a perception of favoritism. If White, Crawford and Mingo are arguing about race calls, and racers know that they're lining up on opposite sides of the fence, eventually this regime will deal with similar accusations, too.

Later in the race, Crawford was screaming over the radio at the scorers in the tower, wanting to know where Colby and Johnny Clark were running in the order after they had each hit the pits and then ended up alongside lapped cars. Crawford raised his arms wildly and yelled loudly and aggressively over the radio for an answer.

When the lineup was determined, Crawford walked across the track in front of the flagstand and hollered out, "Thank you! And now I know I was right!"

Crawford may well have been right, but it's not appropriate for officials to behave in that manner. They are the face of the facility, the people fans and teams look to for some semblance of professionalism. Hey, people get heated and stress can rule at a race track -- but having the race director in a secluded spot where such conversations can be held privately (or at least out of view) saves face for the entire operation.

Right or wrong, a race track needs 1 race director. One voice. One face. One final say, from somewhere out of the way.

It's the only way.