What's on the white board?

Before the Indianapolis 500 had headsets, the pit crews had to find a way to communicate with their drivers, so they used signals. In the Little 500, headsets aren’t allowed. With 20,000 roaring fans, coaches have to find a quick way to relay information to their cyclists, so they use whiteboards. We compiled our favorites from the past races.

Teter’s coach, Chris Wojtowich, gives his riders coded messages that change every year.
During last year’s race, one of Teter’s codes was 219. Inside the code, the rider knew what lap she was on and how many laps were left before an exchange. Wojtowich tries to keep the codes simple so his riders don’t get one message confused with another.

“On the video of last year’s race, one of the announcers said to another announcer, ‘Hey Jason, what does 219 mean? I’ve seen that on Teter’s board,’” Wojtowich recalled. “Jason said, ‘I have no idea what Woj is talking about half the time.’”

Theta Chi’s coach Chuck Taylor has a totally different whiteboard style. Taylor said there’s no need for code. But there is a need for more than one colored dry erase marker.

“I get a little creative with it,” Taylor said. “I might draw a happy face on the board or a thumbs up. Sometimes I write the guy’s girlfriend’s name on there. Give them a laugh and make them feel better and maybe they can get me another lap or two.”