metalcrafter

Biggest consistent turnouts I ever witnessed were, Friday night oval races at Metrofast. .
If a new track ever comes to be , this would be a good format.

Wednesday : on road
Thursday open track
Friday night ovals
Saturday open track
Sunday club races

Another alternative is club racing in a rented venue , banquet hall , gymnasium etc. This would
be the cheapest route as opposed to buying or leasing a full time facility. . Stanton hobby used to rent the
church gym on Wednesday night . Arlington hobbies had a local high school gym in winter & a park district
dirt track in summer. I also raced with a group of firemen who rented a hall in the basement of a hotel on
Manhiem rd (crazy place) . A local sports facility would be good also , as they typically have the
space to store the carpet & hardware. .

Anyone up for starting a club for the fall ? Say, $250-300 initial dues x 20 drivers =5-6K for carpet & lap system .
$20-30 race fees to cover venue costs ....

GerryH

iTrader: (26)

Pretty sad state of the hobby and industry. We've lost 3 tracks in the Chicagoland area in the last 6 months. I don't know what the manufacturers are going to do when there are very few places to race. What's the point of sponsoring drivers? And it's a little hard to get admission paying spectators to an RC race track. Obviously really hurts a business when the cost of the facility is so high. But there's also the problem of being reasonably close to the consumers you're serving. Find an old/cheap building way out in the middle of no where and you'll have problems attracting enough racers.

If you're a track, you can't make enough money off the entries. So you think about charging a higher fee. But anyone that knows economics, knows that if you raise prices, you'll end up with fewer racers, so you're essentially stuck with what the market will bear. Also there's a limit to the number of "big" races the market will support.

Only way to make more money is getting new customers. Being just an RC track, it's hard getting new drivers. I think Windy had the right idea with the birthday parties, but you have to put a lot of effort into nurturing those potential new customers. If you're a full blown hobby store, you might have a chance. Customers coming in for something else only to get interested in RC seeing people have a good time. And therein lies another problem. If you're a newbie or even a seasoned driver and if you're not having a good time because the track is full of drama or other unfriendly things, you're probably not going to come back or come as frequently.

When was the last time the employees or volunteers came up to you and say hello, how are things going, saw you were having problems can I help you? This isn't unique to Windy. It's pretty much every place I've been. You get the feeling you're intruding on someone's private club. If we want rc tracks to survive, we all have to get better at welcoming people into the hobby.

I fear the way things are going, there will be fewer places to run, which means fewer people buying RC. This leads to manufacturers not making money or enough money. And soon, they will have problems staying in business. The only company that stands a chance is someone like Traxxas who's customers are typically using their products somewhere other than an RC track.

mikel33

iTrader: (2)

we're happy for you

Milez

iTrader: (9)

Anytime people interact in a competitive manner there is bound to be drama at some point, WCRC is/was no different. I always enjoyed the time I spent practicing and racing there. Just about everyone was very friendly and always there to help, or lend some advice. When I first started coming there I was approached quite often by someone coming over to say hello and introduce themselves. It never felt "clickish" to me.

I met a lot of great people there, all of whom I hope to see again in the future. I hope to see you on Saturday, but if not I wish you well until we meet again!

Finally, I just want to say Thank You to Eric for taking the risk, and giving me some great memories at WCRC! It will be missed!

​​​​​​

robk

iTrader: (22)

I'm sure I made a post like this before, but the place that had the most new people I have ever seen was Strictly rc. The guy who ran the program (Kenji, who some of you may remember) went out of his way to make sure newcomers not only had a class to race no matter what the vehicle but also introduced new people around to the regulars. He also made the program biased towards a good time vs 100% competition.

Essentially you're competing for entertainment dollars, and there's more good times fun guys out there than crazy serious racers. I certainly don't have the solution to getting new people in the door. WCRC definitely had every amenity anyone could want. Thanks to Eric for giving us a few years of the best facilities I have ever raced at.

Billy Kelly

iTrader: (9)

anthonyscardina

iTrader: (12)

All this talk of clubs makes me wonder if, down on the south side at State & Garfield, that carpet is still sitting in the old abandoned bakery that was Underground RC...that was another place that Kenji was a big presence at. Kenji got me racing when I didn't think I would be welcome with more experienced drivers, and Underground was where I learned to get around a track in one piece.

metalcrafter

All problems are the beginning of effective & creative solutions.

Josh Hohnstein

iTrader: (3)

Apparently shame and public humiliation is the only way to get through to the liar and thief that owns Windy city.

There was a benefit race held about 7 months ago for the widow of Brian Koch. Windy city raised over $3,000 from the racers to go to Brian's family.
Unfortunately Windy city never paid the money to Brian's widow. They even went as far as to remove the Facebook post saying how much money was raised. Why would someone remove a post about money raised for a great cause????? Easy enough to figure out.....he was going to steal the money.

When approached by Brian's friends Eric from Windy city lied and claimed he only owed $300 and would send a check.
Unfortunately for him the Facebook proof of $3000 being raised was saved in a screen shot.
After months of trying to collect Eric finally agrees to send a paypal payment for the funds.........Big surprise the funds are insufficient. He blames it on Paypal and his bank and sends another payment. That payment also bounces.

Eric from Windy city you need to Pay the money racers donated for Brian's family!
This is the final warning before the Arlington police are involved.

Nexus

iTrader: (42)

damn!!!

popcorn...

tonyd

iTrader: (52)

And for those that don't remember.. I still want to thank all the companies that donated PRODUCT for this great cause.

I would personally like to thank everyone for coming out and giving there support Saturday. We had a great turn out and raised a solid $3000 that is going straight to Brians family. I would also like to thank all the manufactures that stepped up and donated items for all the raffles that helped raise money for the family. Traxxas,Tamiya,Jconcepts,Proline,Motiv/Gravity,Fantom,Mcallister, and good old Coca cola....

With all the companys that stepped up for Brians family there is one that has left a dirty taste in our mouths and was one of his long time sponsors. (No room in the budget right now) That was the answer we were given when asked if they could help support the cause... I for one will never forget their response.
Also Special thanks to Brians Sister and Brother in law for spending some time with us on saturday as well.....

Now past all this everyone had a great time and this race is going to be a annual event. (The Brian Koch Memorial Race) All proceeds will go to the charity of their choice....

KINGZJ

iTrader: (4)

Who was the butt hole sponsor? be nice to put them in check also.

tonyd

iTrader: (52)

You can have that honor Sir..

Nexus

iTrader: (42)

Tony is that you saying what was posted or a copy/paste from WCRC/Eric?

This and the whole thing is super drama. Sad to see another track close, but for sure I see less drama in the 1:1 race scenes I've been involved with LOL

tonyd

iTrader: (52)

That is a copy of my post for WCRC from the brian koch thread after the race.