Exactly. Some racers are just faster than others. Penalizing success or rewarding sucking isn't what I want to see in a race series. The rules, or rather the willingness to change the rules, seems WAY too arbitrary to me.
Why delay fixing a mistake?? If you fucked up admit it and fix it, better to piss off one than all the rest.
In the FWIW department. I returned to our hometown of Daytona Beach almost three years ago after running STT South for the prior seven years straight. At the time that we left STT we had a average 93% fill rate at all of our Southern events, this was in 07',08',09' and 2010, when no doubt the economy in America was at its all time worst. One Monday when I was off work I decided to go over to AMA/DMG(their H/Q is five miles from me) and talk with someone at the AMA about the road racing series as I had a few ideas on how to get additional sponsors and some promotional ideas I had and that had been successful at STT in this current crappy economy. I could not even get a foot in the door, nobody would even talk to me. Three months later I put all these ideas down on paper along with my riding, racing, and general motorcycle life resume and even got dressed up(and I never do that) to go talk to someone at AMA H/Q here in Daytona. I made numerous calls first and could not get anyone to return my calls so again I just went over there to see if I could talk with somebody, anybody in AMA roadracing. This time I made it through the front door to a secretary and she looked at my stuff real quickly and said hang on a minute she would go talk to someone, she came back and said everybody was busy and to just leave my stuff and somebody would call me and have me come back in. No dice, I am not leaving all of my ideas with nobody. If you want to talk, have someone give me a call. Of course I never got a call. Point is I know a bit about motorcycles and shitty economy and some ideas that could have helped. Bottom line is, nobody even cared enough to talk to me about it. Not bragging, but I returned to Daytona, went to work at a small local Suzuki dealer and in less than three years have taken this dealership to the number two selling franchised dealer in Volusia County FL behind only the worlds largest Harley-Davidson dealer Bruce Rossmeyers. This little tiny store, selling only Suzuki and used bikes outsells a huge Hon-Yam-Kaw-Can-am dealership five miles up the road by 42% YTD. Again, not bragging, just throwing out some background. Anybody ever think about it like this. Is it possible that DMG bought AMA Roadracing to just eliminate it in time as a competitor to Nascar? I mean lets face it, AMA events run against Nascar in the prime Sunday afternoon TV time, maybe, just maybe there was a plan in place that is bigger than all of us.......
Because they should know how to build a competitive rules package without having to "re-level the field" every two weekends. Probably a moot point anyway, considering there was no significant leveling of the field last year in regard to the have and have-not's. Now if they want to assess the jump-start procedure every two rounds, now we're talking. </sarcasm>
You're the guy in the trenches they need, Mark. NASCAR would be better off putting moles in the NFL and NBA. Maybe they already have ..
Wow Mark. First off, the way you were treated by DMG is just ridiculous. I know your background and they could have learned a lot from you if they would have taken the time to listen. As far as your last statement, that is just scary to think about. First, if that is the case...wow, that is obviously scary. On the other hand, if that isn't the case...then it is sad when you realize they are handling the AMA so poorly that is almost seems as if it is the case, and they are trying to ruin it.
I used to watch AMA pro on the TV and when it went to CBS (which I don't get) I didn't switch over to watching NASCAR. Same goes for WSBK, I suddenly didn't become a NASCAR fan. NASCAR fans are not going to become AMA pro fans (there's some bleed over of course) and vice verse. Two entirely different demographics. The problem with showing up and handing them some paper with some ideas is that if they take your sheet and even if they toss it in the trash 15 seconds after you leave, if there is something on that sheet that is similar to something they implement, you might sue.
AMA Pro is not STT, or a motorcycle dealership. I'm sure you're a bright guy, but what does hosting track days or selling motorcycles have in common with operating a professional racing series? We all think we have all the answers, and although AMA Pro is blowing it, I'm sure it's harder than it looks. If some guy shows up at my office and tells me that he's really smart and he's going to tell me how to run my company because he worked in a vaguely related industry once, I'm not listening either, and I don't care if he's wearing a tuxedo. Edit: I would argue that racing is in far worse shape now than it was in 07-10. Grids are definitely smaller, and contingency is gone. Also keep in mind that track days are partly responsible for club racing's decline. I'm not against track days at all, it's just that track days presented a product that was more attractive than club races for some riders, and those riders changed where they spent their money. It's perfectly fair and it's just business, but keep in mind that your 93% full track days correspond with a decline in race participation, and are not evidence that the marketing is translatable.
All depends on which business you're looking at. To DMG the track/promoter is the paying customer. As are racers to a lesser extent. The fans are the customer of the promoter. Look at it kind of like Tucker or Parts - they sell to you, then you sell to riders. The end customer isn't a real customer of theirs. That being said - there is a responsibility on the part of a professional sanctioning body to promote their product so their resellers can make money and then pay them money. Totally agree on making more of the riders, making them more famous - but that isn't on DMG, that is on the teams and the riders themselves. Everyone has to work on promoting parts of it.
Why would we buy AMA Pro? What has it got of any value? As for the negativity etc... The ideas are great. They're out there. They can be done. Just takes one simple little thing no one has right now. Money. Get me a million to a million and a half and I can have a 10 round professional series up and running. I need the cash up front to provide what is needed for the teams and tv crews. Like I said. Simple.
Come on Dave. You know every for profit business has an open door policy so anyone (as long as they're dressed up) can wander in without an appointment and tell them how to run their business better. Sorry for the sarcasm, but what did you expect? Were you applying for an open position or just letting them know how much better you are at their job? What if a guy walked into your Suzuki dealership and started telling you how to do everything better? Would you pull up a chair and start taking notes or throw him out? And why would DMG go through all the trouble of running AMAPro racing into the ground? If they wanted to get rid of it, just buy it and shut it down. Makes no sense to run it for a few years, just really badly so it eventually disappears. Sorry, but if your ideas to fix the AMA were as well reasoned as your hypothesis there is little doubt why they never returned your calls.
Sadly no. This isn't either of those countries - what works in a motorcycle culture will not necessarily work in a car culture.
Ego and arrogance are also root causes of many failures. BTW...listening to someone and implementing what they suggest are vastly different.
I get that. Problem is that is the current logic and the exact problem I was pointing at. If DMG treats the track and rider as the paying customer they arent worried about creating a "show" out of the race and the riders to bring in the general public to watch. If DMG isnt creating that show then the product they are trying to sell isnt good and they lose their other customer... the promoter. Your analogy of Tucker Rocky is spot on and exactly what I'm saying. If Tucker Rocky (DMG) is selling me product X and I have 5 people who want it and Parts Unlimited (AMA SX/MX, Lucas trucks etc...) is selling me a product that 1000 people want then I am going to spend my money where I'm making the most return. Tucker/Parts and the manufacturers spend the advertising dollars to make their product sell at my shop. DMG needs to do the same or the tracks will and have quit carrying their product.
