Flagmen are risking their lives out there. I remember this night vividly at 16th Street Speedway (RIP). Billy Shipman was getting hammered with dirt clods during the feature. They were sending pieces of cardboard up to help try to block them. He ended up laying down for about the second half of the race. And after it was over the paramedics took him down on a back board. Here is what someone else wrote about the night:

"Another odd event I can remember is the time at 16th Street Speedway when Billy Shipman was the flagman for a USAC Midget event. Throughout the feature, he repeatedly kept getting hit by dirt clods. He kept falling down and flailing in a dramatic fashion. He was down for the count, but a yellow flag was thrown from another flagman who was up there for an incident on the track. At that poing, somebody (his wife, maybe?) climbed up the flag stand to offer him some water. He waved it off, brushed himself off, and started flagging again. Within a couple of laps, Shipman got destroyed in the head by a dirt clod that was about a foot long and wide. This time, he was knocked out cold, landing on his back and dropping his flags. The other flagman had to finish flagging the race while Shipman lay unconscious behind him. After the race was over, a fire truck came out and extended its ladder to bring him down from the flag stand. While all this is happening, a fist fight breaks out in the infield between Jason Leffler and Ricky Shelton. Nobody would deny that Shipman has a flair for the dramatics, so there is no telling how hurt he really was. Still, that was probably the wildest night at the races I have ever experienced."