1Likes*SOCAL raceway* offroad thread
08-09-2006, 11:18 AM
#496
[QUOTE=SoCalLosiRacer]If raising racing costs and reducing racebucks is what it takes to keep SoCal open, then so be it...
What I'd love to see SoCal do with any extra profit, though, is advertise. I can remember when we'd get 10+ heats of onroad racing on a Saturday night. Things have fallen off considerable, and SoCal has made no efforts that I have seen to draw in new racers. I think SoCal should try to work something out with the Hobby People down the street and Ultimate Hobbies... perhaps a free race entry with every electric kit sold, or even just leave some flyers at the counter. Heck, maybe they could even work something out with the Jack in the Box in the parking lot or Chipotle across the street or something.
I heard, though, that a radio station is coming to SoCal to promote Jim and Lana's skateboarding dog. Hopefully that'll stir up a little more interest.QUOTE]
The best advertising is very simple. Have the track be good. There are sooo many racers in the SoCal area that don't race there because the track is bumpy, or the onroad is not hooked up sometimes. Or the prices are high... how about how hot it is in there sometimes, like an oven...
All the little things will bring the wayward sheep back to the flock.
If I ran SoCal Things I would try to improve on:
A/C - Turn it on earlier and more often to make the track more comfortable.
Lighting - Turn the lights on earlier and more often, especially on the tracks.
Off-Road layouts - New layouts every 2 weeks during these hot summer months, the clay dries out too fast. Winter, we can go 3-4 weeks, no problem.
On-Road - Have the track vacuumed more often and aid the track's traction level when necessary.
Restrooms - Keep them clean/stocked. The paper towel dispenser is empty/not working more than not. Half the time, there is no soap. The Big boy urinal has been out of order for several months. The door on the Handicap stall cannot be locked.
Parts Inventory - Keep and inventory order system. I.e. When you sell a Shock Tower, order a new one. Current system, oh, shoot, we are out, I guess I should probably order some to be in in a few days...
Also, when the CR parts came out, several parts shops had parts almost 2 weeks before SoCal got them in. When I asked if they had got anything in, I was asked for a manual so they could get the part numbers. Just an FYI, the part numbers were all available on Horizon's website (THE COMPANY THEY ORDER FROM) a few WEEKS prior to when the parts were shipped, which was a week before the kit/manual. Within 10 minutes time, all the part numbers could have been looked up and ordered.
Customer Service - Lets just say the person that works at the count most often favors certain people in a certain age group and since I am not one of them, I don't always get fair/decent service.
Fees - I think $15 to race is alot. I can come to terms with it though. I think $3 to use a house transponder is rediculous. It's like "Oh hey, you don't have a $100 for a personal, well give me $3 everytime you come then." I would rather see it as, maybe a $1 or $2 discount for having a Personal. The thing that kills it is the $10 practice fee. This is for practice. $10! You are already there breaking parts, wearing tires/motors/batteries, I think $10 is excessive. I have never paid more than $10 to RACE at any track other than SoCal.
Racer's Discount - At several hobby stores/tracks I have raced at, Racers have been given a Discount on some items, usually tires. It isn't much and won't make the store lose money, rather make it more. The discount is usually like 10% on tires and wheels on a race day if you are racing. I know it would make me alot more inclined to get tires at SoCal. I want to support my LHS. I want to have a place to race. But, I cannot afford to throw money away either when I know I can save money on tires buying them in other places.
The Best advertising is Good Word of Mouth..
What I'd love to see SoCal do with any extra profit, though, is advertise. I can remember when we'd get 10+ heats of onroad racing on a Saturday night. Things have fallen off considerable, and SoCal has made no efforts that I have seen to draw in new racers. I think SoCal should try to work something out with the Hobby People down the street and Ultimate Hobbies... perhaps a free race entry with every electric kit sold, or even just leave some flyers at the counter. Heck, maybe they could even work something out with the Jack in the Box in the parking lot or Chipotle across the street or something.
I heard, though, that a radio station is coming to SoCal to promote Jim and Lana's skateboarding dog. Hopefully that'll stir up a little more interest.QUOTE]
The best advertising is very simple. Have the track be good. There are sooo many racers in the SoCal area that don't race there because the track is bumpy, or the onroad is not hooked up sometimes. Or the prices are high... how about how hot it is in there sometimes, like an oven...
All the little things will bring the wayward sheep back to the flock.
If I ran SoCal Things I would try to improve on:
A/C - Turn it on earlier and more often to make the track more comfortable.
Lighting - Turn the lights on earlier and more often, especially on the tracks.
Off-Road layouts - New layouts every 2 weeks during these hot summer months, the clay dries out too fast. Winter, we can go 3-4 weeks, no problem.
On-Road - Have the track vacuumed more often and aid the track's traction level when necessary.
Restrooms - Keep them clean/stocked. The paper towel dispenser is empty/not working more than not. Half the time, there is no soap. The Big boy urinal has been out of order for several months. The door on the Handicap stall cannot be locked.
Parts Inventory - Keep and inventory order system. I.e. When you sell a Shock Tower, order a new one. Current system, oh, shoot, we are out, I guess I should probably order some to be in in a few days...
Also, when the CR parts came out, several parts shops had parts almost 2 weeks before SoCal got them in. When I asked if they had got anything in, I was asked for a manual so they could get the part numbers. Just an FYI, the part numbers were all available on Horizon's website (THE COMPANY THEY ORDER FROM) a few WEEKS prior to when the parts were shipped, which was a week before the kit/manual. Within 10 minutes time, all the part numbers could have been looked up and ordered.
Customer Service - Lets just say the person that works at the count most often favors certain people in a certain age group and since I am not one of them, I don't always get fair/decent service.
Fees - I think $15 to race is alot. I can come to terms with it though. I think $3 to use a house transponder is rediculous. It's like "Oh hey, you don't have a $100 for a personal, well give me $3 everytime you come then." I would rather see it as, maybe a $1 or $2 discount for having a Personal. The thing that kills it is the $10 practice fee. This is for practice. $10! You are already there breaking parts, wearing tires/motors/batteries, I think $10 is excessive. I have never paid more than $10 to RACE at any track other than SoCal.
Racer's Discount - At several hobby stores/tracks I have raced at, Racers have been given a Discount on some items, usually tires. It isn't much and won't make the store lose money, rather make it more. The discount is usually like 10% on tires and wheels on a race day if you are racing. I know it would make me alot more inclined to get tires at SoCal. I want to support my LHS. I want to have a place to race. But, I cannot afford to throw money away either when I know I can save money on tires buying them in other places.
The Best advertising is Good Word of Mouth..
08-09-2006, 12:37 PM
#497
All those are great suggestions. I just do not see a lot of it being in the cards. Turning lights on earlier would be nice. It does get hot in there at times but bring a fan for the pits. A/C is expensive. Remember they are paying for a building for us to play in. Other then Revelation the pit tables at most other tracks are pretty hurting. Yeah I think things could be better. My issue is you have a hard time paying $15 for what you got now. More freq track changes (are you willing to help for free) cost a lot. They have to rent the equipment to till and pack the track. They have to pay employees to tear up the track and pack it all down. There is always ample help to tear up the old tracks but getting the new ones in the effort dissappears pretty quick. By the time packing comes people are tired. You could shut down the track on Monday and pack it again but that is lost revenue. As for other places. $15 is not uncommon around the country. I raced at MHOR for a full day. I showed up when the doors opened and practiced until racing started at night. I went to settle my tab at the end of the night and I was charged for practice AND racing!!!!! To boot there prices are the highest I have ever seen. Buggy tires for $20! Again I am not saying it could not be better but you do not get stuff for free in life. How often was SRS layout changed. How often does HRH change there layouts? I guess there could be a suggestion that they leave the track in longer if they pack them better. Might justify the closure of the Monday after a build to repack the track keep the track smoother. It will be harder then and people will complain about that. There is no satisfying some people. I would like to see a smoother track as well but this is offroad. Go to Revelation after a night of racing and them come back and complain about how rough So cal is. At least the bumps stay the same so you can avoid them. You could go to Rev or The Dirt and find new ruts throughout the night. Am I happy about the price increase, No. Will it effect how often I go to the track. Not at all. I am happy to have a place to play with my cars. They do a pretty darn good job keeping that place up overall. Soap in the bathroom would be nice. Paper towels I find more often then not. The pits are keep clean and they run a good show on most nights. If you would like to see things change so bad help out around the track more. You may even be able to work out a deal with the shop for discounts at the shop or with race entries if you do some upkeep around the track or help with rebuilds.
08-09-2006, 08:01 PM
#498
i would suggest we should have some sort of "membership" thing. like you payed a certain amount a month or a certain amount a year, and you get free practice and racing. I think crystal park/hotel/casino raceway does something like that...and there should be things like if u spend "X money" you recieve 1 free night of racing or a free practice. a simple computer program can organize this.
08-09-2006, 09:02 PM
#499
addition to waht i posted before (just thought of more ideas to promote socal)
socal COULD do some sort of raffle once a week or something like that. tickets for the raffle would be like a dollar, and every week there would be 1 or 2 prizes. prizes could be like free tires or wheels of choice from the store..or free body or a free practice/race day..
socal COULD do some sort of raffle once a week or something like that. tickets for the raffle would be like a dollar, and every week there would be 1 or 2 prizes. prizes could be like free tires or wheels of choice from the store..or free body or a free practice/race day..
08-10-2006, 11:55 AM
#500
I am happy to have a place to race my toy cars.
I am happy to be able to race 3 times a week.
I am happy to get hobby bucks at all.
I am happy to be able to get some parts at an on-site hobby shop.
I am happy to have good layouts, smoother than Camarillo.
I am happy to have Power, Chairs, Table provided.
I am happy the track is indoors.
I am happy there is a drivers' stand.
I am happy to have a real computer timing system.
I am happy that I do have the option of having a $100 transponder, instead of being mandated to use the house ones at an additional $3 per day.
I am happy that families can save with the $10 additional race fee.
I am NOT happy attendance is down... How can we fix it?
I am happy to be able to race 3 times a week.
I am happy to get hobby bucks at all.
I am happy to be able to get some parts at an on-site hobby shop.
I am happy to have good layouts, smoother than Camarillo.
I am happy to have Power, Chairs, Table provided.
I am happy the track is indoors.
I am happy there is a drivers' stand.
I am happy to have a real computer timing system.
I am happy that I do have the option of having a $100 transponder, instead of being mandated to use the house ones at an additional $3 per day.
I am happy that families can save with the $10 additional race fee.
I am NOT happy attendance is down... How can we fix it?
08-10-2006, 01:45 PM
#501
Much better! 
Good question. One way is to make sure people are welcoming of those that do show up and help out the new guys get the best out of what they have. It is pretty amazing how much fun some people can have with old cars and worn out tires. Some of us need all the cool bells and whistles and newest stuff. Keep a positive attitude at the track and remember you are playing with your toys. Help others around you to feel the same way. We are clicky type people around the track and we all have our own groups that we hang out in but every once in a while it is good to reach out to an unfamilar face and make what can seem like an overwhelming experince to a new commer feel a little more confortable and a little more welcome so maybe they want to keep coming back. This is not a large hobby when you look at the hard core racer. What we need to try and do is to lure the back yard bashers to show up to the track a little more and let them know that racing is more then winning but having a good time. Advertising helps. Most local hobby shops are open to having track fliers at there check out counters to advertise the local tracks. Maybe you could help deliver the fliers to the surrounding shops to advertise the track a little more. If asked nicely So Cal may even make up or supply the fliers or give you a stack of those neat folded buisness cards they have that give race times or something as simple as that. It is up to the "local" racers (to an extent) to keep the atmosphere at so cal fun, happy and helpful to keep people that visit or race for the first time to come back for more!
Just my $.02
Good question. One way is to make sure people are welcoming of those that do show up and help out the new guys get the best out of what they have. It is pretty amazing how much fun some people can have with old cars and worn out tires. Some of us need all the cool bells and whistles and newest stuff. Keep a positive attitude at the track and remember you are playing with your toys. Help others around you to feel the same way. We are clicky type people around the track and we all have our own groups that we hang out in but every once in a while it is good to reach out to an unfamilar face and make what can seem like an overwhelming experince to a new commer feel a little more confortable and a little more welcome so maybe they want to keep coming back. This is not a large hobby when you look at the hard core racer. What we need to try and do is to lure the back yard bashers to show up to the track a little more and let them know that racing is more then winning but having a good time. Advertising helps. Most local hobby shops are open to having track fliers at there check out counters to advertise the local tracks. Maybe you could help deliver the fliers to the surrounding shops to advertise the track a little more. If asked nicely So Cal may even make up or supply the fliers or give you a stack of those neat folded buisness cards they have that give race times or something as simple as that. It is up to the "local" racers (to an extent) to keep the atmosphere at so cal fun, happy and helpful to keep people that visit or race for the first time to come back for more!
Just my $.02
08-10-2006, 09:20 PM
#503
Whens the SuperX Race? I wanna race my T4!!
08-10-2006, 09:22 PM
#504
wait til December, unless Slim plans it earlier.
08-11-2006, 09:10 AM
#507
Guru...shorten your signature. You make me scroll too much to get to the good posts.
08-11-2006, 09:49 AM
#508
Tech Master
Originally Posted by nutfluff
You make me scroll too much to get to the good posts.
Come up this saturday!!!! I got a new GT to run.