The man with a Sharpe eye watches the action!

Racing officials, like baseball umpires, sometimes take a little heat from fans over their calls. But while a racing fan has his or her eyes on their favourite car, Flagman Rob Sharpe, better known as Sharpie around Delaware Speedway, is watching them all, race after race.

It is up to Sharpie, in conjunction with input from Race Director Jeff Wilcox and the safety crew, to make important, instant decisions on the status of a race. Whether it's a yellow caution because of debris on the track, or a black flag, telling a competitor that their race is over, there's a lot riding on Sharpie's flag-waving. And like any official, his calls are always open to scrutiny.

“ The fans will wonder why a call was made or wasn't made based on what they saw. Depending on where they're sitting I could literally be a quarter mile away from them. Angles, distances all must be taken into account and I can only make a call based on what I saw. I ref hockey and I ump baseball. It's the same passion that these fans and competitors have for their sport and they let it be known. It's not an everyday thing but, yeah, people do share their opinions sometimes.” An automotive industry millwright by day-and-night shifts, Sharpie says fan reaction is all part of loving the sport of racing. And if the seasonal work at Delaware has pressure associated with it, Rob admits it's a pressure he puts on himself.

“There's a lot at stake as far as when to throw a caution, when not to throw a caution. Most of the pressure I feel on a weekly basis is for driver safety. Whether you had a good sleep the night before, all of those life things, factor into it. It all gets bigger when you get into the bigger shows and the prizes increase, too.” After spending every summer weekend trackside, Sharpie admits everyone feels a bit of a relief from the intensity when the checkered flag is thrown on the season. But it's not too long before he's itching to make the climb to his perch again.

“I used to race before I started this job and when the season ends it's almost due. It starts weighing on you, pressures, getting tired, you just need break - and then it's done. But by December you think, I can't believe I have four more months to wait! There are a lot of emotions to go through in a race season. The commitment is big, but it's the same for the competitors. I do it because I love the sport and the day I'll quit is the day I think I'm no longer doing a good job.”