rick_bostrom
Onda Kattan Racing
I'll try to curb my desire to rehash the explaination of the cost of track time vs unrealistic desires for unfettered track time controlled by each drivers unique perception of what is "fair". Opinions are like fingerprints - seems everyone has several and they are unique to that individual. Those of us who are slavishly attempting to organize quality race opportunities for our fellow competitors can't possibly hope to satisfy every need to every driver. We simply try to take a look at what has benefitted the membership the most, attempt to eliminate things that have caused problems, mix in a little common sense and put on the best race we can.
How can we tell if the race is a success? When you break it all down, two simple things are the criteria. Since the individual club boards and race officials all know lots of racers, we try to listen to their comments and evaluate what was good about a race and what was bad so we can further refine the next. The second criteria? After everything is added up and paid for there is a cold, hard, unambiguous bottom line on the financial statement. No matter how much everyone likes a particular race, it is still some degree of a failure if it loses money. Capitalism works if you let it - when we put on fun races that people are willing to pay their discretionary spending cash on they are voting with their dollars. If we make a small profit and it allows us to put on more races, then we are succeeding in giving our members what they want. It's no more difficult than that.
Sure, we can just divide up the undersubscribed NOW time to the rest of the day and use the remainder to finish early. We see the special race as a chance to give a group an occasional showcase, have a fun end of Saturday race that will draw racers out of their pits and entertain them, and make a few second or third entry bucks to help keep everyone elses entry fees down. I'm open to suggestions - would racers prefer that we charge them 20 or 30 bucks more per entry to eliminate a special race?? I'm feel confident that is not the case.
I take particular umbrage at two points and a historical fact stated above.
#1 - The "yamber" comment indicates a prejudice and disrespect that has no place in Conference. We have drivers in all levels and all types of cars and none of them is any less worthy or less deserving of your consideration becasue they drive a car that you don't like. If you don't like Mazdas or BMWs then don't drive one - that is your right. You don't like a driver because he is a jackass, can't drive, or slept with your wife, that is also your right. If you hate seeing the kind of cars that have run in past special race groups then don't watch - that is also your right. Disliking the majority on a public forum because they have chosen to drive a car that is somehow beneath your contempt just makes you look narrow minded.
#2 - Let stop with the kind of comments that equate making any decision that you don't personally like as somehow equal to selling out our principles and worshipping evil. The quote: "so it comes down to whether a club's need to make more money outweighs the value/quality of their ICSCC championship event to include all of their regular competitors." Is this somehow meant to infer that if the IRDC board doesn't do what you want we are selling out the membership for <gasp!> PROFIT??!! Are you serious? Sure - I'm probably biased because my lucrative IRDC salary has allowed me to buy a palacial home and a private jet, but that doesn't mean I don't still consider the well being of the peons! Our intent is to make the races break even or better SO WE CAN PUT ON MORE RACES! If we were in it for the money, we would stay at work and stop spending so much time trying to put on great races for the membership, who not only elected us but are also called upon to approve our decisions at open membership meetings.
Historical fact - The battle of "Battan" was indeed in the Phillipines and raged for about three months. Some 75,000 American and Phillipino prisoners were taken in one of the darker military defeats of World War Two. The transfer of those prisoners became the infamous "Battan Death March" and is considered one of the more overt examples of Japanese war crimes resulting in the brutal death of more than 10,000 prisoners. Not really a cheery or positive rememberance to tie a special race group to.
Here is my disclaimer. I drive a race car. As a racer, I would like seeing every minute of the expensive hot track time we are buying to be used to the maximum enjoyment of racers. Isn't that why we are doing this?
How can we tell if the race is a success? When you break it all down, two simple things are the criteria. Since the individual club boards and race officials all know lots of racers, we try to listen to their comments and evaluate what was good about a race and what was bad so we can further refine the next. The second criteria? After everything is added up and paid for there is a cold, hard, unambiguous bottom line on the financial statement. No matter how much everyone likes a particular race, it is still some degree of a failure if it loses money. Capitalism works if you let it - when we put on fun races that people are willing to pay their discretionary spending cash on they are voting with their dollars. If we make a small profit and it allows us to put on more races, then we are succeeding in giving our members what they want. It's no more difficult than that.
Sure, we can just divide up the undersubscribed NOW time to the rest of the day and use the remainder to finish early. We see the special race as a chance to give a group an occasional showcase, have a fun end of Saturday race that will draw racers out of their pits and entertain them, and make a few second or third entry bucks to help keep everyone elses entry fees down. I'm open to suggestions - would racers prefer that we charge them 20 or 30 bucks more per entry to eliminate a special race?? I'm feel confident that is not the case.
I take particular umbrage at two points and a historical fact stated above.
#1 - The "yamber" comment indicates a prejudice and disrespect that has no place in Conference. We have drivers in all levels and all types of cars and none of them is any less worthy or less deserving of your consideration becasue they drive a car that you don't like. If you don't like Mazdas or BMWs then don't drive one - that is your right. You don't like a driver because he is a jackass, can't drive, or slept with your wife, that is also your right. If you hate seeing the kind of cars that have run in past special race groups then don't watch - that is also your right. Disliking the majority on a public forum because they have chosen to drive a car that is somehow beneath your contempt just makes you look narrow minded.
#2 - Let stop with the kind of comments that equate making any decision that you don't personally like as somehow equal to selling out our principles and worshipping evil. The quote: "so it comes down to whether a club's need to make more money outweighs the value/quality of their ICSCC championship event to include all of their regular competitors." Is this somehow meant to infer that if the IRDC board doesn't do what you want we are selling out the membership for <gasp!> PROFIT??!! Are you serious? Sure - I'm probably biased because my lucrative IRDC salary has allowed me to buy a palacial home and a private jet, but that doesn't mean I don't still consider the well being of the peons! Our intent is to make the races break even or better SO WE CAN PUT ON MORE RACES! If we were in it for the money, we would stay at work and stop spending so much time trying to put on great races for the membership, who not only elected us but are also called upon to approve our decisions at open membership meetings.
Historical fact - The battle of "Battan" was indeed in the Phillipines and raged for about three months. Some 75,000 American and Phillipino prisoners were taken in one of the darker military defeats of World War Two. The transfer of those prisoners became the infamous "Battan Death March" and is considered one of the more overt examples of Japanese war crimes resulting in the brutal death of more than 10,000 prisoners. Not really a cheery or positive rememberance to tie a special race group to.
Here is my disclaimer. I drive a race car. As a racer, I would like seeing every minute of the expensive hot track time we are buying to be used to the maximum enjoyment of racers. Isn't that why we are doing this?
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