Front row for twelve hours
My son, his friend, and I worked as pit marshals for the 12-hour endurance race — an exhausting day in the heat that showed us the immense effort behind every car on the grid.
What happened
My son, one of his friends, and I volunteered as pit marshals for the 12-hour endurance race at Thunderhill. We spent the day on the asphalt in the heat, enforcing the rules set by the event organizer and watching the race unfold from the front row.
Marc introduced me to the race organizers and the senior pit marshal so I could begin learning the operation from the inside out. That access made the weekend an education rather than just a race to watch.
The team stationed near me had already lost an engine in its first car the day before the race. Then its backup car lost the transmission in qualifying. The crew worked until 10:30 that night replacing it so the car could make the 7:30 start the next morning — joking and laughing the whole time.
The heat and long hours were exhausting, but the experience was worth every minute. I left with a much better understanding of the effort, discipline, and dedication required from racers, crews, officials, and volunteers.
What I learned
- —A race is much bigger than the drivers and cars; officials and volunteers carry real responsibility for keeping the event safe and fair.
- —The work between sessions can demand as much endurance as the race itself.
- —Watching a crew replace a transmission late into the night — while still joking together — showed me the resilience and camaraderie racing demands.
- —Learning from inside the pit lane is giving me context I could never gain from the grandstands.
The car
This weekend was not about driving my own car. The cars around us became working examples of endurance preparation, failure, recovery, and the teamwork required simply to reach the starting line.
The people
I shared the pit-marshal assignment with my son and his friend. Marc opened the door by introducing me to the organizers and senior pit marshal, while the nearby crew showed us what commitment looks like when an engine and transmission both threaten a race weekend.
From the day
Videos from the day
Next improvement
Keep volunteering, learn the rules and rhythm of race operations, and carry that understanding into the preparation of my own car and team.