Br69br69br,
May I suggest that you look at the budget for putting on a race anywhere
and get on your knees and thank the people who put those races on for YOU.
A few telling $$$$$$$$ signs from the promoters side. This from someone
associated with the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association but not speaking for
them. Here are just a few "new" costs over some previous years, generally
things that make it nicer for the racers.
We were hit in September with an additional new $550 charge from Tooele
County; $100 for a permit to hold the event in their county ... on BLM land
where we had already paid a fee ... $400 to the Tooele County Health
Department for them to come out and see if we had enough port-a-potties ...
the BLM requires more than the County does ... and to inspect the food
facilities, The Red Flame already paid for a license to sell food in the
County and the inspectors showed up each day after they had closed down the
food concession for the day, oh yes,and to count of the number of people on
the salt to see that we didn't exceed the number we listed on our permit
application. They only charged us $50 to read the seven page application
they required.
Racers have made off with our advertising signs on the freeway year after
year ... they may be nice in someones garage but we pay a minimum of $220
each for the kind that won't tear off and rip to pieces in the Bonneville
Breezes. Thank some of your fellow racers for that expense. Someone has to
pay for them or we won't have the income from spectators and you'll have to
pay still higher entry fees to cover the costs.
We now have large dumpsters as a convenience for racers to get rid of the
trash they accumulate after four days of racing. They have to be hauled
almost 100 miles to be emptied in an approved dump at a cost of well over
$400 per race ... and we get a very good deal on that price. If racers
would haul away their own trash we wouldn't have that cost. Before we had
the dumpsters we could spend a full day just picking up the junk left behind
after an event. That's a new cost.
Thank Jim Zupan for the drags ... we couldn't prepare the course without
them and we get an incredible, below cost, sweetheart deal on those. Come
drag the course ... it takes some skill to do it right and we would probably
have to train you but driving at 15 mph for seven miles or longer each
direction making ten passes to prepare a single lane has a zen like quality
to it and the exhaust fumes help to put you into orbit too.
Come and splice wire with us some time. I am sure you have no idea of
how much that multi-strand wire costs in the first place and every time
someone drives over it a weak spot develops that can cost someone a time
slip. Some spins can wipe out a quarter mile of wire in an instant ... Pay
for that out of reduced entry fees.
Volunteer to work a day at an event. That will save the promoters the
cost of motel rooms, lunch, (you can bring your own) and you'll only miss
one day of racing.
Get there early for an event and help set up, or better still stick
around after it is over and help pick up wire and clean it before it is put
away for another racing season or pick up cones over the full length of the
course. Someone has to do it. We're lucky that some racers volunteer to
help.
Over the years there have been some "angels" who helped us and some
racers complained that we were getting too commercial. Those "angels" paid
for our "new" computerized clocks among other things. But now we could use
a new computer and program that would be more user friendly, the computer is
over five years old and you know how fast they get outdated. But you don't
want us to get commercial. What do you constructively suggest?
I guess what I'm saying is quit bitching! Every racer who is honest will
tell you that the entry fee is the cheapest part of a land-speed race. The
last time I drove at speed down the course was in 1959 and the entry fee was
$60.
Go to any major professional racing event and just pay the spectator
entry fee to get in ... attending a four day event can cost you upward of a
thousand dollars if you spring for prime seats, pit passes, getting close to
the start and actually talking to the racers who will probably stiff you.
Bonneville is $20 for the full event and Cokes don't cost $4 each,
hamburgers aren't $10, the food actually tastes like food, and generally the
people are nicer.
Wes Potter Former USFRA Secretary
From: Br69br69br@aol.com
Reply-To: Br69br69br@aol.com
Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2000 11:51:05 EST
To: land-speed@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: KEEP MUROC ALIVE
IMHO
$50.00 This year $35.00 Next and so on. No Thank You!
I'm tired of the attitude that it's OK to keep driving the cost of LSR up.
I save all year to build and of modify my race vehicle. This is not
Professional Motorsports but if we keep letting people raise the entry fee
every time they want to without any input from the average racers, not the
big dollar efforts. The true backbone of the sport is made up of people who
really work for a living and come out to challenge themselves to go faster
every time and eventually get a record.
It is going to get to the point that those people, like Myself, will not be
able to enter the races regularly and afford to build a car. We are already
suffering from lagging attendance when interest seems to be at an all time
high. The only conclusion I can make is that the price hikes of the last
couple of years are taking there toll. People just can't afford to go out
and
make practice and tuning runs for that kind of money.
I realize that to some of you the entry fees are nominal, but remember what
you are spending on your entire effort is chump change compared to
Professional Drag Racers & NASCAR Budgets. It was not always that way but
the
"big money" boys kept raising the stakes until the backbone of their sports
also dried up in the late 70's and early 80's. Only Corporate America could
save both sports, don't let that happen to us.
The intention of this letter is not to upset anyone, we all are bonded by a
common interest that drives internally to try to go ever faster. It's
unexplainable and undeniable. People like us will always be in a constant
quest for speed. I just would like to keep the sport available to people
without multi million dollar budgets. Because if we get to that point, Most
of us will be spectators. Corporate America will always be able to out spend
us.
Sorry about the rant, I just think it had to be said.
Thank You for your time,
BR (Flamesuit On Fire Away)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, I'm a long way from Muroc, and I'm
certainly not a player right at the present.
But, I would think that if you polled everybody
who might be an entrant, the majority of them
would gladly pay an extra $50 to keep the legend
alive. I know I would. When you consider all of
the costs involved in participating in an LSR
event, an extra $50, to go directly for such a
good cause, would only mean two extra days at
McDonalds instead of steak and fries!
--- "Thomas E. Bryant" <saltracer@awwwsome.com>
wrote:
> Jon,
> I talked with Pres. Mike at El Mirage. It seems
> that SCTA is split down
> the middle on whether to attempt the meet this
> year. The Feds want $5000
> per day to allow us the use of the lake bed.
> At present a decision has
> not been made, but dates have been secured in
> case it is decided to hold
> the meet. He said that it is almost as easy to
> put on Speedweek as to do
> Muroc, very labor intensive.
>
> Personally, I would pay an extra $50 on the
> entry to help absorb the
> cost. Hopefully Mike, or someone on the Board
> will respond to this
> question. Mike did say that doing a yearly meet
> is probably the only way
> we can keep our foot in the door. Even then it
> is at the mercy of
> whomever is in control in the coming years.
>
> Tom, Redding CA - #216 D/GCC
>
> Jonathan Amo wrote:
> >
> > List,
> >
> > Who can tell me about Muroc 2001?
> > I have heard it wasn't on and more than
> likely would not happen.
> > Then again I heard some talk about it on chat
> Tuesday night.
> > Has there been a date set and still trying to
> get things worked out?
> >
> > Jonathan
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