pic: Ball Return- Ball Stuck

[jspatz1]

Originally Posted by BrendanB

Yes, there is distance from the beginning to the end, but there are balls that are given extra shoves when placed on the return, and some that don't. From watching these in the stands, balls with the extra shove move faster off the end of the return than others. If the second ball had been given enough of an extra push, I could see the first ball possibly coming out, but with no guarantees. I don't think anyone would know the exact answer as this might be the first time a ball was stuck on the end.

a) The slow ball speeds were caused by the stuck ball slowing them down mid-way, which would have happened no matter how you pushed it. b) You can only push a ball so hard without risking pushing it off the track and incurring penalties. Trident operators were trained to be careful. c) This is all a moot point because the stuck balls were not noticed by the drive team until they had already started accumulating. He banged on the rails after two balls were already accumulated, which was beyond the point of doing anything about it. d) No way of knowing what would have been allowed or penalized in the way of banging or shaking the rails. Drive teams are trained to be careful with such things. e) Probably not fair to criticize the actions of the trident operator in a fluke situation that no one has ever faced or anticipated, and that you can't really judge without experiencing it yourself.