Originally posted by Mattberg:
.....Remember who the customer is and what the product is...you got 'no product. ...... No racing? no money, no club.....


Ok, since nobody here seems to want to point to the facts in the manner, lets suppose that the Tri Region sub-letted out the date this year, due to the fact that it was in confict with two other established dates inclose geographic proximity. To run a race weekend, several items need to be available, but the major two are drivers, and workers. Yes, I know some of you don't think workers are required to put on an event, but I suggest the insurance carrier, among others, begs to differ.

So what's better, having an event that requres a known expenditure, draws little income (resulting in a loss) and results in a sub par event due to un-staffed specialties, or taking a years break until a non-conflicting date can be gotten? Some regions don't have a lot of events available to them, and one major loss can put them under. (And we can discuss whether we need as many regions as we have, but lets do that in another thread.)


Not to toot my region's own horn but a look at the SEDIV might do some of these regional race officials some good. My last four regional races had 108 (yup), 91, 60 and 79 entries....in my racegroup! We consistently attract 300+ cars.


C'mon, lets compare apples to apples. How long are the tracks you refer to? Fact is that a race group at either Lime Rock or NHIS can't be more than 40 or so cars, due to the length of the track. After that, it's simple math. Curfews dictate when you start and finish, and the rest is division. It is extremely difficult to provide quality time for the participants when you can't start until 9, you have to have quiet time at lunch, and shut down is before 6. Count yourself lucky, but take no credit for, your regions luck in it's track availability.

<font face=\"Verdana, Arial\" size=\"2\"> I heard radio ads all the way up on my last trip. </font>


And why would a region advertise when it can't accept any more entries without shortening track sessions...sessions that you consider too short? Around here, it would be a waste of money.

<font face=\"Verdana, Arial\" size=\"2\"> In addition, I received a contingency check the last week for just one of those series that actually covered all of my entry fees for the year. What does all this add up to? MARKETING! And...HAPPY CUSTOMERS. </font>
Interesting, but I'd like a more complete picture. What did you finish in your class at the end of the year? How many guys were in your class? What did they pay? What about the other classes? How far down do they pay? What I'm getting at is the distribution, and it's actual effectiveness. Is just a redistribution of entry fees? Or does it add funds to actually drive the cost of racing down to more than the guys lucky enough to wind up on top?

If it comes from corporate funding, that's great. Who organizes and arranges that? Region volunteers?



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Jake Gulick
CarriageHouse Motorsports
ITA 57 RX-7
New England Region
[email protected]