Competition Caution

[CRAIG_HALL]

regarding the comment about heat races in Mickey Thompson days.. Wasn't there a lot more entries ? too many for a main event ? With the economy the way it is there's not that many racers so they all go to the main.So until the entries grow 50% or more I doubt we'll have heats for the main.

Mod karts have been the opening ceremony race in the past, a lot depends on what races are being filmed for tv and they obviously come first.

[SPONSOR]

Membership in the largest desert racing community has its advantages - Participate in Forum Discussions - Send and Receive Private Messages - Maintain Public Photo Albums - Access to Groups - User Profile in our Social Network - Increased Access to more Sub Forums - Reduced Online Advertisements Join our community today

[Rock Donkey]

Robby hit the nail on the head, in pro 2 (as well as Prolite and I assume the other classes as well) its 100% wide open from the green to the checkers, if you are not giving it everything, you have no chance of winning.
One change I would like to see though would be a bit longer races, say 20-25 laps. Our races just seem so wham bam then its over, a few extra laps would add to the bang for the buck for the fans and give the racers more time to battle.

X2. I love the manditory caution as a racer and spectator. Longer races for the trucks, would be cool!

[PDANK Racing]

As a racer I like the caution, it gives you time to tighten seatbelt, clean face shield, converse with spotter(without yelling), calm down if needed, and an opportunity to make up for big mistakes. As a spectator, definitetly makes the races more exciting to watch, especially on the long tracks. Until there are much higher vehicle counts, it is needed.
As for track prepping, I had a couple circle track racers come to their first off-road races with me and they had mentioned that it seems to take a long time between races. I personally like the break between races, gives you a chance to get a beer, snack, piss or even run back to campsite without missing any of the action.

[flatblack]

i think a 1 hour endurance race would be awesome, incorporating pit strategy-fuel, tires, ect...

[flatblack]

who ever ends up with the most laps at the end of the hour wins....

[ProFORMANCE]

I loved the Mickey Thompson series. When I was younger part of our Christmas gift was tickets to the Mickey Thompson races and Supercross.

After the Mickey Thompson series ended I would watch SODA on TV. When Jim Baldwin started CORR I thought Cool, short course racing is back! The first few events I went to were good, but it was not Mickey Thompson and it lost my interest. Then CORR closed and LOORS started up. I have been to two events and I just don't seem to to enjoy it very much. The Competition Yellow is lame, IMO, spending all day to see 1 race for each class is boring. Mickey Thompson had heat races and a main event. It is hard to keep young kids entertained all day, unlike MT where you were there for 4 to 5 hours and the show was over. Short Course needs to figure out how to get that Mickey Thompson feel back.

I also think they need to ditch a few classes. Get back to the basics, 1 full size truck class, 1 mini truck class, 1 Buggy class and 1 UTV or Unlimited Kart class. Have the kid Karts be the halftime race. If the need is there to have these other limited truck/ buggy and multiple Kart classes, then on the following day open the track up to these classes.

I believe Nikal brings up many good points and suggestions. MTEG races took place in front of the fans in one 4-5 hour window with very little down time between races. This keeps the excitement level high for all. I feel many potential spectators may not show up at races because it is an all-day event. Any more so, the average person not immediately involved in motorsports may not have a full day to contribute to attending a race event. Life is too hectic any more with far more responsibility and demand for one's time. But, give that person a 4-5 hour window of continuous excitement with the family, and your attendance may go up significantly. Ever been to a stick and ball game that last for 6-8 hours? No, because they have all figured out that continuous high level excitement for a short window is more appealing than a long drawn out day. Just watch how rapidly the stands start to empty when a baseball game goes into a 10th, 11th and 12th inning.

Also MTEG had far less classes. In my opinion, fewer classes created more vehicles per class, and increase track-time for every competitor. Plus, the spectators see more racing action with their favorite driver do to twin heats and a main event. Practice/warm-up/qualifying are all boring for the spectator, they want wheel to wheel action. How many fans do you see in the stands during a NASCAR practice/qualifying compared with actual race time, not many. They want wheel to wheel action from an action sport.

LOORRS could easily restructure to accomplish all this and more, in a similar manner. And, I suspect a large contingent of drivers would prefer greater compitition track time with a greater number of competitors to bang wheels with, over higher finishing positions in a class with few competitors. I believe most drivers would prefer banging wheels over driving 100 laps single file.

Other suggestions are; Increase track maintenance efficiency and do so while performing post race driver interviews for every race, immediately followed-up with final staging for the next race in front of the main grandstands. Interview with the winner post every heat/race, and make it mandatory. Doc the driver points that does not participate in the interview. Perform the final staging in front of the stands for every heat/race and every class. Interviews and final staging in front of the stands will keep the fans attention on the vehicles and competitors, and not so much on the excessive track maintenance time.

Last, have announcers both in the booth and in the stands/track-side. The announcers need to have personalities capable of interacting and firing up the crowd. The entire event and all aspects of it needs to be an exciting experience that insures the spectators will return in the future, and bring along additional friends and family.

Though several may disagree, for LOORRS to be successful, their events must be an "Exciting Show" 1st, and an "Off-Road Race" 2nd. While some drivers could care less about the show/spectators and just want to race, without the spectators, there will be no race.

[DailyPedal]

As much as these ideas sound good, most are not feasible...The races are not an all day deal for most spectators...the majority show up for the afternoon races and in most cases, we are done before dark. Races typically run 30-45min with a 10-15min podium and track maintenance is done during this time. Since we typically race during the hotter weather, there are little to no options here and track work may take slightly longer after the trucks run. Staging cannot be done on track while heavy equipment is in operation-period. Maybe in front of the grandstands but that would mean moving the grandstands back and that is not going to happen. The large truck classes are very tough on the track and the races cannot run much longer than currently done due to rapidly drying conditions, dust abatement regulations and of course, TV wants a clear picture...We do run a lot of classes and have worked to balance this out but nobody wants to cut classes that have been with us from the beginning but some may be able to move to the Regional Series tracks...constructive criticism is important, nothing is ever perfect and improvements can always be made so keep them coming but remember, this particular "show" has been getting tuned for several years now and most things happen for a reason...and we are all race fans too and want to see more racing...what a great complaint to have!

[ProFORMANCE]

The suggestion of final staging in front of the stands is meant to be On-Track in front of the stands. Let the track crews address this portion of the track 1st while interviews are in process, then move on to another portion of the track and proceed with staging. This will draw the spectators attention away from the track maintenance and increase the anticipation level for the next race. Outside of wheel to wheel racing, few things gets one more excited than to see 15-20 race-vehicles driving out onto the track with engines revving, ready to do battle. Very doable.

As you mention, most races take place in hotter months when daylight extends up to 6-7-8 even 9pm depending on the month and geographic location. A spectator arriving at 12:30 to 1:30, with races ending at 6-7pm makes for a minimum 5 1/5 to 6 1/2 hr day plus travel.

If I recall correctly, MTEG's Meet The Drivers session began at 5:30pm, races began at 6:15pm, and the night was over by 10pm. Less than 4-hrs of racing, plus 45min to socialize with the fan's favorite driver and throw a few mud-balls. As competitors, we had approximately 1hr between the end of a race and staging for the next race. MTEG ran two other races during this 1hr, plus other entertainment.

Granted, MTEG is no more. But, they had a tremendous turn-out of fans and a significant TV package for well over a decade of racing. They had to have been doing a few things wright.

Just my personal opinion..........

[9five9]

I don't think this is at all a question of excitement. As a spectator, no matter what, short course will always be exciting.....unless it's turned into an endurance race. Think about the low number of finishing trucks at some of the races already....add a bunch more laps and no truck will finish. The nature of this sport is just that aggressive, and I love it.

[Spare]

I like that, stage next race and announce drivers while the track work is going on.

It would keep the fans more involved while work is being done.