Race Writeup

[Garbage]

When can we expect a race writeup?

Anyone else get the latest GRM? Not much about NASA. Nice picture of Todd.

What happened to all the magazine coverage? Last year we had writeups but there was not much to write about. Now the field is bigger and no writeups. What gives with that? Bigger field. More to write about equals more coverage.

Very confused!? :roll:

David

[chicane23]

You are too funny!!!!!

You are expecting way, way to much!!!!!!

[mitchntx]

Damn John ... why so much hate?

For someone who is scaling back for family reasons, you certainly seem to be carrying a grudge of some sort.

Or si there something obvious I'm not seeing?

[donovan]

Its not just JG, its me too...

We have had nothing this year... absolutly nothing... NASA Texas had two events in before anyone else and nothing...

We had a Rookie in the points lead and nothing...

We had 4 cars finish less than 2 seconds from each other in a race...

We had have a very close points battle and... nothing...

I understand everyone is busy, damn... No magazine coverage this year is a step backwards in my opinion.

The race reports have been good, and more timely than last year, I guess that is good...

David D.

[AI#97]

Maybe this will enlighten some of you......straight for the "horse's" mouth...

Matt, we've made some changes to the way Speednews is compiled, and it's our intention to jump the focus around a bit, so while we won't cover each region in each issue, we'll certainly try to get everyone included in the longer run. That said, I'm not sure which Challenge group you're referring to; Honda, FFR, CMC, Vette-Viper? Keep us in the loop on future event coverage and we'll get you in at the earliest possible opportunity. If you haven't seen it yet, I'm going to copy a letter coverage the new format, forgive the long read but it should get you in the loop. Thanks again, don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions.


Here are some guidelines to pass along to the potential contributors, thanks as always.


First off, here are the deadlines for the next few issues:
August 2006 GRM: May 10 deadline
October 2006 GRM: June 28 deadline
November 2006 GRM: August 15 deadline
December 2006 GRM: Sept. 13 deadline


Each issue of Speednews will include a couple of race weekend recaps, and these articles will summarize an entire weekend's activities, from standout cars in the HPDEs to the number of rookies graduated to the racing ranks. Also, it is our intention to include some racing highlights regardless of series in this coverage, and include a results box to recognize those who emerged victorious in their respective classes. These submissions are being organized through the regional directors.


This race weekend coverage format frees up the Class News section to hit on not only race highlights from a particular class, but also to cover rules changes, new car debuts and the like for each of the various classes. Because NASA has so many great classes--all of whom deserve coverage--and because space is at a premium in the magazine, the new format aims to hit on the highlights from each class and bring pertinent and interesting information to Speednews readers.


Class News Guidelines:


-Length: Because there are many classes and space is tight, submissions should be short; 125 words equals about two paragraphs, and should be considered the maximum word count. If you can say it in less, please do so; this leaves more space for photos.


-Not Just Coverage: Think of the section as Class News and not just race coverage. Rules changes, car weight adjustments or restrictor plates, big new sponsors and contingency programs, the classification of a new car for the class--things of this nature should be considered paramount when you're coming up with ideas for your Class News. Not only do they apply to everyone who participates in the series, but they might appeal to other racers who don't yet participate in your series, or even non-NASA members who are GRM subscribers looking for a place to run their soon-to-be racecar.


-Race Highlights: A guideline we often use at the office is, "If I wasn't there, why do I care?" If you've opted to mention race coverage, make sure it's something that stands out from the crowd. Passing happens all the time in racing, and so do close battles; only mention them if they're really spectacular. If 15 cars held the lead during a 20-lap sprint race, that's unusual. If somebody's V8 blew the left bank on the last corner but they still took the win, that's not something you see everyday. If a veteran debuted a brand-new car and it was dominant, that's cool. If a rookie started at the back but worked his way up to second, that's more interesting than the winner walking away to victory. Only mention the weather if it was a factor, but remember space is tight.


-Key Information: Whenever you mention a driver for the first time, use their first and last name and mention the year, make and model of the car they were racing. If it's a spec series, knowing the year is still handy.


-Photos: All event coverage should come with high-resolution (1600x1200 or larger) photos. With photos, bigger is always better. These can be emailed directly to me as attachments at the address below. Also, having three photos to choose from is better than just one.


The June 06 issue of GRM contains the first Speednews that uses this new format, it should give you an idea of what we're looking for. In this case, most of the stories were distilled from longer race reports, but we're hoping to see more Class news in the future. Please don't hesitate to contact me at scott@grassrootsmotorsports.com if you have any questions.


Thanks very much,


Scott






Scott R. Lear
Club Editor
Grassroots Motorsports / Classic Motorsports
scott@grassrootsmotorsports.com
386-673-4148
fax 386-673-6040

[AI#97]

I sent him a copy of Todd/Adam's challenge 1 and challenge 2 race reports telling him that I felt our writeups included a TON of specific points he was looking for, however they were a little long.....sounds like GRM has sold out and is more focused on the Sahlen's porshe team rather than those of us that are the anchor of their "grassroots" market..... :roll:

[mitchntx]

I guess I'm doing all this for the wrong reasons ...

[mitchntx]

A feature article is 2500 words

A news article is less than 750.

[AI#97]

A feature article is 2500 words

A news article is less than 750.

I think they are looking more for a snippit!!!

[marshall_mosty]

It seemed like the first of the year started off to a flying start with Andy Bowman helping "get the word out" and get our writeups on several different web sites.

Then the second event... and a little less.

The third event... I hear crickets

The fouth event... is TX really still racing, we couldn't tell...

The fifth event... there is a NASA chapter in TX, wow, coulda fooled us!


There almost needs to be a mission statement, "business plan", or something we can come up with to advertise not just AI/AIX/CMC, but also NASA TX.

Ideas are great, but until they are put in motion and become actions, they are still ideas.


The followings are my personal feelings and are not meant to place blame, hurt feelings, be malicious, etc...

**Soapbox on**
Our car count is up over 500% from 2003, but it seems like the hype is in the dumpster. People are still building cars and coming to race, but it seems like we are the red-headed step children (sorry if anyone is actually a red-headed step child. ).

NASA fees are rising to crazy levels right before what is supposed to be their "biggest event" of the season. One would think they would be dropping prices since they don't need as much "extra" per entry to cover track cost, insurance, corner workers, etc.

The entry is $245 for HPDE with an approx turnout of 35 cars = $8575
The entry is $275 to TT with an approx turnout of 10 cars = $2750
The entry for racing is $305 with a turnout of (25 AI/AIX/CMC, 10 GPC, 20 Miata, 10 Lotus, 10 Formula Vee, 10 etc.) = total $25925

NASA TX is pulling in $37250... Based on previous posts, I don't think track rental + insurance = cost racers pay.

The SW NASA region did a "deal" for a 4 weekend coupon book for $799. Less than $200 per weekend isn't a bad deal. Kept the income stream steady (and predictable), and gave the racers a hell of a deal to boot.

**Off soapbox**