Event Report: June 15th Delta Solo Cancellation

Unfortunately our event on June 15 was cancelled for safety issues. After the great Solo school we had Saturday, we blocked off the site for Sunday. Our rental contract with Zephyrs gave us both lots for 2 days, so we didn’t break down the course and kept all our barricades up to secure the area.

In the morning, we were greeted by several hundred cars and people who gathered for the annual Father’s Day Run. Oops. Apparently, this happens at Lasalle Park every year, and encompasses the jogging trail around Zephyrs. Normally, we run at Belle Chasse during the summer months, but this year we opted to stay at Zephyrs despite the high rental costs.

The New Orleans Track Club had made arrangements with the park through Parks & Recreation, not Zephyrs. They assumed, like in previous years, that they could use the Stadium parking lot as well. All our barricades were moved, the main gate was open, and the cones that were going to denote our Solo course were now mixed in with the NOTC cones for parking duty. A scaffolding, a beer truck, and many tents took up our Start, and a few hundred cars were scattered throughout our “secure” lot. Big mess.

Darren worked with the event organizers and they said they would be gone by 10 o’clock. We opted to wait a bit and continue with our setup of the course and grid areas. By 9am the rain was pretty steady, but it was pretty apparent that the jogging event was going to pose a continuing safety risk well into the day. NOTC-related cars were randomly driving past barricades and pylons into areas we were working in, and people where just plain everywhere. After discussing our options, we opted to cancel, despite the fact that we had many drivers come from Baton Rouge (this was an official Cenla event as well), Lafayette, Mississippi and Florida. Safety was our primary concern, and as the acting SSS, there was just too much going on. Securing the site in time to hold an event didn’t seem possible, and we didn’t think we would have enough drivers left after the joggers left to hold a safe event, much less a profitable one. A dozen of us waited around until the rain subsided and put up the trailer..wet.

The rain itself wasn’t a deterrent. We don’t cancel just because of rain. The best driving you’ll see in competition will be in the rain. If the rain gets hard enough to trip the timers, we will take a break until it lightens up. Of course, if lightning is around, we take shelter. But otherwise, we keep racing with the new challenge.

Delta lost a few hundred bucks in prep work: perishable foods and dash plaques being the bulk of the costs. I’ll still thank Darren Darby and all the volunteers that put in dozens of hours preparing for the event weekend: at least the school was a big success.

On the upside, I got to meet Devin Clancy’s parents, who are active joggers. Devin used to run with Delta before moving up to Clemson, but not before displaying some serious talent behind the wheel. We definitely miss him.

Again, thanks to everyone who helped out, especially those who stayed and put up the trailer. So much for a Father’s Day autocross.