On race day, they go unnoticed, though they’ve got the best seat at the track.
They risk their lives as cars whiz by at more than 100 mph. They endure rain, heat, hail, sleet or snow, standing for nearly 14 hours on any given race day.
It is not a glamorous job, but corner flaggers are key to the safety of the drivers.
“Drivers appreciate us because we save their butts,” Sue Kuklin said. “They can’t race without us.”
The corner flaggers love racing so much they pay to obtain the necessary Sports Car Club of America license to work a race – on a volunteer basis.
Their job is to stand on the corners of the racetrack waving colored flags and giving hand signals to alert racers to unsafe conditions. They can use up to 11 flags and 70 hand signals to communicate with drivers.
“(The SCCA) emphasizes safety first, and if humanly possible we will save the racers,” Sue said.
The Kuklin family of Buena Vista – Sue, her husband Vic and their son David – has made corner flagging a hobby, traveling around the country to take part in races.
They’re not alone. Vic has met flaggers from Hawaii, Mexico,New Zealand, England and Australia who come to the United States on their own dime just to work the corners.
“We love racing. We have a heck of a good time even when it’s snowing and you’re sunburnt from the day before,” Sue said.
David Kuklin, 30, who works 10-hour shifts as a fleet service agent for SkyWest Airlines, got up at noon Friday after a night shift. He was getting ready to head up to the Grand Prix of Denver from Colorado Springs.
“It’s a labor of love. It’s not work. It can be very addicting,” he said. “I was telling my co-workers what I’m doing this weekend, and they were like, ‘And you’re doing this for free food?”‘
Sue, 58, and Vic, 59, have been corner flagging since Richard Nixon’s first year in office: 1969.
In the early days, people needed little training to be a flagger. Corner flaggers now are required to be a member of SCCA and attend crash-and-burn school at least once every two years. Because corner flaggers are often the first people to arrive at a crash site, they need to learn the basics of firefighting, stabilizing drivers and the proper technique of removing drivers from cars.
Their dedication is apparent. Vic said he’s worked nearly 400 weekends at 25 racetracks, 10 in the U.S. and Canada. He once worked 38 races in one year.
He has worked IRL and NASCAR races, but his fondest memories come from watching road courses.
“Having done oval (tracks), I only have so many days left, and I’ll be doing street. It’s much more entertaining,” Vic said. “If you’re not driving a race car, this is the next best thing.”
And this weekend, as always, they’ll have front-row seats. This time on corner five.
