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As stated above, I?m confident that sanctioning will not solve all our problems. And in agreement with Mike, I think a sanctioning body should demonstrate value. Having said this, I also think it is the right time to consider the benefits of going with a sanctioning body. Karting appears to be growing in Colorado. And we are fortunate enough to have several tracks to compete on in this state. Given the growth and the variety of venues, it would be nice to have completely consistent rules and procedures at every venue and race (including non-CSC venues). It is logical to want the same thing when some of us travel out of state to compete in regional and national events. There are also benefits to sanctioning other than consistency in rules. What about insurance, recourse, user-friendliness to new comers, and the overall promotion and support of karting. There is no better time than the present to discuss these things in detail. I?m sure the track owners and CSC steering committee members are listening. Let?s make kart racing in Colorado in 2005 be the best it can be!
Happy New Year to all.
No question about it, in theory, sanctioning is great! The question is what happens in practice. I admit I am new to karting so I?m willing to listen and learn. But I am not new to racing having spent four decades racing in hundreds of motorcycle events. Roughly half the races I participated in were sanctioned by the AMA (American Motorcycle Association) and half were not. From a fun factor, there generally wasn?t much difference in a race if it were sanctioned or not. From a wanting to race for a regional or national championship there were clear benefits for sanctioning. For the most part, I actively supported the AMA (I am a lifetime member) mostly because of the support it provided to the sport of motorcycling.
However, I have personally witnessed great failings of race directors for the AMA during important national events. At one particular event I was covering as an ESPN videographer, I personally caught on tape blatant cheating by a multi-time national champion who was also a friend of mine. The cheating changed the outcome of the national championship. For the sake of the sport I presented the evidence to the AMA racing director so they could correct the problem. They chose to ignore the evidence (said video can?t be trusted) and let the false championship stand. I always new the reason had something to do with the likeability of the racer in question. He was and is a great guy but he no longer has my respect. Precisely when a sanctioning body should have done something they looked the other way because they would have been forced to make an unpopular decision. Another national event I covered involved the need for a clarification on a rule that would determine the outcome of that event. The AMA race director at the event didn?t know how to make the call or wanted to make the call and simply let the voice of the local promoter make the call they way he choose. Of course, there are many other examples. I raise these simply to point out that going to sanctioning will not make all the issues go away. In effect, you trade one set of problems for another.
From what I understand, the AMA is much larger, more organized and more professional than SKUSA, IKF or WKA. I guarantee there will still be issues with sanctioning from any of these organizations. Please understand that there is greed within these organizations as there is anywhere else. While I remain close friends to many of the staff in the AMA it still irks me how they tried to take over Supercross (the profits anyway) from the promoters who do all the work. On the whole, I still think sanctioning (and all of its own problems) tends to be better than no sanctioning but there is no guarantee. These organizations must be held accountable. Don?t fall for their sales and marketing pitches. I think if we wanted to have sanctioning than we should make the organizations earn their money by demonstrating value. They should be here, visiting in Colorado, clarifying, doing and showing exactly what they will do for us in exchange for our monetary support. If they are not willing to do that they don?t deserve our money or respect. It would go a long way if they would simply start returning phone calls. Just my two cents worth.
It sounds like everyone is for clearer rules and it appears the CSC leadership is working hard on that. I think the sancitioning is a separate question. I raised the issue a few months ago as a new comer and it is still not clear to me what the advantages are and it there is some added value whether or not it is worth the cost. Doug did make some good points on his “I changed my mind” post. However, I think I might be changing my mind too. If one of the local track owners is calling and leaving messages with one of the leaders of a national organization and is not getting his calls returned – enough said. If they are ignoring a track owner then they will certainly ignore the racers. Several months ago when I raised the question of sancationing someone PM’d me and asked me to contact the president of one of the oganizations which I did. I still have not heard anything back from that person. I, for one, don’t want to add to the high cost of racing if the national organization doesn’t do anything other than collect money. It would appear the greed lies within the sancitioning bodies. I would think any national organization would be all over any interest shown by others including returning calls, attending meetings, discussing benefits, etc. If it is true that they don’t have any interest in us than we shouldn’t have any interest in them. Just my two cents worth.
Interesting debate. From my perspective it is the “outlaw” nature of Colorado’s rules that have created so much reservation for my family to get invovled in kart racing in this state. In particular, I can’t understand for the life of me why Sr Tag motors are allowed in the Jr Tag class. As the president is fond of saying, “That doesn’t make any sense!”. 😀
Seriously though, I sure hope this is fixed in 2005! If not, I suspect it won’t be long before the “outlaws” decided Sr Tag motors should be allowed in the Cadet Tag class. Heck, why don’t we just put kids in 100 HP, 1000lb karts? There have to be limits (rules) to help make racing safe, fun and competitive. It makes sense to have HP progression as drivers grow, mature and develop their skills. It doesn’t seem smart to put 30+ HP in the hands of 12 year old novices. It seems much smarter to me to keep limits on HP and allow drivers to learn to “drive” and worry about HP when they reach certain age brackets. With the current system, a driver can race an engine package in the Jr. Tag class for three years and get to progress to WHAT when they reach 16? Yeah, nothing. They are suck with the same engine options if they want to stick to the Tag class. I bet they won’t be around long. So much for promoting karting in Colorado.
It is also important to remember that Colorado is not in a vacuum. I just read on this site in the last two weeks of two Colorado youths who have qualified for participating in two separate national events. That is a wonderful achievement and underscores how integrated local and national racing could/should be more integrated. It would be very good for karters, and thus karting in Colorado, if the rules locally were the same as the rules nationally. I sure hope we take a step closer to this in 2005.
Thanks for the detail on the suppliers guys. Totally agreed on all that matters at the end of the day is the size of the smile! 😀
“Ski-Doo RT-1000 mountain sled”
Stacey, you’re an animal! 😀 I’ve been places on a snowmobile I shouldn’t have been either but with far less of a machine.
Isn’t snowmobiling great? I’ll have to show you a video I produced of a two week snowmobile trip I took from Wyoming to New Mexico.
Other than scary, how is the new sled? If I can find a way to get more time off I might be in the market for a new one.
Thanks for the candor Tom. :cheers: BTW, since I see your name toward the top of the class results for the class I plan to participate in next year, I’ll ask now that you be kind everytime you lap me in the “requested” 20 lap mains. 🙂 . I’ll put two X’s on my plate if it will help. 😆 Based upon the lap times I’ve seen in the results and my current IMI lap times I expect to see you come around twice in 20 laps. 😳 Let’s see, at 5-6 seconds difference a lap, times 20 laps means up to 120 seconds and 55 second laps… Yep, that would mean getting lapped twice. Is that what everyone means by all the “passing” that goes on in this class? 🙄 On the other hand, I may only see you once if we run 15 laps.
As a new comer to the sport I’m curious why folks would purchase products and have engine work done out of state. Perhaps this is too public a forum to discuss but I would certainly like to know if veterans feel there is something lacking locally and if so what that may be, i.e., capabilities, tool sets, quality, price, personality…
Count me in for two spots, weather permitting of course.
Thanks for all your “hands-on” help this last weekend. Your whole team at GJMS is first class. They really went out of their way to help Jesse and I to feel comfortable and have a great time on your track. We learned a few things too! Of course, we have a lot more learning to do.
Awesome. Just proves you need to get invovled in politics sometimes to get rid of the bad politicians. I assume those new commissioners are working out.
Congratulations! We’ll be out there this weekend to make some noise.
I’m sponsoring a Jr Tag and possibly a Mini-Max driver that could participate. They are rookies but practicing hard.
Doug’s comments make sense to me too.
Stacey, that is just too funny! I do think sometimes it is best just to throw the kids in the lake and let them learn to swim. I do agree that people adapt at very different paces. Someone, like yourself, that comes from a different sport but has a lot of racing experience will usually adapt pretty well. For me, I know I will have fun whether it is at the front or the back of the pack. However, I’m making this leap for the kids. They’re the ones I want to support and encourage. This old, tired, beat-up, broken body of mine has had its share of serious racing. Now, its for fun. Ya, right.
Let’s race!
You veterans know better than I the hazards rookies pose at races. If you feel a test, class or some other criteria needs to be met in order to participate I can’t argue that. However, I hope you won’t put some kind of restrictions, i.e., four races, in place that will prevent our “rookie” family from participating in the first 2005 CSC event. We plan to participate in local events and ALL the CSC events in 2005. Depending upon schedules that haven’t been announced yet it is possible the first CSC race will be our first kart race. While one’s first race will always be eye opening 😯 , we won’t arrive completely unprepared. My son lives and breathes racing. When we decided several months ago that we would get invovled in karting we started preparing. We started with rentals. Then we attended several races at three different tracks to learn more about the sport, classes and karts. We’ve completed a driving school. We’ve been to four full day test and tune sessions at three different tracks and plan to do many more before that first race. While we will still have a lot to learn I don’t believe we will be a danger or concern to other drivers. People have to start somewhere. While the CSC may be a “championship” series the structure includes several entry or “novice” classes.
20 laps! Does that include a pit stop and oxygen? 😆 As a lifelong motorcyclist I finish a 100-200 mile enduro through the meanest, nastiest, narliest terrain available with a huge smile on my face. 😀 I can never get enough so I understand how you veterans desire more laps. However, as a newbie to karts I still find I?m toast after only five laps. With 10-15 laps I?m probably dangerous (can I put two x?s on my plate). 😯 With 20 laps I may have to have a medi-vac. On the other hand, that will allow the front runners several opportunities to check on my condition as they keep lapping me. 😳 Hey, whatever the rules, I?m game.
Let’s race!
Stacey,
As a newbie, I like your recommendations. I’m very glad to see the proposed range of Tag classes. Tag is very appealing to newbies. I plan to run three newbies next year (me and my two sons) in the following classes:
Tag Masters (me – where I’m sure I will be going to school, picking up the rear) :cheers:
Tag Jr. (my 12 year old son, Jesse who has much to learn but will learn much faster than me) 😳 Please don’t allow full Tag engines in this class. They have enough power to scare me, much less a 12 year old. :idn:
Cadet Tag (my 10 year old son, Dillon who doesn’t yet have a competitive bone in his body and only wants a safe place to play with other kids). 8) The cadet Tag class will allow him to have the same convenience of an electric start kart that his brother and dad will have while having an easy path up to the Tag Jr at the appropriate time.I also like the idea someone posted about having a “rookie” acknowledgement or award of some kind. It will give us something to shoot for given we don’t expect to see any podiums. 😀
Let’s race!
