SE Banquet?

[SE#39]

Game Dic -- don't hold your breath getting an answer to why CCS is no longer at Rd Atl.
See me at the track sometime or ask Jennings Operations Manager - Bill Brown - a former employee at Rd Atl.
 
Tiff K. -- your perspective from the lofty altitude of the Texas Taj Mahal may support your dissmisive comments -- but down here at trackside the facts are sadly different. Proclaiming that we should go to your source, ignore gossip because we don't have your satistics or your knowledge of the schedule is meaningless puffery. Everything posted above by CCS customer-racers is a true report on the condition of the CCS-SE Region.
If CCS is satisfied with their market share in the SE Region then so be it. But if they want to regain their spot as the market leader in the hottest motorcycle racing market then biz as usual needs to change to meet their customer-racer's demands.
Why do I care?
As somebody who bought into Roger Edmondson's vision of CCS back in 83/84, and a license holder since '85 I've paid enough dues to have a vested intrest in the CCS-SE Region.
As somebody (not unique to me) who annually introduces a dozen or more guys to our sport and is disturbed when these converts regularly pick Track Days/Schools and WERA over CCS. See reasons for this in my post above.
 
This past weekend Jan 24/25 the track days at Jennings had 100+ participants each day and the unique Church of Speed event at No Problem Race Track attracting a lot of participants is proof positive of the potential in the South. These orgs seem to be delivering a product their customers want.
This goes on almost every winter weekend at Southern Tracks -- next weekend Roebling Raceway has two track days scheduled by two different orgs.
Sadly many of these events will be better attended than some CCS-SE Region events.
 
Tiff -- I would have called you with this but you don't return calls -- so do us CCS-SE Region customer-racers a big favor and sneak a copy of this thread past Buddha and into Mike Kidd's office.
 
Thanks -- Doug Kidd SE#39

[Jkf95]

Why is VIR a MA only race this year?

Will Barber be a SE only race?

[quicktoy]

Why is VIR a MA only race this year?

Will Barber be a SE only race?

All three VIRs are mid atlantic/SE combined races this year and the one barber is a MA/SE/GP combined race along with being a FUSA weekend

[Jkf95]

OK, Great!...

The schedule page just listed MA....
http://www.formulausa.com/schedule.asp

The detail schedule of events does have SE & MA at top....didn't check closely enough.

[CCS]

Hey Doug,

Buddha here, (I just love that name!)

CCS is not at Road Atlanta because Mike Swain would not give us dates for "Sportsman" (read CCS) racing, only Formula USA. And to get a Formula USA date, we must give them all the gate money and pay track rent strickly from entry fees. Sorry, even with a 1000 entry turnout, we the loss would be 4-5 digits.

CMP was voted off the circuit by low turnouts AND a rider survey at the end on the 2002 season. (80% of the SE riders listed it as their least favorite track.) Talk about not giving the customers what they want.

Schedule conflicts with WERA are inevitable. When they have 8 races in the Southeast within a 10 week span, where else can we go? It is unforunate for racers in the Southeast who would like to run CCS, but we are trying not to completely bankrupt them by asking them to run every weekend all summer long. Not all riders have the financial resources you have.

Twin Sprints came about as a way to increase racing opportunities for the riders, while saving on travel expenses. The Savanaha area doesn't have that big of a racer base, so most people have to travel, which means hotel and fuel costs. The Twin Sprint idea was Roger Edmondson's, and I believe it is a fundimentaly sound idea.

For 2004 GT races will return to Roebling, even during the Twin Sprint Weekend. (GTO and GTL on Saturday, GTU on Sunday). With the reduction of classes, the time each day was opened up to allow them to return.

Statistically, CCS holds its own with WERA at tracks we both use. Yes, we track that informtion, and CCS's event average (over 70 sanctioned events) is 660 entries compared to WERA's 420 (at 38 sanctioned events). For more indepth info, please contact me directly Doug.

The bane of all racing is the track day, that is more to blame for the Southeast's demise than the services offered by WERA or CCS. The more riders who go "track riding" instead of racing, the harder it is to keep racing going for everyone.

Good Day.

[GAMEDIC]

Well when is the last time you tried to get Road A? maybe he was just in a bad mood?.. do you try every year... and why would he not give CCS dates if WERA has them?  and WERA would not do it at a loss so they are making money

[bfkidd]

Buddha it is!!! ;D

[hooter31]

the s.e banquet will be at vir i was told...in referance to the se growing,the only way that is going to happen is if we all get involved...that means talking to street riders and trying to get them off the street and on the track.sport bike sales have doubled in the past few years.i know a bunch of guys that go riding almost every sunday doing 130+ on the street,i'm trying to convince them to try the track where they can have real bragging rights...it's very easy to stand back and throw stones,but that won't change anything.if you have any good ideas please share them with kevin.anytime i have called him he has always had time to here me out.i am by no means saying i agree with everything that he has to say so don't feel i'm kissing his butt.i don't have the answer to what we need to do to increase the grids but believe me when i figure it out kevin will know

[Mongo]

ROTFLMAO - nice to see you still like how sanctioning bodies do things Doug.  I'm curious, have you ever been happy racing?  

What Tiffiney said - you don't seem to have much of a clue on this one.  Our ridership in the SE has been growing recently, not dropping.  As for the why's of CCS not running some tracks, might want to ask your buddy Roger.  He's left a lasting legacy that Kevin can't do much about at this point.

[Mongo]

I would like to point out one thing while I'm here - WERA doesn't run twin sprint weekends so our numbers aren't inflated by doubling our sprint races. We also don't have as many combined weekends any longer using the club racers to inflate the Pro/Am grids.  But overall Kevin is right, we are pretty equal at a lot of tracks.  And I, like him, don't like doing races on the same weekend in the same area but we're both at the mercy of the tracks and the dates they give us.

[badmonkey]

Bucket of KFC and a bottle of maddog, Banquets at my house dambit...

[hdpromos]

"Badmonkey"! You missed your calling! You should have been a comedian, as you sure don't know anything about roadracing you fool! ???

HD