"It actually bothered me that we all show up, pay some very large sums of money and spend long amounts of time at this hobby away from family and friends, while our awards amount to little....."

I think a bigger issue with the spending large sums of money with little to show for it (other than hopefully a huge grin and a great memory), is the feeling of being taken advantage of by regions who treat their Club Races as a cash cow.

Some of my favorite races are small ones, run by enthusiastic volunteers who receive no special perks, in regions who are happy to put on a race weekend where folks have fun and (hopefully) the region doesn't lose money. I've been to great events at Brainerd, Putnam, Hallett, MidAmerica, Topeka, Pueblo, and most recently a fantastic event at Barber. I'm sure there are many more.

By comparison, there are at least 4 PCA races where the region pockets tens of thousands of dollars in entry fees paid by fellow PCA members. These funds are generally used to subsidize other non-track related activities of the region.

A momento is nice. My favorite is a photo of my car on track during the weekend. As an added benefit to any sponsors, their logo can be printed on the photo or a frame, if provided.

Anyway..... Thanks for the opportunity to write about a pet peeve. I have no issue with the small regions skipping an expensive trophy and wish the bigger races would drop the entry fee to something approaching a break-even level. If it mattered, I'd buy my own trophy!

Joe

 

I think EVERYONE should get a trophy...just like kids soccer these days! If you show up you get a trophy. I don't agree with that for kids or for adults. Get a nice T-shirt and if you place in the top 3 in your class then you get a small trophy of some kind...I think that would be fine. In fact that is the way LSR was doing it back in '06...not sure if that is still the case today!

Totally agree on the entry fee stuff too. I think to run the sprint and enduro at LSR in '06 was $525+... as noted all the rest of the expenses associated with racing. I have to get different padding for my roll cage, I have to get a HANS and the posts installed on my helmet, new 5 pt. harness, and I think I am due for a refill on my never used perfectly full fire bottle now... NICE! How much of that would I have to do for a DE? NONE! Not to mention the DE entry fee would be what $250 or something. So, to do another club race I am looking to put another $1250ish into my car and entry fees, and I have not done a THING to the car... That does not include, brakes, tires, gas, brake fluid, oil... Oh, and I actually do already have a HANS but the anchors have not been installed on my helmet yet...

Are those things a good idea yea, am I safer in the race car than in a street car with less safety equipment? No doubt. In fact my race car is probably slower than most of the 911TT's at the track and with more safety gear... I have seen guys in DE's (mostly instructors and a few in White) going WAY faster than me in street cars. Where do you draw the line on safety gear in a DE vs. a club race. I bet that is coming soon!

Anyway the bills never end and entry fees are high enough to make me think twice or at least seriously plan to go racing... Were it easier and cheaper, I would do more of it... Of course that argument can be made for any venture I would guess.

 

Trophies? Who needs a stinkin' trophy?

 

I bought an Alfa GTV6 last year that had the following badges from track days dating back to the 1980's. It gives the car nice character 20 years later.

 

We here in Carolinas Region run a small race - about 80-100 racers (btw, we really could use a bunch more of you to show up this year!!). We have lost money every year for the past 4 years or more, but we have a very diehard group of racers here that want to keep it going (I'm one of them).

We ALWAYS award trophies/plaques for the winners. Our philosophy is that it's racing, so there are winners and losers. Winners should get a momento about a job well done. I know none of us feel it needs to be big or expensive, but something that you can refer to and remind you of a great race.

So, with that said, anyone that wants to have a chance to win a nice plaque - or whatever John comes up with this year - come on down to Carolinas and race in November (shameless plug for our race)

 

It's interesting how there are two sides to the "trophy" debate.

One side is saying "we want better awards/rewards, trophies, or some sort of compensation for the expense to race".

The other side [see trailer enforcement thread] is saying if we receive any sort of awards/rewards, trophies, or some sort of compensation for the expense to race, this puts our rigs into a CMV category and subjects us to numerous regulations and restrictions for towing to and from the track.

While I do not see an easy solution, it's one of those "you can't have it both ways" kind of problems.

Do you want nicer awards and the increased expense as is forth coming in more aggressive enforcement on our highways and byways?

Or, would you forgo the awards to allow you to live by the letter of the law and travel to and from the track unmolested by the LEOs?

 

Never raced with PCA, but from what I read about it in the rules/guidance from PCA I thought every participant was to get the same memento of the race, but that the top finishers could have that noted on their momento. For example, everyone gets the same beer mug but some have stickers indicating finishing position.

Is this an accurate statement of "the PCA way"? If so, is it what really happens?

 

From my experience this is not what happens. Most times all participants get a shirt or hat. Then people who place get anything from a small certificate (unframed, no name, nothing really on it) to mugs and what not. I have gotten a corner workers award which was really nice (was a plaque), but outside of that I personally have never seen a trophy handed out....

I understand that they try to make it so that we dont have unfriendly competition, but I believe we are all mature enough to not wad up our cars for a 5 dollar trophy. Secondly, the same mentality is used with young kids, they dont want them to be overly competitive, but somehow I always remember getting trophies for athletic achievements when I was a youngin.

Oh well, I am done complaining, just thought I would resurrect the thread after my friend asked me what I had gotten for my races and I virtually had nothing to show him.

 

Thats a good point, especially for anyone that races in Canada. We had hell getting back across the border after our Mosport race this year because of changed regulations pertaining to the fact that we were racing for "prize money" in Grand-Am.

 

There's a big difference between a trophy/award and monetary compensation. When you get "paid" for racing - like winning money or having a team pay you - you are a professional and yes, the DOT see's you as a different class of vehicle if it's big enough (don't ask me how I know, but trust me....). Amateur racing (what we supposedly do) is classified differently and as a hobby. Just like with taxes, if it's a hobby, you can't write off your expenses, but if it's a company that races, you can.

 

CVR gave these out at Limerock this spring, and also gave out fleece vests to all participants.. Plenty for me.

 

Those are great! I would love to see more things like that handed out! Maybe ill have to make a trip out to limerock next year

 

Those are great. Just a reasonable sized momento for the shelf. Something to look back on years from now and have the memory of the race come right back into your thoughts.

 

I suspect most racers would be satisfied with Gary's Limerock example, I know I would. Although currently my only chance of receiving any momento is one that is handed out for just showing up, if I ever do make it to a podium something official commemorating the finish position would be nice.

 

I have two from Lime Rock as well and they're great. Not only are they a great memento for me, but my kids love them and show them off to all their friends with great pride (ages 7 and 4).