Kevin is the conductor if you will, of a high stakes, high horsepower , high speed, Ben Hur Chariot Races performed with Rootin' Tootin', Scary Assed, Buck Snortin', Fire Breathin', Motor Sickles built buy American Motorcycles Manufacturers who must claim dominance in this Alpha Male Contest.
The JapaneseManufacturers have a strong contingent that threaten ominously at every race and have been dominant occasionally.
Mr. Clark is a ball of energy and competence. He is known as the Starter and the riders look to him to control the sanity on the racing surface. When you have twenty high strung young men on the most potent of dirt motorcycles, about to go head to head for big green backs and glory, you need an iron will and intelligence to control a potentially very volatile situation. Kevin developed his own electronic starting grid that he controls with one GO button. Sensors watch the three rows of motorcycles like a teenager boy on a Playboy centerfold. Any slight wince of the front wheel of all bikes lined up, before the green light, results in honk of a horn and an indicator of who jumped. If you jump, all the way to the back row, Sir. Then as they sit there busting to drop the clutch and grab a big handful, Kevin plays a Psych game with them, making sure he never does the same thing twice when pushing the Green Light, Go button.
The start is very important in short sprint races like these and the riders are every bit as skillful as beating the starter as he is of catching them. Electronics levels the start line to a very even playing field, which is good for the quality of racing..
Once they are underway, the racers are looking every lap for input from the Flagman. Green Flag, all is go , haul ass ! Red, big trouble, come to a halt at the starting line but look for the trouble and avoid it.
During the race, half way flags, two laps to go, White flag and then Checkers, hopefully without too many Yellows ( rider down but out of the way, hopefully) and Reds. Kevin orchestrates staggered restarts and manages all serious matters on track. The racers are looking for him every time by the finish line.
With all the absolute seriousness of the task at hand, Kevin expends the same amount of energy flagging, as the riders do racing. He is an essential ingredient in the race. Not just the Main Event but every race run during the meeting. He is the Law. Every competitor does exactly what he says and if they don't, he will disqualify them immediately. At this highest level of the sport, it is a pleasure to see perfection in process.
With all this responsibility on his shoulders, Kevin is a master with the flags, all of them. He whips them around with panache that would make a Matador feel incompetent. The great thing about Flat Track is that the fans are so knowledgeable and they understand the nuance of the criticality of the start and the running of the race. Kevin Clark is watched like a hawk by the whole packed house and the racers. He exudes confidence and flare simultaneously and he is a huge part of the whole program.
Thanks Kevin, for doing what you do, so extremely well.
