Author: A2Racing
Subject: How to improve the racing at your local track
Posted: January 06 2017 at 11:41pm
Thanks for saying that Dave.
I really don't want to jump into this dumpster fire but as a newbie and coming from off-road I was super excited about on-road and the fact that Ho-B Max was only 45-50 minutes away. I purchased a couple touring cars and had a lot of fun attempting to learn on-road. The constant fighting on the forums for the past year or so and the constant pissing contests about who knows more and what is best for the hobby have completely turned me off of on-road.
My wife actually asked me the other day why I don't have take my touring cars to Ho-B max anymore. The reason is the constant drama and fighting, it is a hobby for fun and this topic has been discuss ad nauseam. She suggested, that I should just start going to Ho-B max and practicing when no one else is there.
So if these threads are attempting to help the local on-road scene, I believe they are having the exact opposite affect. At least with me anyways, I have been driving 6 hours to go practice off-road instead of 50 minutes down the road to run my touring cars. I am sure I am not the only non-vocal newbie that has been sitting on the fence bc of the negative environment.
BigDawgNC wrote:
So, I may be a new guy to on-road, but I have been in the hobby/racing for 20+ years and have been sponsored for a long time at various levels. I also worked at a hobby shop for 10 years and also served as the race director there. I've helped run a ROAR Mod Off-road National and I worked in the industry for a motor/ESC/battery manufacturer. So trust me when I say I've seen the high points and low points in the hobby.
I finally read all of the posts in this thread and I have been resisting the urge to post. This first part will piss off a few and get their panties in a twist. So be it. First, saying "20 pages and 200 posts" well the vast majority of the posts are from a very limited number of people. And of those posts, most were either self ego-boosting posts or ego-stroking replies by the minions. Second, for guys that claim they want to race, it seems like there are a lot of excuses being used for not coming out to race. The track has bumps...it's the same for everyone. The rest of us just deal with it and have a good time racing. As for tech, again, what's the big deal? Ride height, weight, voltage, and blinky mode. Are we saying its ok to circumvent the rules at a club race and they should only be enforced at a "points" or "bigger" race? Give me a break.
Do I think there are too many classes? Yup. But, bashing those who enjoy racing 17.5 and that aren't running mod is definitely not productive. Especially when the average new driver could never handle a mod car. Also, it's nice to say that spec racing is expensive and it would be cheaper to run mod. The problem is that the few guys pushing that are sponsored to some degree and typically it doesn't matter what class you run, it's cheaper for you either way. And the fact that you seem to be so concerned with the tracks catering to those "experienced" racers just shows that you really don't care about growing the hobby. You are only concerned about what would make you happy. The only way this hobby can grow is to bring in new people. And the only people that really spend money at the hobby shops/race tracks are new people. Those of us who are sponsored really don't spend money locally (myself included) except for race fees. If the hobby shops don't make money, there will be no tracks. New/unsponsored races are the lifeblood of the hobby. And bashing those guys for not running the fastest classes because they aren't "man enough" or not skilled enough really doesn't benefit anyone in the long run.
Experienced racers ARE needed to help improve the quality of competition and quality of racers at a given track. And those of us that have been racing for 20+ years should be doing that by helping the less experienced guys learn all the ins and outs of tuning, driving, equipment, etc. Trust me, I want to race and I want to win as much as the next guy, but I'm always willing to help a less experienced racer with a question or setup issue during a race day, be that a Wednesday night club race or a bigger race. If the most important thing to you is winning at a club race, regional race or charity event, you aren't helping the hobby grow. It seems to me that some guys are trying to make the bigger races at local tracks more like the national level races (IIC, Snowbirds, Cleveland, and the Nats). These races are meant to be a gathering of local racers and the surrounding region's better racers, which is a stepping stone for guys that want to compete at a higher level, but aren't ready to jump feet first into attending a National level event. Being all negative about this track or that track because they don't do things the way you think they should be done only deters drivers from attending and ultimately hurts everyone. If you don't like the way a particular track does things...don't race there! No one is forcing you to go there and those of us that want to just race will have a good time without you.
Now for the other side. Do I think there is room for improvement in the local racing scene? Of course. I do enjoy racing on-road when I can't get to the off-road track and would hate for my local track to close due to no turn out. Could the race directing be better? Of course. It can always be improved at every track. Should there be a dialogue between the racers and the track directors? Absolutely. But bashing the track directors for doing what they feel is best isn't the way to be productive. Also, as I think it has been mentioned, if you are not willing to step up and volunteer your time to help, then you need to just make the best of what we have and get over it.
Final point...for those of us that have been around for 20+ years, we need to just accept the fact that the hobby isn't like it was in the "glory days". It used to be there was stock and mod. That's it. The classes at any race had 50-100+ racers each. Heck our local off-road track would get nearly 100 racers for a club race every Sunday. But the times have changed. Not only in the motor-limited classes (mod, 10.5, 13.5, 17.5, 21.5, and 25.5), but also in the number of vehicle classes. It used to be in on-road you had 1/12 or 1/10 pan car and you raced mod or stock. Now add in all the TC classes and F1 and mini's and the field gets even more diluted. Same thing has happened in off-road. It's a fact of life in the hobby and we need to adapt our expectations or get a new hobby. Maybe we should all go fly planes? ;)