Can anyone tell me why my oven rack does this?

I have a Whirlpool Gold oven which has three racks. Two of them are normal, one of them looks like this:



Can anyone tell me WHY part of it is hinged and can lift up? I have no idea where the manual is and it has been driving me nuts for 3+ years!

Jamie

My best guess is it can be used for a large piece below and not have to remove the whole rack, such as cooking a turkey on a lower rack and still have room for sides on this rack.
You can contact Whirlpool and probably get an owners manual.
Paulette

Paulette is correct. You can download a pdf of the owners manual (includes pictures, weight limits, etc for the rack) for your model at http://whirlpool.com/catalog/category.jsp?cat=76 . The split rack is a cool feature that I never saw before (but I've never had a stove made after the 1950s).

Jeebus!
Perhaps it is my Gen X lack of ambition, but has anyone had their oven this full?
Thanks for the solution to my kitchen mystery!
Jamie