Issue date: 3/3/09 Section: MULTIMEDIA

Media Credit: Arash Sahba UNT Big hosts "The Big Change", incorporating a dance showcase and raffle drawings inorder to raise money and awareness for Denton area children in need of big Brothers and Sisters.

Towering 20 feet above the racetrack, Lance Oujesky keeps the caution flag in his right hand and his left close to the caution light.

The cars roar their engines like rolling thunder as the race begins.

As the cars make the fourth turn on the first lap, his flag stand begins shaking as the momentum of the race intensifies, cars flying underneath him.

Oujesky, an undeclared sophomore, said he has been the head flagman for the Lone Star Legends series of the Texas Motor Speedway since November 2004.



Not your typical after-school job

The role of the starter, which is the formal name for a flagman, is to control the flags and give signals to the racers, he said, and each starter has his or her own style of flagging, like a personal signature.

While part of his job is being an official referee, Oujesky said starters are not just at the track for the racers; they put on a show for the crowd, too.

"I have a loopy style of flagging, a silly style like a cartoon might do," he said. "My muscles remember the motion, and then I can keep my eyes on the race."

Each flag has its own specific meaning, and Oujesky said his favorite part of flagging is waving the black-and-white checkered flag, which ends the race.

The hardest part, he said, is before the race, waiting to go to the flag stand.

"I start getting nervous before the race begins, but once I take my place on the flag stand, the nerves go away," he said.



Growing up

Oujesky said he has been watching racing since he was 3 years old, and his family was into watching NASCAR as well.

From an early age, he said, he noticed the flagman's controlled repetitive motion.

In 1997 he went to his first race at the Texas Motor Speedway.

"Watching a race on television is completely different than actually being there," Oujesky said. "Even when I was at the race, I found myself focusing on the flagman rather than the actual racing cars."

Continued...

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