[EricH]

Originally Posted by Daniel_LaFleur

Why do you risk getting the penalty?

The finish line is directly under the 2nd bar. As long as whatever you hit the trackball with is vertical and is outside the bar, then you have not broken the plane. The ball will overhang the bar and thus can be hit and knocked off the rails without penalty.

If you are slightly off/your vertical member bends over the line, you broke the plane. If a ref sees you, they can give a penalty. I'm also not sure it's physically possible to do this. (ball and rail dynamics)