Barber News et al

[JohnW8]

All,
Butch Kummer, Majors boss, stated in the Atlanta board meeting
last night that this is now a Majors event thus no regional cars except
Pro-IT will be allowed.

In addition, Atlanta race schedule at RA has now been changed as follows:

March 15-17 -- No longer a double national but a double regional

May 17-19 -- now a Majors event (double Nat)

July 13-14 -- no longer a double regional now a Rational

Barber -- unless there is a breakthrough concession by the track mgt.
(they want $40K up front), Atlanta will not have a race there;
we lost money three years in a row

Nov 1-3 ARRC same as always



I found this on the TVR/TAC site. So unless Barber gives Atlanta and Alabama region a big discount there will be no more SCCA club racing there? Can that budget not get trimmed some? Can you say "No-Frills Labor Day RR/PDX/TT"? Majors events exclude regional drivers? WTF?

[kilgojr]

You know what happens when we begin assuming....but with that said, I assume Vince knows about this? Maybe he can shed some light on this? As for the budget, there is trimming to be done, it just has to be done. We have talked about it in the board meetings, and there are things we feel can be removed (mainly the social) as well as adding in some form of "budget pillow" to us for those racers that show up, don't race, and expect a refund.

[chuck schultz]

I'll guess that the first sentence is referring to the May event, and Labor Day would be a Rational/Pro-IT, if it happens.

Maybe we could get the promoter (Zoom) to do a Friday test day, and only sanction Saturday and Sunday. If more track time is needed for the National racers, drop the Pro-IT, since it was so poorly attended this year.

Another big expense is trophies - there are very many classes, and you never know how many trophies will be awarded until the race is run. How about an extra fee, payable at registration, for any driver who would like to receive a trophy if they podium?

[chuck schultz]

If this does refer to the Barber event, maybe the National office should pick up the tab for the banquet and/or the Friday track rental. Or, maybe they should cover the down payment, and guarantee at least a break-even for this unknown quantity. Otherwise, I don't know how they can force us to run a Majors Tour event, unless we actually requested it.

Sure, maybe we'd get some drivers from the northern half of our Majors Conference, but would they offset the loss of the Regional racers, who've come to expect to be able to play at BMP? Plus, it's pretty late in the season for a National type event, since most National points-seekers have already qualified for the Runoffs long before Labor Day.

[rodhx]

Saw something on another forum that could be considered...a race up north this year that had a fairly hefty entry fee but would refund a pre-determined portion if they reached a certain number of entries. just a thought...

[e30Racer]

I'm pretty sure the first sentence is referring to the May 17-19 (now a majors event).

I am still confused as to the "no regional drivers" at the majors events. Is a road racing competition license not a national license? Or can you have a regional license that has some limitations that are removed when you get a national license?

[JohnW8]

Regional license=2 races minimum a year. National is 6 races minimum a year and paying a higher license fee.

[rodhx]

[QUOTE=e30Racer;33910]I'm pretty sure the first sentence is referring to the May 17-19 (now a majors event).QUOTE]


There is a related thread on the sandbox that may be worth following.

[engled]

regional license=2 races minimum a year. National is 6 races minimum a year and paying a higher license fee.

$cca

[e30Racer]

Thanks for the link Rod. Interesting info!

I do have a couple questions about club racing, but I have never asked because I have never done club racing or been involved in planning a club race.

1) Why are there SOOO many races? There were 13 race weekends during 2012 put on by SARRC in the Southeast (AL, GA, SC, NC) not including FL (add another 5 including FL), many of which were double race weekends meaning there were 20-25 races in a season. That really dilutes out the competition. Also, Road Atlanta had 3 of those weekends, as well as did VIR (NC Region). In my opinion, that's just way too many races to ask people to travel to and support. You can't rely on your region alone to come up with enough racers to turn a profit.


2) Why do regions have double race weekends? I am guessing it was done to encourage participation and get people to travel and get more-bang-for-their-buck? Seems like if you only had one race per weekend, you could then include PDX and TT entrants. But would that be at the cost of losing racers that are now used to and expect having double race weekends?

[JohnW8]

Looks like you answered your question yourself. Toooooo many races and not enough racers.

[Cholewa]

I don't race, but I don't think people would travel for a saturday event, when they're already spending how much in travel expenses, + the car/tires/etc.

To only get what, 60 minutes of track time? If it's a single race, the price is what, roughly $250, factor in the fuel to haul, the tires, the food, the day off work to travel, etc. Then compare it to a sat/sun event where your travel costs are the same, the entry is doubled (400-450), the costs of the car are the same, and you get twice the track time, plus one weekend is all you need to maintain the license.


I think it just comes down to track time per dollar, and it's not the cost of entry to the track, it's the cost for the entire weekend to the driver/team.


In the end, we could cut a fair amount of fat from the BMP event, which would include trophies, food, and everything else that's not straight up racing. No lunch for workers, no saturday night party, no trophies, no cash prizes, none of that, plus more. We could cut maybe 30k from the budget. The problem then would be, who would come to work it? If we cut too much, we risk turning workers away and having to pay faynecia to do it, which will make the savings a wash.

In the end, trying to sustain a $100k weekend in a down economy where tires and gas are expensive, is just not really possible. If we could knock the cost of the weekend down to 50 or 60k, we'd be in business, but the likelihood of that happening and actually running smoothly is tough to predict. Especially for a date that's already at the end of the season, and is typically mired in bad weather.

[JohnW8]

The cash prizes are pulled from thr pro it entry fee which is generally higher. The region doesnt provide prize money. I agree a double weekend is the best per dollar. I still think we could squeeze a tt/pdx to help with overall expenses. All there needs to be is cooperation which is hard to find these days.

[chuck schultz]

hefty entry fee . . . refund . . . certain number of entries

I've had that idea in my head for quite some time, especially for private track days. I don't know if I've said it out loud, though.

Here's a revolutionary idea: no refunds for no - shows or cancellations unless somebody else fills the slot. Other groups do this routinely, although I don't know if the policy applies to racers in those groups.

[chuck schultz]

1) Why are there SOOO many races?

Everybody wants as many races as possible at their home track. Also, more races = more revenue for the Region, theoretically.

2) Why do regions have double race weekends?

Twice the entry fees collected by the Region per driver, and twice the points or (much-less-important) track time for participants.