Hello to all you awesome RC people of the track, street, dirt, and rocks! I’ve been thinking about this for months now and thought I’d finally spend some time writing this. (Got surgery and I’m bored)
Something is missing in the rc world. We can fight it and love our hobby and let it go as it is, but deep down we all know it should be bigger. (Yes, it is about the size, there’s no way around it, sorry guys) I’m not talking scale here, I’m talking about the racing, the lights, the glory, the fans, and the business.
Indy racing, rally racing, and street racing are just a few ways that the world over has enjoyed racing. But there’s still a problem there. Little Joey can’t go hop in a million dollar racecar on his saturday after breakfast and practice. Not even Big Joe can do that. But they can pick up that FlySky controller, pop in that GensAce and roar around the track.... except lately they can’t.
I live in Washington state, a few of our tracks have closed and a lot of our stores have too. The closest hobby shop is 35 minutes away from me. The closest track is 40. The closest dirt course is about 2 hours. I race with friends at the local parks. We would LOVE to race on a track, but we just can’t drive 2 hours to ours.
But we can build our own tracks right? Ok fine, you got me there. But where’s the fun if there’s no competition? This is where the industry needs more push.
Tracks close because there’s no money.
No money because no racers.
Here’s where I see the vicious loop coming into play...
No racers make them the close, but with few racers comes little competition.
Competitive spirit fuels the business, the more racers the better you have to be to win. You have to practice more, tinker more, have the latest equipment to be the best... all of that means more money for the business which equals more advertisement, more racers, more competition, and more money.
But no racers, no competition, no need to upgrade or practice. No need to spend money at the track. Or even no fun racing at the track. (Not that I’m saying it’s not fun, but we all agree that being neck and neck with the adrenaline pumping is even better)
What builds competition? Lots of guys comparing... wait wait wait not that. I mean yes that, but not that. Awards! Prizes! A goal! More than a sheet of paper or a cheap placard. If your track offered a race in one month and winner got $1k or a free Associated B74 how many guys and girls would show up practicing more than ever? I’ll tell ya now it’ll be more than are trying for that placard. But if you’re offering a big prize 2 things come to mind. It can’t be gambling for legal reasons, so you can’t charge an entry fee to the race itself (But practice days are total up to charge) but you can use qualifying laps to pull out jimmy who’s trying to win in lap one of his life. Also if you’re offering a lot, then you need a lot.... we need people.... we need ADVERTISEMENT!
On top of that where’s the advertisement?! A traxxas commercial on nickelodeons nick at nite pushing parents into the hobby could fuel it further. Why don’t we see that? A 35 mph slash popping on screen instead of the newest skin lotion will catch the eyes of the 25 year old much quicker.
Let’s jump to another point, we need racing redone. Or at least a different league of rules. There’s way to much watching and waiting on race day. Still working on my idea here.
I see so much potential but so little use of it for so long.
Why I?m Worried About our RC Hobby, and Why You Should be Too - The RCNetwork
Here’s one guy who’s worried too, for valid reasons.
I’ve got a rough plan, but it’s a plan. We need a fresh track, a new set of racing rules, ACTUAL AWARDS FOR WINNING, a cheap starting car (Hello Associated, we need a starter car that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg for people wanting to get into it), rentable cars and batteries, and a nice team of dedicated people who believe in the rc racing world. This includes:
Track managers
Knowledgeable Enthusiasts to help new comers
Racers to build competition
Advertisers
Investors
If you are as interested and dedicated to build this community to what it really deserves to be, like me, then let’s do it together! Let’s start this in the northwest and spread. If you live in the washington area let’s work together and build this century’s racing pastime!
(Sorry about formatting, used my docs app to write it)
-Shnoo