Allen is one of the few that truely gets it.

Mr Velocity

I really Respect what you say in all your posts .

I like to see what you have to say on this post.


Mike

Unification is what the sport needs!! But that will not happen for reasons that will not keep this post positive. Unification will bring with it more boats and how do they say it: "It's cheaper by the dozen" You could add a couple more classes (bare with me here) and still keep the over head down. Maybe single outboard and a open "run what you brung" class for V and Cats. Like Pat said, this will bring other manufactures to the venues that will help bring in more sponsors. I was always impressed in the old days with the stuff teams were willing to try to "build a better mouse trap". Yea, alot did not finish the race. but to a motorhead like me it was great to see what teams were doing as you walked around the pits.

Allen you hit on alot of good points and I think APBA had some of this stuff covered. Seems like I always remember the National Anthem played before races if you were in a VIP section. They HAVE to broadcast something at the advents so people can follow what's going on that aren't within speaker distance of the VIP area. And get the word out so people know where to tune in to. Hell, half the people in boats in the spectator field don't even know what's going on. And I think we can find better color commentary from some other people out there. Prerecorded interviews would be great to fill in during the slow periods. Starting races on time sounds alot easier than you think, most people haven't got a clue what it takes to put everything in place. But other people around here that know better than me can explain why a race doesn't always start on time.

And last but not least. Try to incorporate a Poker Run into the weekend. I think this will bring out some Eye Candy to fill the void. I know thats easier said than done. But I think it will bring more people out and give some manufacturers a better reason to want to show up to sell their goods. Who knows? You might even get a couple more P class boats to run.

As a long time fan of Offshore Racing I sure hope someone can pull off a successful season this year. But time is running out.

Good Luck to the powers that are running this sport, just when you think you can see some light at the end of the tunnel, it always turns out to be a train!

I wish everyone a safe year racing where ever that might be, Pete

Doug

Great idea!! Maybe Ron P can give further input on that topic since he pulled of a heck of a live radio show from Marylands OPA race year.

Mike,
My views are the same as every other post I've made on the subject.
Lock in the rules for 5 years. A tweak here and there may be ok but you don't introduce a new engine package every year. 1 year notice of any rule change.
Less classes, at least for the "pros". The #1 complaint from our sponsors was trying to figure out who is racing who. There should be 4 pro classes and the goal should be to grow those 4 classes.
Seperate the pros from the weekend warriors. Much like it is today with races on Sat and Sun, but also in the pit area. Make the pro area have an admission fee.
Have a code of conduct for the racers including having them in the pits to greet the fans the day before.
Better communication between race control, the racers and the fans.
Consistent enforcement of the rules. Don't enforce the rules that are driven by the business behind racing.
End to end race coverage, highlight shows suck. This will also mean an investment in more cameras and $$$.
I think there is also a big misconception on boat count. More boats doesn't mean more sponsors. Sponsors will only deal with pros, remember when that sponsor's name goes on the boat you represent them. Being in uniform drunk at a titty bar will not bring sponsors. Many racers think this sport is one big party, to a sponsor it's strictly business. Racers must think of it as a business, it just happens to be a really fun business. It's a party for the fans.

It's not magic the problem has always been too many egos get in the way of making it happen.

Ron P., I hear ya dude. I give up. I guess my passion for the sport sometimes overides my sense of sportsmanship. I guess it's my turn to simply shut up and race.
Fact is, I'm tired. I either need re jetted or tuned up.

SO, in honor of the new year, when I get off duty at 0700 Saturday morning, I am going in search of a butt-load of Captain Morgan and hopefully engage in a deeply religious experience with a hottie blonde.
Maybe I'll eat breakfast first...

Good input guys.

Mr velocity....I totally agree with your last sentence....IMHO, it is simply a matter of doing things right and using some common sense. Pretty simple stuff.

Too Old, I think you are right on target, as usual, as are alot of you.

Ideas are great, implementation is the key.

Be safe,

Allan

#1 make sure the customers (racers) are happy.
#2 Make sure Sponors are happy.
#3 Hopefully people enjoy watching the race
#4 When the race is over, make sure to thank the local sponsors and municipality. AND THE VOLUNTEERS.

It's all pretty easy. The hardest part is getting the sponsors, which is what drives the race dates and locations.

Anyone that's participated in an OPA race has seen all these elements come together without much fanfare.

This is all good stuff !

I think every team needs to have hero cards with the team available for autographing at a certain hour or time

There should be one trailer selling T-shirts for all the teams, say every team would have 300 t-shirts and there is 50 teams ,thats 15000 shirts ,i am pretty sure we would get one hell of a good price !

this is how i would break it down !
say the shirt cost 5$
and the trailer sells it for 20$

5$ goes back to the team for the cost
5$ goes to the association /race site/trailer
5$ to a children's charity
5$ to profit your team

This not only eliminates you having to stop wrenching on your boat because some guy wants to buy a shirt ,it also eliminates giving them away ! I don't want to sound cheap but every year i loose thousands of dollars because i always have some body wanting a shirt ,and i just give it to them ! By having this trailer ,you wouldn't' feel bad for one, because you can just tell that person wanting a shirt that a portion of cost is going to charity and all t-shirts are sold at one place !

Back to Nascar comparisons. IMHO, Nascar my have 13 classes, but they don't all race on the same track the same day. I find this the most confusing thing in racing. I follow the sport and still half the time I can't tell who is racing who.


I'm sure this won't be a popular view, but there doesn't need to be a class for every type of boat out there.

I think a circuit with just SuperV and SuperCat would cut down confusion, streamline the whole event, and would be easier to sell to sponsors. Yeah sure everyone wants to race, but it's just not realistic. I don't see Nascar running F250 Diesels out there just so I have a class to root for or run in.