Barber Registration is OPEN!

[Butch Kummer]

At last year's event Alabama Region ended up refunding $11,000 in entry fees to people that chose not to go out on Saturday because of the rain. The Saturday evening social (which was quite nice for those that attended) was already committed to based on pre-entries, and the refunds caused the region to go from making a reasonable profit on the weekend to barely breaking even.

While Atlanta Region has the resources to withstand such a hit, Alabama Region decidedly does not. This refund policy is the best compromise I could negotiate between the two regions, and it's simply an effort to have the racers put some skin in the game rather than getting up Saturday morning and deciding to re-arrange their sock drawer rather than going to the track.

This will NOT be the policy at any other Atlanta Region events and if things go well this year I'll re-open negotiations on the policy for 2009. I agree it's not "user friendly", but it's simply part of the price we (currently) pay for having an event at Barber Motorsports Park.

[JeffYoung]

Reasonable. Thank for the explanation Butch. I understand Barber is a "unique" deal.

At last year's event Alabama Region ended up refunding $11,000 in entry fees to people that chose not to go out on Saturday because of the rain. The Saturday evening social (which was quite nice for those that attended) was already committed to based on pre-entries, and the refunds caused the region to go from making a reasonable profit on the weekend to barely breaking even.

While Atlanta Region has the resources to withstand such a hit, Alabama Region decidedly does not. This refund policy is the best compromise I could negotiate between the two regions, and it's simply an effort to have the racers put some skin in the game rather than getting up Saturday morning and deciding to re-arrange their sock drawer rather than going to the track.

This will NOT be the policy at any other Atlanta Region events and if things go well this year I'll re-open negotiations on the policy for 2009. I agree it's not "user friendly", but it's simply part of the price we (currently) pay for having an event at Barber Motorsports Park.

[BlueStreak]

Alright George! Welcome to the world of IT, can't wait to see you run at Barber!

[DavidM]

Thanks for the explanation Butch. Do you know if those people that got refunds had already gone through registration or not? For instance, were they there Friday and had gone through registration Friday night, but then decided not to race on Saturday? Seems like if you had already gone through registration, but then decided not to race on Saturday because of the rain that you should not get a refund. I raced Saturday (more like motor boated around), but if I hadn't I wouldn't have expected a refund.

David

[tom_sprecher]

Sorry, Butch, and for what it's worth your explaination gives reason to what can happen when events don't go as planned.

[Butch Kummer]

I don't know the exact numbers, but a majority of the refunds went to people that had already signed in for the event. In the past the Atlanta Region policy (and most of SEDIV in my experience) has been to provide a full refund if the car never turns a wheel on the track. We never asked why a person didn't run on Saturday or Sunday, we just automatically issued a refund (or a partial in the case of a double event) if no times were recorded for those days.

For reasons stated above, we cannot do that for this event.

[toddgreene]

Seems like if you had already gone through registration, but then decided not to race on Saturday because of the rain that you should not get a refund. I raced Saturday (more like motor boated around), but if I hadn't I wouldn't have expected a refund.

David

Although from the AL Region, my unbiased opinion is that this makes perfect sense.
The Clubs' weekend costs and overhead are the same when people withdraw.

Todd

[Cobrar05]

Most organEYEzations don't charge if you don't race. I think its one of the things that keeps customers coming back. If you don't turn a wheel on the race track, most SCCA regions, NASA regions and so forth give you your money back with the idea you appreciate it and spend your money with them again soon.

In today's world of rising travel costs and falling attendance numbers customer service is key. If a guy goes thru registration and then gets a phone call that his daughter broke her leg playing soccer or he finds a mechanical issue he doesn't want to race with or it rains and guys can't afford the added risk of wrecking their cars, its precedent for them to get refunded.

In special situations I won't be put off by different refund rules. But it is something that will work against the region when competing with other regions.

[cfullgraf]

Hey George, welcome to the IT ranks and have fun at Barber.

The only major trouble I had transitioning from CSR to a FWD ITC car was if I locked up the front under heavy braking. It took me a while to learn to get off the Honda's brakes to get the engine turning again. No more easing off the brakes like until directional control returned like in the CSR.

Until I learned, I made lots of excursions for dirt and sand samples.

[GBugg]

Thanks Chuck. I hope your parts come in so you can come down and play!

[SPiFF]

At last year's event Alabama Region ended up refunding $11,000 in entry fees to people that chose not to go out on Saturday because of the rain.

I asked for that refund and was turned down.