A Question for the CCS Racer

[smoke54]

kevin sent an email to that question back to me that not until 2012 for sure would a change be made.
tim

[Gixxerblade]

Sweet! Thanks.

[PlayHard]

Not having one is the only thing that has kept me from racing some WERA events over the past (3) years.  If I had had one, I most definitely would have raced some WERA events, because they have a lot of them closer to my house, thus limiting my CCS race entries. 

When I made the transition from a trackday rider to a racer, the expense of having to buy a transponder is the main reason I picked CCS.  How many others made the same decision?  From a business prospective, CCS would lose that advantage over WERA and thus probably lose a lot of NEW business.  Does that make sense in today's environment? 

But then again, does this poll really matter??? 

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

In the past when there was a risk that multiple race org's could be running different transponders I'll admit I wouldn't have been thrilled about buying a transponder that potentially wouldn't be used anywhere else. But that's not the case now, this would be the common transponder used by multiple org's, so selling it after your done racing wouldn't be an issue - it's more like you borrowed it for several years at a minimal cost once you've sold it.

.....the expense of having to buy a transponder is the main reason I picked CCS......I most definitely would have raced some WERA events, because they have a lot of them closer to my house, thus limiting my CCS race entries.

I have alot of trouble with that type of reasoning because technically you would have already paid for a transponder (probably multiple times) with just the extra transportation costs you've already spent to attend CCS races instead of the closer WERA ones. Using a fuel cost of $3.00 per gallon and a tow vehicle getting 12 MPG at 70 MPH, it would only take 6 events that were an extra 2 hours further away to come up with the entire $420 cost of a new transponder - that's easily achieved in just one race season.

Here's the math:
$420 divided by $3 per gallon of fuel equals 140 gallons of gas
140 gallons multiplied by 12 MPG equals 1680 miles
1680 miles divide by 70 MPH equals 24 hours of driving (round trip)
24 hours divided by 2 equals 12 hours of driving one way
(and an equal 12 hours returning)
12 hours divided by 6 events equals 2 hours of extra driving each way per event

[Super Dave]

Here's the math:...

Yeah, but you're expecting rational though from some on this.  You can't do that, Mike!  LOL!

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

Yeah, but you're expecting rational though from some on this.  You can't do that, Mike!  LOL!

Kind of like using 2 gallons of gas to drive across town to buy 20 gallons of gas at 20 cents a gallon cheaper than what it's being sold for where ever your at currently, the 2 gallons to get there and back cost $6 and the 'savings' was only $4 - so the fuel consumption alone cost you $2 extra to get that great 'deal'! That doesn't even begin to get into actual costs per mile driven - Hell even the IRS let's me write off 50+ cents per mile driven in my own personal vehicles when business related (to cover vehicle depreciation, consumables like tires / brakes / oil, etc).

That stuff cracks me up!    ::) 

[HAWK]

Let me try the common sense game.

Prospective new racer looks at 2 different orgs, he's not sure how long he's going to stick with it, closer org says he needs to buy $420 piece of equipment to race, farther org says he can just borrow it. Mike your logic says that as long as his transport gets 12 mpg (mine gets 22, some of us run on a shorter shoestring) that he can pay off the transponder in just 6 events but he's not sure he's going to stick with it that long. Fast forward 3 years and what do you know he's still doing it, with your perfect hindsight he looks back and wishes that he'd just bought the transponder but now he's invested in CCS so let's give him another

I've said it in this thread before and I'll say it again, right now Kevin is in a world of hurt (as is most of the racing world) and we've seen it in the schedule changes mid stream this season. As much as I want to believe that CCS will always be there when I want to go play the reality is that Kevin can only lose money for so long before this playground gets closed. You say that if I want to quit I can just sell the transponder. Looking at just the Midwest there were almost 300 riders that turned a wheel this season. If 2/3 of those riders were to try to sell their transponders because CCS closed the Midwest series, just how much demand do you think there would be for those 200 units. Yes the move to AMB is logical and really a no brainer to the long term serious racer (just for the record I like the idea, just not right now) but it's time to face reality, if CCS doesn't recruit some new blood next year the Midwest folks are not going to need a transponder. Give it a year to see how things go in 2011 and then make a decision, sounds like Kevin has made a wise one.

Oh yeah, the cheap fuel game, I usually use my vehicles to get across town when I need to buy such and such, whenever I go any distance from home I look at the prices at every station along the way and on the way home stop at the station that, while $6 in fuel away from my house, has the fuel that costs me $4 less. I needed to make the trip anyway and I got the cheap fuel too (BTW, when I make those trips I always take the vehicle with the least fuel so I can maximize the savings, to quote Dave "rational thought").

Woah, I'm getting dizzy here, time to quit.

[Super Dave]

farther org says he can just borrow it...

Wait, but who does that?  CCS needed to increase its entry fees to pay for the system and upkeep.  No borrowing there...

[HAWK]

Come on Dave, you're better than that, here, I'll help you out with a link to the fees page for the other org that was mentioned about 5 posts back.

http://maps.wera.com/fees/?x=1098

Granted, CCS has included the current "borrowed" transponder in the fee structure but it sure feels like borrowing when they hand me a transponder and I hand it back at the end of the weekend. The point made several posts back is that the transponder was a selling point to a new racer, just the people we need right now.

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

The point made several posts back is that the transponder was a selling point to a new racer, just the people we need right now.

As an observation, the trend seems to be that those who are (or potentially could be) spending the least money racing with CCS are the ones complaining the most about an investment that is equal to the averaged cost that many racers easily spend to participate in just one event (factoring in all costs like travel, lodging, lost wages, race fuel, tires, etc.).

If just the cost of buying a transponder is how close anyone is to not being able to race, then racings probably not for them. And beyond that if they can't even afford the rental cost for a transponder then racing is definately not for them! (at least from a financial aspect, their obviously not in a financial position to be racing - "especially in this economy")

[PlayHard]

GSXR RACER MIKE,  you obviously didn't get my point and instead decided to belittle me.  Hope that made you feel like you accomplished something.  I do not have a lot of money, I hold an average job make an average wage and racing has been a struggle.  My first year was particularly hard with having to buy everything necessary to go racing.  My point was that  not having to buy a transponder that first year was MY deciding factor to race CCS instead of WERA.  My first year, like a lot of peoples, was a testing the water type year whereas I didn't travel far, raced the races closest to my house, and made the decision to stick with it or go back to trackdays.  My 2nd. year I expanded and traveled, staying with CCS because that is where I started.  Having just finished my 3rd year, racing the last (2) complete southeast seasons, I have streamlined my expenses while remaining very competitive.  Utilizing your analogy, "If just the cost of buying a transponder is how close anyone is to not being able to race, then racing probably not for them", then I should have never started racing and thus CCS would have lost a very valuable customer as for I now make every southeast race and preregister for 3 to 5 races every weekend.   Could I afford a transponder now that I have everything else needed, absolutely.   

So "SUPER DAVE", if that is not rational thinking on my part, so be it.  It worked just fine for me, I'm still racing!!!   

[HAWK]

Mike, you are absolutely right, from an economic standpoint I should not be racing. So I guess rather than find a way to scrape together a minimal season next year I will instead find a less expensive way to spend my weekends.