If you could magically solve 1 problem in your racing world, what would it be?

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by OkieSnuffBox

Without pay drivers, many classes of racing wouldn't exist.

I'm not talking about driver pay...

But if you think drivers are paid, I recommend you do some research into high level motorsport. Very few are actually being paid. Except at the absolute extremes, drivers are paying to be there.

For example, Formula Drift. All but a few (literally a few) are spending money to compete; their sponsor dollars don't even come CLOSE to covering their expenses. Source: I work with several top tier FD guys coaching other drivers.

[OkieSnuffBox]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

I'm not talking about driver pay...

But if you think drivers are paid, I recommend you do some research into high level motorsport. Very few are actually being paid. Except at the absolute extremes, drivers are paying to be there.

For example, Formula Drift. All but a few (literally a few) are spending money to compete; their sponsor dollars don't even come CLOSE to covering their expenses. Source: I work with several top tier FD guys coaching other drivers.

Pay drivers. Not driver pay. Syntax is important. So I recommend you do some research into the English language.

"Pay drivers" are the guys that bring big money sponsorship to a team to get to drive. Pastor Maldanado was bringing $30+ million from PDVSA to get a drive in F1. Hence the term "Pay Driver."

Many in Rolex/ALMS etc, "gentleman drivers" are pay drivers as well.

That's my point. Without these guys, a lot of these series wouldn't exist, or would be much, much smaller.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by OkieSnuffBox

Pay drivers. Not driver pay. Syntax is important. So I recommend you do some research into the English language.

"Pay drivers" are the guys that bring big money sponsorship to a team to get to drive. Pastor Maldanado was bringing $30+ million from PDVSA to get a drive in F1. Hence the term "Pay Driver."

Many in Rolex/ALMS etc, "gentleman drivers" are pay drivers as well.

That's my point. Without these guys, a lot of these series wouldn't exist, or would be much, much smaller.

ok I got owned for assuming you made a gramatical error.


More people need to be aware of this...

[continuecrushing]

If you could magically solve any one problem in your racing world, what would it be?
What are you currently doing to solve the problem, or what have you tried before?
Why hasn't that solved your problem?

1. Tire wear-my tires wear out, wtf lol
2. Nothing. I keep buying new tires.
3. Friction/physics/other things

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

...And as I continue below, money isn't everything.

.....

The beauty of motorsports is that smarts and experience trumps talent and exuberance more often than not.

But this is the same thing, money with a little time thrown in for good measure. You don't get "smarts and experience" without the money to outspend someone with "talent and exuberance". Now that could just be you've spent it for a longer period, even if the "burn rate" is the same but in the end it sounds like we are saying basically the same thing.

[OkieSnuffBox]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

ok I got owned for assuming you made a gramatical error.


More people need to be aware of this...

Just like the old saying:

"How do you get a million dollars in racing?

Start out with two."

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

But this is the same thing, money with a little time thrown in for good measure. You don't get "smarts and experience" without the money to outspend someone with "talent and exuberance". Now that could just be you've spent it for a longer period, even if the "burn rate" is the same but in the end it sounds like we are saying basically the same thing.

My frame of reference is still from when I could go up to the track and practice for free for just the cost of gas, tires, and volunteer time to keep the track running.

You're right, there's no way to cheap out on gaining experience at higher levels. Knowing that 2.2 degrees of camber is going to work better than 2.1 degrees isn't free, but turning the wrench to the chosen value costs the same.

[Locust]

Hey Matt,

I've seen you on Instagram and it seems like you're making good progress on your site and such. I'm going to agree with what others have said here about venues.

1. Autocross, and really all motorsports venues in general, are the biggest problem in the racing world. There's nowhere near enough sites for autocross, they get shut down constantly due to noise complaints, and racing in general just has a bad stigma with the general public. Even though all the people I've met at autocross have been amazing people who are always happy to help others in any way possible we're still treated like a nuisance by those who don't share our passion.

Up here in the Northwest we've lost about 30% of one site due to imminent domain claims to build a road through the venue (and will likely lose the entire venue once they start putting homes in next to that road). We also just nearly lost our best site (Packwood, maybe you know of it?) to a public auction. The site is an abandoned lumber mill that has something like 30-40 acres of open pavement but at any time someone might buy that land and kick us out.

Tracks have the same issues but they're magnified even more as far as sound goes since tracks usually operate 5-7 days a week. The local track in my area (Pacific Raceways) has had to fight in committee and council meetings every year to keep operating because they keep building homes next to the track, people buy the homes, and then those people complain about the noise even though the track was there decades before them.

2. Right now we're doing the only thing we can do to remedy this. Search for new sites and keeping our fingers crossed that we don't lose our existing ones.

3. Why it doesn't work... Simple. Sites don't exist, we don't have support from the SCCA or any other organized body for developing/finding new sites, and we have absolutely no organized support to petition regional/national governmental bodies for legislation that supports our hobbies.


This is a problem that's been on my mind for quite some time and I often wish I could just win a Powerball drawing, build my own damn autocross venue / track, and be done with it. If only life were that easy, right?

I think with all the technology and startups in the world today there's got to be some way to figure out how to gather all racing enthusiasts around the country into some organized body, crowd fund some grass roots motorsports facilities, and lobby government for favorable legislation.

Care to volunteer?

Cheers!
-LocustEvoX / Joey

[Apex-Apex]

Not die

[mav1178]

I would give myself unlimited funds. Because that's what the primary problem is in my racing world...

-alex

[Lynxis]

Wear.

A significant portion of the cost of Motorsports derives from wear so if I could just magically stop wear from happening, that's what I would do.

Think about it, never change oil, tires or brakes and when the new hotness comes out, you can get close to full value for your old parts when you sell them because they still have a full lifetime left in them.

[Ashikabi]

Originally Posted by Lynxis

Wear.

A significant portion of the cost of Motorsports derives from wear so if I could just magically stop wear from happening, that's what I would do.

Think about it, never change oil, tires or brakes and when the new hotness comes out, you can get close to full value for your old parts when you sell them because they still have a full lifetime left in them.

He's got a point