VIR, CMP, Road Atlanta, Infinion, and Thunderhill vs. MSRH

[michaelmosty]

It seems there is something magical about MSRH that is better than all of these other locations.
I received an e-mail notification from NASA-TX about the registration for the Houston event in Feb. I clicked on the link which took me to nasaproracing.com. I looked at the event registration along with all the other upcoming events for the other listed regions. I was shocked to see that MSR-H is by far the most expensive event out of all listed regions.

MSR-H in Feb. - $325
VIR in Feb. - $275
CMP in Feb. - $249
Road Atl in Mar - $309
Infinion in Feb. - $299
Thunderhill in Mar - $299

I know there are many factors that go into the registration fee (insurance, track rental, etc.) but this does not make sense to me.

Can someone help straighten this out for me?

[jeffburch]

I'm registered and jonesin' for Road Atlanta.
My class fast lap is safe at Cresson :wink:
jb

[donovan]

Everything is bigger in Texas... even the entry fees.

DD

[Adam Ginsberg]

I'm registered and jonesin' for Road Atlanta.

I'm not registered, but I'm certainly jones'n for Road ATL too.....

Michael - to begin with, VIR, Road ATL, SPIR, can all handle, and get, high car counts. The SE region has to CLOSE regi @ ATL because they get full....to the tune of 400+ cars. That's HPDE, TT, racing, etc. VIR and SPIR are similar - NASA has to close regi in order to avoid overbooking.

NASA Texas has never had car counts that high.

[AI#97]

edit...too far with diesel at $3.30/gal!

Boring Cresson it is I guess...

Michael, I would look at it this way...from what I remember of the SE schedule, you would only get two 30 minute races for that price...NASATX will likely give you at least 3, maybe 4 races for the weekend.

Refigure the entry fee based on actual Dollars per minute of track time and TX would win... Sort of nice having low car counts and plenty of room in the pits!

:lol:

[Todd Covini]

Matt...is that you?
Do I smell optimism?
Holy cow!?!?!?

I do believe that MSRH is pretty proud of their track and this isn't about NASA.

But Matt's got some excellent points!

-=- Todd

[Boudy]

I'm registered and jonesin' for Road Atlanta.

I'm not registered, but I'm certainly jones'n for Road ATL too.....

Michael - to begin with, VIR, Road ATL, SPIR, can all handle, and get, high car counts. The SE region has to CLOSE regi @ ATL because they get full....to the tune of 400+ cars. That's HPDE, TT, racing, etc. VIR and SPIR are similar - NASA has to close regi in order to avoid overbooking.

NASA Texas has never had car counts that high.

Adam: Your missing the point.

Fact: The first and easiest way to meet the numbers is to charge the customer more. However, the fundamentally correct but more difficult solution is to invest in building the customer base. Advertise, promote, offer specials, CUSTOMER SERVICE... The list is endless.

Robert's Opinion: Under present circumstances, low car count, I'm OK with paying more now provided I see evidence of what is being done to promote car count growth so that the region sees higher car counts and the promoters see a profit. This region is known, almost famous, for it's management technique. Consider this:

1) What have you heard from your region in the off season? I haven't raced with IMCA in 8 years and I get shit from them a couple times a year. I've heard from multiple TX DE organizations during the off season to promote their '08 schedules.

2) Look in GRM, you'll find other regions promoting events in every issue. I have also been contacted by other regions to promote their '08 schedules.

3) The upcoming charity race is a nice honor for NASATX and should be promoted to the current customer base at the very least. What have your heard outside of our own forum?

4) Our region is hosting it's first enduro. Should be a big deal but what have you heard outside of our forum? I've seen people on the National forum asking for information on the enduro and they get pointed to a AI/CMC TX thread for information.

5) What input did you or AI/CMC offer on track selection for '07 or '08? To my knowledge, NONE. Quite simply because it wasn't solicited.

6) As a customer, how many times have you been surveyed after an event? How many times have you been surveyed for input as to what you would like to see at future events. Customer satisfaction is still important, isn't it?

Bottom line is this. Sure, I'll pay more but just what the hell is being done to promote growth and profit so that my cost will eventually stabilize? I don't run this region so I don't know what the problmes are nor do I know what the plans for the future are... I can only comment on what I see. I see issues with communication and service to maintain customer base and I also see NO promotions at all to add new customers. Oh... and a couple vids on You Tube don't count. AI/CMC has produced better products with volunteer efforts.

I'm not bashing these guys, I wish them well for all of our benefit including their own. There are several regions to model after, why does TX try to reinvent the damn wheel? I would love for them to see windfall profits but they currently seem to be swimming upstream.

Yes, the ?'s are ritorical...

Boudy

[Boudy]

Matt...is that you?
Do I smell optimism?
Holy cow!?!?!?

I do believe that MSRH is pretty proud of their track and this isn't about NASA.

But Matt's got some excellent points!

-=- Todd

I agree, Matt has some good points. But why schedule a track that your customers don't like? Maybe I would ask my customers what tracks they would be willing to attend. Also, MSRH treats us like shit and combined with the rental rate, why the hell are we the damn house band there? Sure we may see an extra set or two but I'd give it up to feal welcome. As a customer, I'll stay with NASATX until they sink. Yes, I will be surprised if there is a NASATX down the road if they don't figure some things out.

Boudy

[mitchntx]

I would like to point out that MSRH went from 3 scheduled weekends to just one, I would like to think, based upon feedback received.

I would also like to have on the record that many of us have been asking for an enduro race for a while now. I would like to think it's happening because of feedback received.

Your marketing points are valid, though.

But change rarely occurs over night. I am encouraged by the steps I'm seeing.

The fact that this regional board is used as a place to "flaunt" the fact that racing will be done elsewhere or anywhere but this region, doesn't help and isn't very constructive, IMHO. In fact, just the opposite.

[AI#97]

Matt...is that you?
Do I smell optimism?
Holy cow!?!?!?

I do believe that MSRH is pretty proud of their track and this isn't about NASA.

But Matt's got some excellent points!

-=- Todd

Well, I will toss you another curve ball...in the SE region, they have a HUGE "Thunder" group which has cars from ASC to terminally slow...NOT their own run group like we have...

Personally, I welcome the low car counts but do agree that growth is going to be necessary if the region is going to survive...it's ultimately a cash flow thing. We tried the big NASATX display at one of the largest car shows in the DFW last year with 4 cars, a big display and drivers to answer questions. The little legends car got all the attention and 3 little 5 year old kids liked Jay's porsche and then asked Micheal and I for autographs. That was it...the rest just kept on passing by. Time to try something new...

Robert, I do think NASATX has been listening and I think more so to our group than the others as WE are the Main Act and not the "house band"! We asked for fewer Houston events....Got it...even though NTX is based in Houston! We asked for an event back at Hallet. Got it. Enduro...Got it. Our own run group...got it. Things are looking much better than 2006 for sure.

I know we are all quick to throw stones, I for one have been VERY quick in the past...however, reality is that things COULD be MUCH worse!

It is what it is! :lol: