Golfing is fun.. I'm up for playing
- Thread starter ~JBD RACING~
- Start date
I'm in for something like that, may just enter more cars at Nationals. Right now my intention is 9~10 cars for Nationals.
The expense it is going to take to run Nationals is HUGE. If you want big events like this then you need to come full force and help support them. It will take 250 cars just to break even when all is said and done. Are we going to get that many??? If not I am donating a lot of time and money to make sure everyone has a good time.
As far as the monthly races go, I listened to the cries for a dedicated race venue. It comes with a cost and the race fees did not go up. Obviously running the event I have 0 guarantee of a racer showing for the event. If you want to keep your hobby alive then you have to support it. Car counts equal discounts.
As far as the monthly races go, I listened to the cries for a dedicated race venue. It comes with a cost and the race fees did not go up. Obviously running the event I have 0 guarantee of a racer showing for the event. If you want to keep your hobby alive then you have to support it. Car counts equal discounts.
I wish , but I don't see it.. Our car counts are low.. And a lot of people are not racing for whatever reason. I'm not racing at the moment because of my new Job 70+ hrs and movingly into the new house is crazy at the moment.. Hopefully I have 3-4 for Nationals. When all said and done I will at least have a nice shop finished for my cars to set..
I think the incentive as the host to offer a multi-car discount is to encourage people to get an extra car submitted then they otherwise would not have. What that car amount is I cannot say since I am not handling the books. Just going by average number of builders vs number of paid entries if you can give an incentive to increase your entry count it will pay to do it. For example, if the average builder enters 3 cars but can get a 4th or 5th entered at a discount they may be more willing to do it. Getting even a small amount of the builders to enter 1-2 more cars then usual, even at a discount, can increase your sales.
I understand nationals is a whole other animal then the monthly series with its own set of expenses.
I understand nationals is a whole other animal then the monthly series with its own set of expenses.
I do not see $10 per car for proxy racers as being a big expense, given what I believe happens behind the scenes.
Trips to the PO, un-boxing, Tech-In, race management, video equipment/feed, re-boxing, more trips to the PO, building fees, utilities, taxes, support equipment (computers, video editing s/w), track maintenance, etc.
Yeah, I can swing $10 to support my addiction. I pay more to see a 2hr movie in the the with the family.
I save money and do a bulk buying of supplies when John offers discounts several times a year.
Trips to the PO, un-boxing, Tech-In, race management, video equipment/feed, re-boxing, more trips to the PO, building fees, utilities, taxes, support equipment (computers, video editing s/w), track maintenance, etc.
Yeah, I can swing $10 to support my addiction. I pay more to see a 2hr movie in the the with the family.
I save money and do a bulk buying of supplies when John offers discounts several times a year.
Not trying to start a stir.. Just wondering since it was mention first race.. I personally think it would encourage more people to send more cars and help with shipping cost... I know I would love to run 12-14 to cars but I only see myself running 3-5 now. $10 is a great cost for what goes on behinds the scenes. It takes a lot of work to put and event together. John does a great job. My only thought was if you could get a normal builder that's send 1-2 cars to send in 4-6 rhen not only do you get more cars you get $$$ also.. Taking a short loss but adding 40-60 more cars a month would help the league in all aspects. That's the only way I see encouraging builders to send more cars. I know I would send more and race more of there was a break at a # of cars... Like I said I'm a nobody race and my opinion means nothing.. Good luck to all racers in March...
~JBD RACING~ said:
I Agree, Im OneThat Sends One OR Two , Im Sitting This Series Out Due To Being Scout Derby Season But I Plan To Have A Number Of Cars For Nationals And Ill Race The Following Series...Im Thankful John Has Stepped Up And Made This League What It Is....Another Benefit I See To Encouraging More Entries Is The Participants Need More Wheels And Other Parts Which Should Raise The Profit On That End..... But All In All No One Knows What It Truly Takes To Run "The Show" morMore Than John Its Easy To Sit Back And Suggest Things When We Don't Know All TheDetails
I don't mind the suggestions at all and by all means I want to take care of all of you and give you the best. What actually happens when I do the car discounts is that everyone that said they would ship more in end up not sending any and then the revenue from the race now drops. For some weird reason the pinewood derby world is cannibalistic. When something finally gets going good there always seems to be a faction that will try and take it down eating it from the inside out. Unfortunately there is not enough racers to support every league out there and when you try and race them all you burn out quick and are gone. That is why you do not see racing shops like mine stick around for long because running the league is way too much work to do for free. Running a league out of the house will never grow it to a large scale because most people find it weird to go to someones basement for the entire day to race wooden cars. If you want a lot of leagues then it will be basement racing, it is that simple.
I have enjoyed all the people I have had the chance to race with and watch come and go. We have an incredible group racing now and this is still the top of the pinewood derby world when it comes to the fastest racers. Leagues come and go and I am sure there will be many more that I will see. We have been running league races now for longer than anyone ever has and will still be here when everyone else has come and gone giving you the very best that we can.
I have enjoyed all the people I have had the chance to race with and watch come and go. We have an incredible group racing now and this is still the top of the pinewood derby world when it comes to the fastest racers. Leagues come and go and I am sure there will be many more that I will see. We have been running league races now for longer than anyone ever has and will still be here when everyone else has come and gone giving you the very best that we can.
G
Guest
Guest
From a new league racer, Thank you for the venue. It sure is fun to race where the other dads don't tell my kid he is cheating. It's a blast getting to know you guys.
I think there are many stories like Corvid's out there. John has probably helped out just about everyone, some way or other and at some point in time (including me) or at least done his best to treat them all fairly. I have learned from others that the best way to repay him is to send cars in to race. I try to do that every month with whatever cars I think can be competitive (we can always hope !). I don't really think that a couple of bucks here or there on the entrance fees will make a huge difference. Maybe it will for some of the guys that race all, or nearly all classes. If so, they should speak up publicly or privately. You need to give people (in this case, John) feedback. Many people fall into very tough situations at times these days and we all understand that this is a hobby - take care of yourself and your family first and then come back and play ! In my situation, while the finances certainly matter (four college educations to help with ...), it's still more about having time to get cars prep'd, or to make new ones.
Thank you Mario and Corvid. I do not want people to miss races because of money. If you are having a hard time I will gladly help in whatever way I can. It isn't just about the money but I can say that it wouldn't last for free. I also would be glad to ease up for the ones that race all classes month in and month out but I will do so on an individual basis.
Quadad you are correct, I have personally seen John help your car. Your Unlimited car showed up with a broken wheel and John put a new one on it, no questions asked! John has help me too and it is VERY much appreciated. So, what about an occasional buy 6 get 1 free or something like that. One car entered in each class and get one car entered free??? Just an idea???
It's not just John, too. Opa and Chief specifically have helped me out with merchandise w/o any expectation of payback. It's a great bunch of people here.
My suggestion is to top the fee off at $50 per race. Maybe even make it contingent on the submission of at least one car for each of the 5 normal classes. That way, those who want to limit the number of cars they send it could still pay $10 per car. But those who are desirous of sending in a bunch of cars, would not be hindered.
The more I think about it, making the $50 contingent on a car in each class would definitely increase the popularity of classes that are suffering because of low numbers (like SR).
A second thought would be to also make a front-end fee of $145 for a 3 series event, and/or $190 for a 4 series event.
The more I think about it, making the $50 contingent on a car in each class would definitely increase the popularity of classes that are suffering because of low numbers (like SR).
A second thought would be to also make a front-end fee of $145 for a 3 series event, and/or $190 for a 4 series event.
I think its fine as is. Its John's call to determine what he can do to help and still allow for all of us to have a great venue to race and compete in....It wont matter if we get 200 something cars if John cant pay the bills that keep the place open....in that aspect it truly comes down to statistics and billing numbers....one can fool around as much as you want with specials and trying to help out and be a nice person...but there is a line where its cost versus revenue....once your in the red and spiraling down, its hard to get out and before you know it cuts start coming to services etc just to keep going....that's the last thing John or the rest of us wants....
John knows what it takes to keep this going....he has provided things like pit passes and incentives with discounts at his store etc....my impression, he does more than the average small business...and I too have gotten the replacement wheel at race time with no expectation of charge or a bill...
Ideas are great if there is a way to get more people in and still allow for John to keep things going and even getting better...as long as we all understand that while this is a hobby for a lot of us, and one that indeed can get expensive at times, this is John's business and part of his livelihood...
Just for me, the limit to the number of cars I send in isn't related to money (at least not totally)...its more how much time I have to actually be able to build and prep that many cars without screwing things up....I don't want to send in anything just for the sake of sending something in....unfortunately im not as efficient as JBD or Pony with being able to make so many cars LOL!!! I don't know how you guys do it haha!
John knows what it takes to keep this going....he has provided things like pit passes and incentives with discounts at his store etc....my impression, he does more than the average small business...and I too have gotten the replacement wheel at race time with no expectation of charge or a bill...
Ideas are great if there is a way to get more people in and still allow for John to keep things going and even getting better...as long as we all understand that while this is a hobby for a lot of us, and one that indeed can get expensive at times, this is John's business and part of his livelihood...
Just for me, the limit to the number of cars I send in isn't related to money (at least not totally)...its more how much time I have to actually be able to build and prep that many cars without screwing things up....I don't want to send in anything just for the sake of sending something in....unfortunately im not as efficient as JBD or Pony with being able to make so many cars LOL!!! I don't know how you guys do it haha!
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