Official TGPR PDX 5-9-09 Thread

[engled]

Pictures.

http://www.alscca.org/community/showthread.php?t=746

[rodhx]

The ONLY reason I wasn't there was a going away lake party for some very close friends who are leaving for Chicago in a coupla weeks. I planned to attend from the moment it was announced and then this got scheduled on top of it.

[zukitek]

Anybody who seriously considered this event and passed on it without good reason should be ashamed. I stopped by when I could, in the afternoon between home nursing assignments, and got the impression that the cars and drivers were going to run out of energy before the clock ran out. More track time than the traffic could bear!

Unfortunately, with such poor attendance, it's difficult to justify another event in the future. . .

Maybe we should hear all the good reasons why folks avoided this event in droves, and learn from that.

When you're right you're right.Every standalone PDX we have done with the exception of the Dec Saturday we did at Barbers in 06 has either been very close or a $500 to $1000.00 loss or "use".It is very possible that with the new and successful TGPR TT format last month ...a PDX can be done in conjunction that weekend to make for an even more successful event .It would be a win win if all of the planets align with the schedule.

It can be said ...if you are trying to take comfort ...that the "use" of the funds is justifiable as long as it serves the membership but I can't honestly say that ALSCCA members were served by this one since it wasn't subscribed to for the most part by ALSCCA members.

The main thing to remember about these track days is that the date is set and track rental deposits are put down way before registration opens .Once you have plunked down the track deposit ,you have pretty much committed financially to going forth come hadies or high water.We could have cancelled it and we would have "used "the same amount of money as we did by holding the event good ,bad,or indifferant.

I will have a hardtime voting yes to do a PDX as a standalone event next year .Several other of my fellow BoD members are of the same opinion .

Its as simple as this ....This is a member based club and money is spent without regret win ,lose,or draw if the majority of the participants are members and benefit from the expenditure ,but this event was poorly subscribed and VERY poorly supported by ALSCCA members so the membership did not benefit IMHO.

I could have voted to donate that money to the worker fund or use it to repaint the clubs truck and it would have served the membership more than this PDX did .

RR

[Erv]

1. no tires
2. no money
3. no sleep
4. I had/have to work tonight

I REALLY wanted to go, but, due to those 4 things I couldn't

[BoostedFD]

When you're right you're right.Every standalone PDX we have done with the exception of the Dec Saturday we did at Barbers in 06 has either been very close or a $500 to $1000.00 loss or "use".It is very possible that with the new and successful TGPR TT format last month ...a PDX can be done in conjunction that weekend to make for an even more successful event .It would be a win win if all of the planets align with the schedule.

It can be said ...if you are trying to take comfort ...that the "use" of the funds is justifiable as long as it serves the membership but I can't honestly say that ALSCCA members were served by this one since it wasn't subscribed to for the most part by ALSCCA members.

The main thing to remember about these track days is that the date is set and track rental deposits are put down way before registration opens .Once you have plunked down the track deposit ,you have pretty much committed financially to going forth come hadies or high water.We could have cancelled it and we would have "used "the same amount of money as we did by holding the event good ,bad,or indifferant.

I will have a hardtime voting yes to do a PDX as a standalone event next year .Several other of my fellow BoD members are of the same opinion .

Its as simple as this ....This is a member based club and money is spent without regret win ,lose,or draw if the majority of the participants are members and benefit from the expenditure ,but this event was poorly subscribed and VERY poorly supported by ALSCCA members so the membership did not benefit IMHO.

I could have voted to donate that money to the worker fund or use it to repaint the clubs truck and it would have served the membership more than this PDX did .

RR

I agree.

It was was an excellent track day. When you start late and end early you know everyone got more than enough track time.

[dr_phatcity]

Failure to attend

Anybody who seriously considered this event and passed on it without good reason should be ashamed. I stopped by when I could, in the afternoon between home nursing assignments, and got the impression that the cars and drivers were going to run out of energy before the clock ran out. More track time than the traffic could bear!

Unfortunately, with such poor attendance, it's difficult to justify another event in the future. . .

Maybe we should hear all the good reasons why folks avoided this event in droves, and learn from that.

I'm sorry I couldn't make this event. I planned on it, but had a legal matter to settle on saturday morning and could not attend. Sounds like I should have driven out for saturday afternoon.

"The main thing to remember about these track days is that the date is set and track rental deposits are put down way before registration opens"

Perhaps this is backwards? It's been suggested that if we want to do a PDX, we should organize pre-pay, pre-registration, then set a date and put down money for the event. You could even allow people to withdraw their money with no obligation for the first week or two after the date was set. If I had preregistered and prepaid for this event, I would have expected to lose my money.

I am very sorry to hear that this event was not well attended. For the future of PDX and alscca, hopefully the combined format with TT format will work.

-J

[chuck schultz]

True, ALSCCA doesn't have enough local track day addicts within the Region to support these events. However, private events and club events happen in the area on a regular basis, and keep making money. What could be different about their events?

No ALSCCA listing at Track Schedule.com - http://www.trackschedule.com/sched.html

No listing in Chattanooga Region Forums - http://dixierally.org/forum/search_r...7&KW=talladega

First post in TAC/TVR forums I see was less than a month before the event - http://teamtac.org/e107/e107_plugins...php?37846.post

I don't see anything in the Atlanta forums, either - http://www.soloatlanta.com/forum/sea...&submit=Search

I don't know if anything's in the national SCCA forums, or anywhere else, such as the various marque-specific forums, either, because I think I've made my point, already, and I'm not going to take the time to look.

We've never had a decent turnout for a PDX because we've never bothered to properly promote it. I know it's a lot of work, but there is a market for this kind of activity every weekend. If folks can have private track days during the week, at the same venue, for the same price, and be able to break even, why can't an organized club do it on Mother's Day weekend? Everybody's available to play on Mother's Day weekend, right?

Maybe I'm just ticked off that I absolutely couldn't do this event, this time. Maybe I'm just ticked off that the BoD even considers dropping this key form of motorsports from it's selection of activities available to the membership.

I love track days, when I can scratch together the money, because I'm not committed enough to be a serious Solo or Club Racing participant. Track days let me play a bit, pretending to be fast, without worrying about having the car of the month or the tire of the week. There are lots of clubs who will afford me that opportunity, at tracks all around the country. There's no reason ALSCCA shouldn't be a part of that scene, if those who do participate are willing to really take this bull by the horns and run with it. If nobody wants to _really_ lead, just drop it, and give me one less reason to be involved with the Club.

[dr_phatcity]

Can someone bring the financial numbers for the cost of the PDX to tuesday's meeting? It looks like I'll be here a while, so I'd like to take a look at how it worked.

Maybe I'd be willing to try a rodeo....

-Jamie

ps. my paper is killing me so, thanks for the distraction right now...

[EWaugh]

Chuck, look a little harder on track schedule. It's on there under May 9 and had been since you told me to ut it on there four months ago.

We had a thread on TVR about the same time. It may have floated to the bottom by this time.

I know there are several other sites that we hit u as well, local and atlanta.

[chuck schultz]

Sorry, I missed the Track Schedule listing, so I apologize for that. It's certainly there, now, as you say. I don't know how I missed that.

Some of my searches, today, came up blank for the PDX but with several entries for private track days and the TT at TGPR. I can't explain that. Maybe the admins are deleting them. Maybe the forum search engines suck.

Anyhow, my main point stands. I think it would be a disservice to the membership to drop this program. It shouldn't surprise if PDX entries are thin at the same time it's happening in other programs, too. However, I think the program should be given more time to grow.

I appreciate your willingness to honcho this thing for the last couple years, even if I didn't sound that way. There are a lot of details to take care of, and I'm glad I didn't have to do it.

Maybe a better main web page would've helped, too. DB's working on getting that corrected. I hope his proposal is approved, this week.

[ZX3Focus]

Maybe we should hear all the good reasons why folks avoided this event in droves, and learn from that.

Really wanted to attend, but I don't have a full set of play wheels yet and was afraid if I ran street tires out there, they'd be done for good by the end of the day.

[JohnW8]

I posted on MX5Atlanta and received several responses but our event was the same time as the Formula Drift event at Road Atlanta and several of the MX5 Atlanta folks are drift fans. I had several comment about safety gear requirements for Miatas. All were addressed by myself or Evan. I hope the PDX's aren't finished as a standalone event because I like to go to the track and not have to worry about timing, administrative duties or being competitive. Just a day to enjoy friends, my car and a nice day in Munford.

I believe it would be a disservice to the club to eliminate the event.

[zukitek]

I had PCA put it out on their email list ,I had Jeremy Blackwell with speed for sale put it out on his email list ,I sent it to Susan Young who writes the SEDIV columns for Sportscar,it was advertised on GTR forums ,TVR,Atlanta ,the MVOC email list ,and those members various lists,it went out on Alabama racing scene forums ,it was on the SEDIV calendar since January.

It basically went out on all of the forums I could think to throw it out on. I also checked into putting a paid add in GRM and Sprotscar and they wanted around $1000.00 to put it out any bigger than a postage stamp .We put out 3 announce emails that I can recall about it on ALSCCAs announce list.I dont think there was a shortage of effort at all to promote it .

Which is a bigger disservice?Not doing them as standalones ,or doing them as standalones and consistantly using funds that are and will be needed for solo,track trials ,and club racing?The economic picture of hobby motorsports is not particularly a rosey one which is evidenced everywhere you look.It takes a back seat when things start getting tough in households so its no big surprise to me that it was undersubscribed ,but what do you do ?Do you keep throwing cash intot he hole or do you wait for the hole to disappear a little before you throw anymore in ?

RR

[JohnW8]

Last year the event wasn't promoted very much and wasn't very well attended, this event was promoted but not very well attended again but it's a bad economic time. For next years event, if there is one, let's hope the economy is better and there's not any conflicts. The club still needs to offer the program but, I'd wait until the hole disappears a bit.

[dr_phatcity]

Tuesday will be the annual bake sale for the ALSCCA PDX financial hole fund.

Anyone who wants to pull donuts in the parking lot or glaze a corner with rubber frosting should donate $20 to keep the PDX alive...