and it’s all bullshit………

[jhooten]

I don't know how other divisions/regions do it. We (Lone Star) do not charge late fees. We give a discount for early entry.

My take on cancellation fees. If the fees are not listed on the entry forms then they cannot be collected. The fees are listed to discourage entrants from dropping out on a whim at the last minute. However, I do not remember ever being charged a late witdrawal/cancellation fee for any event where I had a valid reason for the withdrawl. BTW, a forecast of rain for the weekend and being to cheap to buy rain tires is not a valid reason in my book.

On our home track we have the option to run several track configurations. If we have enough drivers pre-register we will make sure we have enough workers to run the more desirable long course. Which means we have to put more EVs on the track contract at added cost. etc. so forth and so on. And, Spec Miata, if you don't want to run in the IT group get your entries in early. When the Chief sees a large SM entry list he may not be so quick to combine groups.

Our board meetings are open to the membership. We beg members with ideas on how to make the events better to show up. Do they? NO!

Bitching on a forum is not going to change anything. Don't like the way things are being managed quit whinning, get active, and go run for a position the the board. Then you can bring hope and change to YOUR club and make things run the way you think it should be done.

[pballance]

While I agree that cancellation fees are troubling and I dislike them, I encourage those of you that don't like them to get involved with a racing region and offer to help out with the racing program. I know we could use the help.

That said, we are working NOW for a race to be held June 2010. We will incur expenses prior to June that will need to be paid. We have to decide at what level of participation we can break even and then HOPE that we can get that number of entries in a down economy. Part of that decision is made based upon the numbers of pre-registered entrants. If you have any idea to help us plan the event and gauge how many drivers/cars will show up, I am all ears.

I like the discount for early registration. I also like the fact that we will continue to not cash checks for no-shows but it sure would be nice for them to notify us during normal registration times that they are not coming. Makes run group choices much easier.

As a club and a racing region officer, we have a financial obligation to our members to "break even" on an event. Our BoD has decided that "break even" might mean going in the hole every now and then in order to further the program(s) of the club but we cannot afford a multi thousand dollar loss.

Track rental is high dollar these days and every racing region has felt the pinch of the economy. I have read/heard the number Chuck mentioned above $34,000.00 for the weekend at Barber. I know what our expenses are and how big of a job it is planning to host a race. We will continue to try and host the BEST race we can given the circumstances and will try to control costs as much as we can without penalizing no-show drivers.

Paul