Hi Jack! Since I've met you personally, I get your vibe and your concerns. Safety and comfort, especially for new members and beginners is important to me also. I'm THE biggest whistleblower if I see anything or anybody that hinders this when I can (so I'm not always the fan favorite). I was in NJ, but I've ridden RA. It's not an easy track for beginners IMO, so that's one variable. But many variables play into any given track day and it's many moving parts for staff to manage. Regardless, we are one of the safest organizations and have the track record to prove it.
John brought a good point. Attentiveness during riders meeting and especially attendance for ALL riders (after all, they ARE mandatory I believe?), is a good starting point for the day. Then you throw in a packed track, nerves, egos... and my biggest one LACK OF SLEEP, then it turns into a whole other ball of wax. I'm sure a lot of people traveled great distances and because of travel, and other reasons, skimp on sleep. Never made sense to me since obviously sleep deprivation contributes to impaired motor and cognitive skills... both of which you heavily rely upon at the track, and with the adrenaline sapping away whatever is left in your reserve tank... it all adds up to a disaster waiting to happen. But we as an organization can't go around and tell people what time to go to bed, pay attention, hydrate, etc. As adults, we *should* be and act responsibly.
But as he also pointed out, I think there is a tendency to maximize the minimum when it comes to the negatives (red flags, etc.). When you factor in ALL the variables, statistically, we still come out on top in safety.
Bottom line: Staff does their best to CONTROL what they can, and for whom they can't... those individuals need to make right choices for the benefit of others and play nice.