Post by tsmiley98 on Oct 20, 2011 19:33:59 GMT -5
Today I had a chat with the guy in charge. Ed Kosiski is the guy who has put this race on for the past three years and been running the Turkey Chase there for the karts too.
So some question I had concerning pit space between karts and bikes. -There will be two different areas for the karts and bikes to pit, so each will not be fighting with each other for pit space
Race times -karts will be starting at 4, bikes around 7 (mains) bikes practice and heats will be run between the later kart events if the karts are not done
Why not run it on a different weekend as it has been in years past Rental of the building twice obviously cost more making it difficult to make a profit as a promoter, plain and simple operating costs are doubled On a personal note I think the track will be better with fresh kart rubber on it than it was my first year there when we raced on week old frozen rubber that which was like ice.
The big question on fees and pit passes they are working on a plan for multi day pit pass prices sounds good to me, because that is a huge issue when it comes down to it. Ed explained that he lost a considerable amount of money the first year he had the motorcycle races, which made him more than hesitant to run it again last year. He did say he made a little money on the second race but still not enough to make it worthwhile. I'm not at liberty to say how much but lets just say it was a 3 digit number a little more than a good weeks paycheck. so in an effort to continue promoting and having motorcycle races in the Nebraska area he is trying this, and if it all pans out there will be another race next year Hopefully with more thought put into pre-entry discounts and multi day pit passes.
One thing that I am going to revisit with Ed is the cost for 12 and under pit passes. I can fully understand the reluctance to drop pit pass prices with poor turnout and only a few guys showing up on subsequent race days in a long race weekend, but there are many kids (future of the sport) who will inevitably miss out on racing because dad/mom don't feel it is worth paying the same fees for the kids who race half the amount of time.
Hopefully with good attendance things will get better for the future. Ed went over a lot of detail about venue cost and how the money is split out between an officiating crew, the proceeds of the concessions (100% go to the facility not the promoter) and how money is divided to paying out on the pro classes.
One last thing, which is every racers responsibility to help keep our sport going is to get the word out about the races, if you are going or not, tell someone and they might know someone who would be interested in going. Some of the classes payout by a percentage of the entry fees. So the more bikes in it the more you can win. It isn't far fetched to believe that contingency money can be produced with a good rider count either for the classes that are sitting at a fixed payout.
If you are in the Omaha area you can stop down at Kosiski Auto Parts and pick up some fliers to distribute. I'll get one scanned in and posted up so it can be distributed digitally.
Any other questions or concerns ask and I'll get some answers for you.
So some question I had concerning pit space between karts and bikes. -There will be two different areas for the karts and bikes to pit, so each will not be fighting with each other for pit space
Race times -karts will be starting at 4, bikes around 7 (mains) bikes practice and heats will be run between the later kart events if the karts are not done
Why not run it on a different weekend as it has been in years past Rental of the building twice obviously cost more making it difficult to make a profit as a promoter, plain and simple operating costs are doubled On a personal note I think the track will be better with fresh kart rubber on it than it was my first year there when we raced on week old frozen rubber that which was like ice.
The big question on fees and pit passes they are working on a plan for multi day pit pass prices sounds good to me, because that is a huge issue when it comes down to it. Ed explained that he lost a considerable amount of money the first year he had the motorcycle races, which made him more than hesitant to run it again last year. He did say he made a little money on the second race but still not enough to make it worthwhile. I'm not at liberty to say how much but lets just say it was a 3 digit number a little more than a good weeks paycheck. so in an effort to continue promoting and having motorcycle races in the Nebraska area he is trying this, and if it all pans out there will be another race next year Hopefully with more thought put into pre-entry discounts and multi day pit passes.
One thing that I am going to revisit with Ed is the cost for 12 and under pit passes. I can fully understand the reluctance to drop pit pass prices with poor turnout and only a few guys showing up on subsequent race days in a long race weekend, but there are many kids (future of the sport) who will inevitably miss out on racing because dad/mom don't feel it is worth paying the same fees for the kids who race half the amount of time.
Hopefully with good attendance things will get better for the future. Ed went over a lot of detail about venue cost and how the money is split out between an officiating crew, the proceeds of the concessions (100% go to the facility not the promoter) and how money is divided to paying out on the pro classes.
One last thing, which is every racers responsibility to help keep our sport going is to get the word out about the races, if you are going or not, tell someone and they might know someone who would be interested in going. Some of the classes payout by a percentage of the entry fees. So the more bikes in it the more you can win. It isn't far fetched to believe that contingency money can be produced with a good rider count either for the classes that are sitting at a fixed payout.
If you are in the Omaha area you can stop down at Kosiski Auto Parts and pick up some fliers to distribute. I'll get one scanned in and posted up so it can be distributed digitally.
Any other questions or concerns ask and I'll get some answers for you.
