Meeting…..

[Curt Kistler]

There has been many threads, topics and great suggestions over the past several weeks about next season, and the current state of karting in CO. Some have suggested having a meeting to discuss all of these topics and suggestions for 2007.

Well here you go.

On October 21, 2006 at a time and location yet to be decided, we will all have the opportunity to discuss our concerns and our wishes for 2007. I will personally find a location to host this “town meeting”. I have had many discussions with most of the key people who will be there to represent and answer every question we can throw out.

Here is how the meeting will be held:
1) It will be held in such a place where everyone will have a seat and be comfortable. Something like a hotel conference room or possibly at The Wildlife Experience IMAX theatre.
2) It will have a professional and experienced moderator to keep things on point and moving.
3) We will have a podium, with a mic, that will allow everyone to either ask questions or just state their concerns. (5min. each)
4) There will be a panel to answer those questions made up of All Track Owners, Shop Owners and the CSC Staff.
5) For obvious reasons, the meeting will be kept as professional as possible. Any “F” bombs or personal attacks will be escorted to the door and your views and opinions will not be heard.
6) There will be a survey form posted on the Karter, prior to the meeting, for you to fill out. This data will be compiled and published after the meeting.
7) Stand by more more information on the format.

I am doing this as a volunteer at the request of many friends. This is not my meeting, it is our meeting to be heard. I do not expect any major changes with respect to what has already been decided. By having this type of “Town Meeting” it will give everyone a chance to be heard. What happens after this meeting is up to the people who give us a place to race, The Track Owners, and The CSC.

I hope that the date will stand, and that our friends on the West Slope and Utah can participate. We need your support.

Thanks,
Curt Kistler

PS: I know there are about 10-20 of us who post all the time, but there is a very large silent majority of concerned karters out there. Step up and be heard. Post a RSVP if nothing else so I know how large of a room to furnish, and Brad knows how many Krispy Kremes to bring. :cheers:

[Anonymous]

Thanks for stepping up, Curt! 🙂

have it in Central Denver and I will be there!

Time to step up and be heard.

Suggestion: have some questions pre-submitted and ready to be answered by the board, in that way it will clear out the standard questions we have been hearing all along and get to personal questions.

thanks
rich vito

[stacey cook]

Curt, I am out of the State from Oct 21 thru Oct 29th so that won’t work for me..

Stacey

[Anonymous]

Conference call in from beach side under an umbrella with a drink and your girl friend! 😆

[Anonymous]

Thanks for volunteering to organize and host this Karter Town Meeting. I don’t know that I can speak for the “silent majority” as George suggests, but I’d like the opportunity to meet many of the folks in the karting community, while ofering my 2 cents… Brian Davis

[Anonymous]

Mr. K
We will be there, if there is anything we can to to help set this up in advance let us know. BRAVO Mr. K.

The Jacobellis Racing Family

[stacey cook]

Rich, sounds good but I don’t think my wife would go along with that 😥
Taking the kids to Disney World…

[Curt Kistler]

Rich,
If the meeting is on the South side you wont come? You will need to have your work bench built by then. No excuses from you!

Stacey,
Give me a date that will work. You are a very key player on the panel to answer questions, and we need you there.

Owl,
We look forward to meeting you as well. Your recent post was spot on for many of the topics we will be discussing. I heard many great comments about your post at Bandi last Sunday.

Thanks Jay,
I will be in touch. After I hit the send button yesterday I came to grips as to what I just commited to. This will take much effort, but it will happen and be a positive step in the right direction.

Keep the comments and RSVP’s coming please.

[Mike Cunningham]

Curt
Can’t make that date. I have 8 hunters coming from out of state to go get the big one. This date is opening day for big game combo. Sorry.

[stacey cook]

Curt any other dates available? The Double tree is happy to give us a nice big free conference room here in GJ 😆 😆 😆 :cheers:

[Anonymous]

Stacy: Have fun a Disney World-great place and great fun!

Curt: Okay Curt count me in!

Brian the Owl: Welcome to the Silent Majority; your opinons ave very important.

Mike J: Thanks for all your verbal support, whether you are blasting me or sympathizing

thanks
rich

[stacey cook]

Friday Night before the CSC race at the Track.. I think it is Oct 6th. we could do it at the htoel there by the track, I think it is the Holiday Inn Express…

[Brad Linkus]

Doug and I will be at the TAG World Finals that weekend.

[Curt Kistler]

Still trying to lock in a date. I am getting about 5 calls/PM’s a day from the Silent Majority of karters that just want to get together. We may need to wait until after the SuperNats just to be sure everyone can attend.

I was looking back into the Karter Archives and found this from an old buddy who unfortunately got burned out, and was spending too much $$$ to play at the level they needed to race at. It would be nice to see Colin and Wayne back into the mix. After reading it again, I came to realize that some things never change.

Wayne MacGregor
Joined: 19 Sep 2003
Posts: 67
Posted: Fri 01 14, 2005 1:18 pm GMT Post subject:

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I?ve been watching this forum over the past few weeks, and as usual for this time of year, the conversation is focused on what to do in the season ahead. Since I don?t have a ?vested? interest anymore (i.e. a kid I?m ?sponsoring?) and having been around the sport for over 5 years perhaps I can offer some “food for thought:”

At a macro level, I believe that karting continues to experience some significant problems. The ?national? karting business model (if there ever was one) is broken. True, Colorado has had success locally with the CSC racing series, but on a national level, participation is down overall except at a few key events. Statistics indicate that the average karter hangs it up after 3 seasons. Why? Let me offer some possible factors that the CSC may be well advised to take into consideration when setting up your ?05 competition season:

1. There are too many so-called national “sanctioning” bodies (IKF, WKA, SKUSA, STARS, TAGUSA etc etc), and if you don’t like the way these guys run things, a new one comes along about every couple of years. All are controlled by either internal politics, supplier economics or even worse by both. All too, are competing against each other for what is for a number of reasons, a limited number of participants.

If anyone thinks that these alphabet soup organizations have the best interest of karters at heart ? as an example, just look at the “wise” decisions SKUSA has made during the past three seasons. They?re trying to re-engineer themselves in ?05, but only time will tell if that is a ?success.? And always remember success to them, of course, is defined as ?increased revenue.? The message here is to be wary of whose ?club? you align yourselves to. Keep in mind that ?good ideas? can also be developed locally.

2. There are too many classes. Even the “little” CSC is proposing a total of 14 classes in 2005 which is far too many. This doesn’t “enhance” competition, it waters it down. Instead of designing new classes, karters should be coming up with innovative ways to enlarge the fields at races. Isn?t it more rewarding to finish 5th in a heat of 30 karts rather than 1st in a race with only two others?

Why must there always be extra classes for ?old,? or ?heavy? or every other possible permutation of personal and motor characteristics? Remember, you?re only racing for plastic trophies???.not an F1 seat. Think outside the box and come up with ways to run fewer heats with more karts.

3. Race days are way too long. It shouldn’t be getting dark when the final race is run, especially during the summer! Racing should be winding down by 3:00 in the afternoon, not 7:30 in the evening. Either pea-picking the preliminary grids or qualifying NASCAR (two laps and off) style would greatly reduce the time (usually the entire morning or more) needed to qualify and maybe get home before dark. Don?t hold up starting a race to wait for a competitor (no matter ?who? they are) ? If they cannot make the grid when it?s called, too bad ? that?s part of racing too.

4. The cost of karting is pretty much out of control at least in the ?top? classes. This is a grassroots sport, period. Success in karting does not and will not provide a magic ?ladder” to other forms of motorsports. ?Moving up? is something that simply cannot be done without big time financial backing. With that said, it is completely insane, in my opinion, to spend over $100,000 per year to run a shifter and yet it happens all the time. A lot more, if you’re going to “seriously” contend for one of the ?so-called? (wink, wink) national championships. A full sized car can be raced for that kind of money. Karters who can afford the dough won?t stick around very long when they do the math ? those who can?t are forced out of the sport.

5. The rules are too complicated. And, BTW, whose rules do you use? IKF, WKA, STARS, SKUSA? A little of each? Take some, modify some? Make up your own? Complicated rules encourage cheating and make tech extremely problematic and time consuming. The rules for the safety and health of competitors should be uncompromising and absolute. Fuel went unchecked in the CSC in 2004, for example. Doped fuel is a serious health issue, and is unfortunately, the easiest way to get enhanced performance. Competitors who knowingly add carcinogenic compounds to their fuel should face immediate suspension.

Mechanical rules should be as broad as possible, yet clear and just as uncompromising when violations are discovered. Ignorance should not be allowed as an excuse for rules violations.

And then there is the ?stability? factor. It seems everyone wants to ?tinker? with the rules every year. Why can?t there be stability for a fixed amount of time so that the karter doesn?t necessarily have to buy new ?stuff? on a yearly basis? The various class / rules structures are daunting enough for seasoned competitors. They are more than often totally incomprehensible to most newbies.

By all means written rules must be required. Tech inspections should be automatic for podium finishers ? DQs and/or suspensions should be handed out for violators with no exceptions what so ever.

6. Beware of ?new ideas? or formulas. Every time a ?new? concept comes along purporting to be the ?sliced bread? of karting, it seems to devolve into complication, added expense and contentiousness. Be especially wary when someone says that the ?new doodad? will control your costs. Remember these wonderful ?ideas? are coming from the fertile minds of those who will ultimately profit from them.

Example: ICC motors when first introduced, were ?sold? to karters as an affordable, reliable, fully developed alternative to the expensive, unreliable, modified moto engines because they didn?t have to be blueprinted to be competitive. Yeah right! Fast forward three years and now, if you don?t have a $7,000 Swedetech, Paul Leary, or ?fill in the blank? ?pro- built? ICC on your kart and a spare (or two) in the trailer, you can forget about being competitive.

TAG, a super idea when initiated, is supposed to offer an ?affordable? way to compete, but people (being human) can?t seem to leave well enough alone. If you look at other discussion boards, the TAG community is already showing the inevitable signs of division and fracture. In some venues, there are already limits on which motors are deemed ?acceptable.? Blueprinting is allowed in others (Norcal) and there is serious talk of completely excluding some motors such as 4-strokes. Don?t let this happen in the CSC. Buyers of a ?certain? engine package (Biland) should not be punished for inappropriate actions by the manufacturer, yet this is happening.

7. Sell your sport. Make race days more accommodating for spectators: After all, they are the primary source for new participants. Race days should be a pleasurable experience, not an ordeal. Good food, clean (dare I say ?real?) restrooms, shorter, smoother racing schedules, and other amenities would all help make race days a positive experience for them. Start by making admission free. I?ve seen an awful lot of U-turns at the money changer?s table. Get the spectators in the gate put on a good show and treat them ?right? when there. They?ll come back.

Finally as you move forward into 2005?.. Remember a ?reality? check: 99.9% of karters are hobbyists – The reason they race is for family, friendship, competition and fun. So don?t let decisions limit rather than enhance what you are really here for. Every single time rules, classes or other changes are proposed they should be designed to broaden competition rather than limiting it. More classes, excessively complicated rules and escalating costs are all limiting factors. Think about it?..none of these are really necessary to have more ?fun.?

You?ve got a good thing going. It would be a shame to screw it up.

As always, opinions expressed are my own……I’ll see you this year when I come to “visit” a race.

Wayne MacGregor

[Brian Robson]

Curt,

How about a questionaire that can be passed out to the CSC members at The Track. The questionaire can be filled out and returned that weekened. The CSC Track owners can then compile the data and discuss this in their meetings for 2007.

Your idea of having a town meeting is very commendable. However, I have seen this happen in Indiana with SIRA. They would have a annual membership rules meeting that would start at 8:00 am and waste a whole day. Most of the time people were leaving angry, mad, sad, disgruntled, etc. :argue It really never seemed to be a productive meeting.

I absolutely agree that the membership should have a voice. They are the backbone of the series. However, I really haven’t seen the public forum be productive.

Thank You,
Brian Robson

(disclaimer: My opinions in this post are solely mine and do not represent Grand Junction Motor Speedway or Critical Zone Racing)

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