I'm an old guy, I left at 11:30. I wouldn't have made it home in one piece if I would have waited until 2am. My suggestion would be that no qualifying round should start after 4 pm.

Part of the issue I saw this weekend from my point of view was the lack of cooperation between racers when it came to marshaling. There were a lot of people who were very slow/lazy getting back on the track to there spots. And they in the long run hurt the program. If we have to wait an extra 30 seconds every few rounds, then that is only going to make the event go longer then needed. It must have gotten very annoying for our announcer to ask for volunteer marshals every single race. Sure, some of that is because we didn't always have full heats, but that cant be the only reason.

Yes, I'm new so maybe I have a since of newbie urgency when it comes to getting back on the track... but those of you that just take your sweet time make it unpleasant for the rest.

And while I'm sharing opinions.. what was up with the watering of the track? Listen, I'm no expert, and I wouldn't know the first thing about running a race program and or track maintenance. I'm thankful that you all have stepped up to put on such fun show and I enjoy my weekend each mouth spent racing. But the decision to first water only between classes, and then later deciding to water between every heat in the second round was strange. First, it was unfair to anyone that got caught off guard by your change in the maintenance. They may not have chose the correct tire for that condition, and that could have been unfair to certain heats. Correct me if i'm wrong, but shouldn't a decision like that be made well in advance so we, the racers, could prepare for that? Trying to run an IFMAR pin tire on what should have been a dry track, its very hard when there are puddles everywhere.

Second.. doesn't it make since to only have track personnel water the track? I'm sorry.. but there were people watering the track so heavily, that it was puddling up and making the traction horrible. My understanding of watering was just to keep the dust to a minimum and the traction up.

And what the hell was up with some dude watering the track during a qualifier??? Not before or after.. actually durning that race. I think it was either a slash or sc race.. and I was getting pissed off and I don't even run that class.

Maybe I should just put my foot in my mouth at this point, being that i'm new, maybe its common place for these things to happen.

I love racing, I love R/C, and I love visiting with all of you great people. Just sharing my opinions from this weekend.

watering during a qualifier? maybe it was for some comic relief, because that's funny. good thing short course racers are laid back.

Welcome to running bigger races than club level. Things dont always go as planned.People leave without letting the race director know.Wind and sun cause watering schedules to go out the window.And basically doo-doo occurs at random.Where some of us like a moist track , others prefer a drier track, and vice versa.It's off -road. If I wanted perfectly predictable tack conditions from round to round,I would go run some 1/12 carpet.Point is it's all about FUN racing toy cars, and this weekend was fun on a bun with a side of big cheezy grin!!Yeah it's a long day,so what.That's why they only run one series race a month.

Welcome to running bigger races than club level. Things dont always go as planned.People leave without letting the race director know.Wind and sun cause watering schedules to go out the window.And basically doo-doo occurs at random.Where some of us like a moist track , others prefer a drier track, and vice versa.It's off -road. If I wanted perfectly predictable tack conditions from round to round,I would go run some 1/12 carpet.

Agree with the fact that conditions were changing, BUT then you need to announce that the watering schedule is going to change, so racers don't show up for your qualifier with the wrong tire...
And if it is a bigger race, then it should be more professional than a club race, right? More defined rules so people can follow them and if they are not happy with it then yes they can go run on carpet...

My opinion is that this is when the staff has to put his foot down and tell people what to do and what not to do... Work this things out BEFORE the race, so you know who is going to water and how much, not some guy that just grab a hose and water heavily in one spot when the rest of the track still have some dry spots....

Same thing for waiting for people to get on the track... At bigger races, you are not there on time, you don't run... People need to understand that it is hurting timing... Starting at 11:30 and being done with the 2nd round at 9pm is still longer than it should be in my opinion, even for 28 heats...

Just couple suggestions to make the day even more enjoyable and the ride back home safe for everybody... No hard feelings guys...

Hopefully if the weather cooperates, we will be able to run 3 heats at Pheasant Runn... :)

I have the Friday night Slash Enduro edited and uploading. It's 35 minutes and 500MB so its taking a while. I hope to have a sneak peak available shortly...

Stay tuned.

cant wait Glen, that's gonna be SWEET!!:thumbsup:

it would be nice if they would have a water schedule setup like there used to be.
i remember a while back, they had the board and it had every race, had a thing next to each heat that said on track, next race, and also had one that said water, and that was placed next to the heat that would get watered. i dont see why that would be hard to accomplish a water schedule.

has anyone ever considered a resort after each round? that way it sorts the field better, and also you can even throw in a handicap for the lower guys, like track grooming, or watering before the classes change, that way the D main people can have a better chance of running faster, and makes it more competitive. im just throwing out ideas here, but at least please come up with a dedicated schedule for track grooming and water for each race and stick with it. its frustrating to have the rules change in the middle of a round, from going from no water in the second round early on, example, my SC heat race in round 2 had no water, although in heat 1 it did, right before we ran. then later on down the line, like 5 races later they decide to water before every heat. and continued to do so the rest of the round. why?

I haven't finished my write up for the weekend yet, but an advanced look at the 30 minute Enduro is here (http://current.com/items/90544139_stateline-rc-speedway-30-minute-traxxas-slash-enduro-race.htm).

Thanks folks, it was a hoot.

The rest of the vids will be "worked on" and posted ASAP.

Good stuff Glenn!!That race was such a blast to drive.I just wished more of the SC drivers would have signed up so we could have done the SC enduro too!!wussies.

Good stuff Glenn!!That race was such a blast to drive.I just wished more of the SC drivers would have signed up so we could have done the SC enduro too!!wussies.

Maybe if we promote it, we could run it again this Fall and double the field?

Cold breath and rustling leaves with hot cider and campfire smoke in the air...

Hmmmmmmmm

sounds like a good time glenn!!

I am not the same person as above post, close user names but not the same . Anyways I would like to put my 2 cents in. As far as the watering goes certain tracks are alot harder to keep watered then others depending on dirt, weather etc. and lets face it this track was huge and took a lot of people to water it and time. I agree with others that you just cant have people watering whenever they want to, you need a watering schedule set up before the racing even starts and by the same people every time, there is no reason you cant have a crew of people to water the track and maintain it, being the track owners or MORL having there own crew for watering. Heck I bet everyone would throw in a extra dollar to have a crew to do this that is 250 entries equals $250.00 or even 2 dollars would give them $500.00 I know I would pay it. Or you could have a crew that would race for free all year round. I am sure that there is money there somewhere to do this. I know that there would be 4 or 5 guys that would jump at this chance to race for free or make a extra $100.00 for the day. Sorry my post is so long but I have more lol. I know when IHRA travels from track to track they pretty much take over the track, anyways moving on to the time it takes to run heats,again either the track or MORL should have extras that are dedicated to marshal the extra spots this was a big track and it took 10 people to marshal it, there was not always 10 in a heat and they new that before the racing started, you cant waist 3 or so minutes every time trying to find volunteers, also when your race is up people need to go to starting line and line up not take 2 or 3 practice laps, if you are not on the line in 2 minutes start the damn race, unless someone asks for a grace. From what I seen people were running around on the track alot before each race and that should have been enforced. Maybe the track should not have been watered at all then it would have been fair for everyone.Also mybe we could have run more people in a heat I bet you could have run 12 to 15 in a heat at this size track this would have saved a ton of time. That being said There is no way this is directed twards anyone being the track or morl, I think stateline did a hell of a job and I had a ton of fun, bottom line is we are there to have fun. Thanks again to Kevin at stateline we will back in the fall for the electric race.

Dwayne

I've avoided the watering the track conversation so far, kind of watching to see where it would go. I do think I remember noticing a bit of watering during a race. If I recall the thing folks spoke of, it happened sort of in front of our pit area - it seemed like someone jumped in to help and got confused between the practice laps and when the heat had just started - then stopped right away when it got figured out.

Maybe I'm remembering a different time...

The thing I really loved / love about Great Lakes region racing is we started out with heavy storms Friday night (enough to collapse an EasyUp), Kevin and crew slogging around in mud boots early Saturday morning, Keving and Crew bringing out the front-end loader to add some sand by mid morning, and the track was ready to run on by late morning (11:30 drivers meeting I think). Throughout the afternoon we had overcast skies and bright sunshine back and forth (horrible lighting for filming) and then storms threatening and rain again mid-program for the Mains (remember, we raced the Mod Buggy A-Main in the rain)...

Oh - and Kevin and crew brought in industrial mobile rental lights to cover the large track area (which made for some great lighting on a huge track, poor for filming but great for seeing).

The largest turn out ever at Stateline and things didn't go perfect, but the Stateline crew hung in there and the Midwest Offroad race crowd stayed calm and raced like it was a vacation. Late, late at night with a long way to go and I dont remember anyone getting crabby or complaining, the family friendly atmosphere is tops.

I love this game / crowd / these tracks and their crews...

(yes, I may have just drafted part of my race day review)

: )

Welcome to running bigger races than club level. Things dont always go as planned.People leave without letting the race director know.Wind and sun cause watering schedules to go out the window.And basically doo-doo occurs at random.Where some of us like a moist track , others prefer a drier track, and vice versa.It's off -road. If I wanted perfectly predictable tack conditions from round to round,I would go run some 1/12 carpet.Point is it's all about FUN racing toy cars, and this weekend was fun on a bun with a side of big cheezy grin!!Yeah it's a long day,so what.That's why they only run one series race a month.

I stand by this post because the point i was trying to make is that There are so many variables when it comes to planning and organizing events of this size.I think that our officials and the track crews do a fabulous job at keeping things running pretty smoothly.So In the words of a very wise person(have no idea who it was) "things can ALWAYS be worse".I mean come on guys we ran a race the size of the electric nats in 1 day. Things will come up, plans will change, we should be happy that we have guys that are willing to put this all together for us. I mean they could have just called the race on Sat. and held it on the "rain Day" on sunday like the flier says.

Watering/maintenance schedule, yes please.

Time limit on starting the last round of qualifying, yes please.

The watering was not the fault of Stateline...

Fact is, some of us approached MORL officials about running one and a main because of the time. In a word, DENIED. One even asked to have a vote on a second round and was told something to the effect of "we don't do that". Hello, people this is exactly why there are two series. One series listens to the racers and one clearly doesn't. No, I don't want to start the whole "us vs. them" argument again but it is interesting seeing the difference between the two series and the focus on the racers.

In the end, would you rather hear "we can't" or hear "we voted on it and did"?

In the end, would you rather hear "we can't" or hear "we voted on it and did"?



Fred has my vote.

I need to go, C YA'll later...

As someone who has been away from the series for many years and as a track owner with the series racing at my track I am working hard to make every race in the series to stay in touch with what is working and what might need tweaking.

I don't think anyone who has posted is angry or irate. What has been posted has been constructive criticism presented in an attempt to be helpful.

Some observations:

1. It would appear that with the turnouts the series is getting, 3 heats and the mains may be unrealistic, even if the program starts on time. So the math, 28 heats at 5 minutes per heat (140 min.), 2 minutes between each heat (56 min.), that is 196 min. or 3 hours and 15 minutes per round if there are no delays, people are where they need to be when they need to be there and the clock does not stop. Run straight through the qualifiers, 1st at 9:00, 2nd at 12:15, 3rd at 3:30, 1/2 hour break to sort mains and do raffle, start the mains at 7:15 and the program ends at 10:30.

It took 4 1/2 hours to run a round this past weekend. We started the 1st qualifier at 11:30, 2nd at 4:00, took a half hour break and started the mains at 9:00 knowing it would be at least 1:30 before things finished. If we had been able to start at 9 and taking 4 1/2 hours per round, 2nd would have started at 1:30 and finished at 6 meaning no 3rd round and mains starting at 6:30 and ending at 11:00.

The question would be why did it take an extra hour and 15 minutes to run each round? I don't know about anyone else, but I have never been able to run the perfect program at my track. There are always things that happen that add to the time the round takes. It will always take longer than what you thought unless you start the clock and don't stop it for any reason.

My personal opinion is that running 1 heat and the main is useless. There are people, myself included, who can't get to the track to practice on Friday and there is very little opportunity to practice Saturday morning. The first qualifier is my practice. When you start running 1 heat and a main, you are giving the racers half the racing that was advertised for their entry fee.

It is looking to me that if the entries continue to be what they are the best solution might be a 2 day program. Many racers already make it two days (Friday and Saturday), How about make it Saturday and Sunday. Run practice Saturday morning followed by 2 heats, resort and run the 3rd heat and the mains on Sunday. Even if someone couldn't come both days they could come Sunday only, run 1 heat and the main.

2. I would echo that there should be a set and consistent watering schedule if the track is going to be watered. One solution is to not water at all. At our track, we will not be watering during the event. We will use blowers to dust the track off between each heat. We did this at the ROAR Region 5 race last September and it worked very well. Unfortunately, this does not work for every track. If the track has to be watered, it should be done exactly the same each round, by the same people and it will add to the time it takes to run the round. There is just no way to water a track in the 2 minutes allowed between heats. (ours can be blown off in that time however)

3. There is a fine line between being so strict that it turns people off, allowing too many delays, and making sure everyone has fun. While 2 minutes should be enough, you have to really rush, especially when you end up running back to back or have to race, marshal, race, marshal. Maybe add a minute and make it 3 minutes with NO stopping the clock. The race starts when the race starts. Eliminate hot laps. Put your car down near the line, cross the line and set up on the grid, period.

My comments are not meant to be attacks and I hope I am not offending. Just some ideas and thoughts that could be considered. I had a great time at Stateline and I think things went as well as could be expected given the situation. Putting a bit more structure in place regarding the program might eliminate a few issues in the future.

Munsonator - I was just reviewing the footage, you out ran Fred by about 3 feet in the A-Main? WOW.

Holy Cow batman...

Film at 11:00

: )

Munsonator - I was just reviewing the footage, you out ran Fred by about 3 feet in the A-Main? WOW.

Holy Cow batman...

Film at 11:00

: )

I was marshaling that race and it was the best seat in the house for a very close race. Nice job by both of them.

Out ran Fred by 3 feet? Was this after the take out towards the end of the race? I must know since it was commented on now!

vary late nites for those that work sat nights and sundays

Out ran Fred by 3 feet? Was this after the take out towards the end of the race? I must know since it was commented on now!

As I recall, it was neck and neck and back and forth for most of the 5 minutes...

Will try and post the vid this evening.

Lator gators.

I have enjoyed racing this series the last 2 years, and before I say too much more I would like to say Kevin and his crew did an excellent job on the track given the weather conditions for the day. I have listen to a lot of comments and would like to make a few of my own now.

1.) Someone talked about only 8 to a class and needing to continually ask for assistance. That was the largest track we will be on for sure, but how about this if we have 31 to 33 racers how about go 11 in each race instead of spreading out to 4 races at say 8 to total 32 this would eliminate the shortage on Marshalling and drop 1 heat for the day that would eliminate atleast 21 minutes if ran smoothly. This could help in many classes. If the amount is beyond 34 assign people at the beginning to marshal and post it maybe a hand written in the open and just say marshal next to name.

Stick to docking 1 lap if you aren't out there. the only slow up if we have transponder or computer issues. these are few and far between.

2.) Nick you did a great job trying to move things along, but we as racers know what we need to do and should be doing it. Period. best solution to things are structure ahead don't leave things to us (racers) posted and stick to it. I remember one race you where asking over and over for an extra marshal and no one showed. I think it was Kevin's daughter ran out to assist, bless her heart. Again if it would have been a posting Racer X needs to marshal race X I think it would of sped things up.

3.) Next thing was cut down to 1 qualifier and a main. No way tell me that now and I will just want my money back and not race. Most of us not all are hoping for 3 and a main and understand Mother nature hates the MORL series or is laughing at us so hard she starts to cry but it has been that way last year and this so why are we upset at it nobody controls those things.

4.) Water is based on each track but I agree we need to be consistent if we do water.

5.) We selected a board correct I don't have a problem with them making choices for us as long as they are consistent and what you choose today is the same as tomorrow. Not this will help me today but the next day it won't so we change it. Like you did in the Slash & SC early on.

I am behind you guys and can't complain this year has been bigger attendance than last year so you must be doing some things correct. Keep up the good work.

Sorry to be lengthy but since I don't post here much had to make up for lost time. See everyone at Pheasant run.:wave:

Ok, My 2 cent, I ran 5 classes, i was waiting to tech at least 1-2 races ahead of schedule, so I know peeps that run only 1-3 classes can be on time, doc laps if they are not there to race.

I agree that each track should have a crew to help maintain and marshal.

But when it comes to watering, hey they did the best they could considering. The track was awsome, best after dark, ifmar pins ruled after dark, they are not only a dry track tire, I ran ifmar pins on my buggy and truck and 4wd, I think I did ok with them, lol.

Dirt racing is what it is, dirt, its not perfect, the track conditions change, the watering also changes, WE ALL NEED TO DEAL WITH IT WITHOUT CRYING ABOUT IT!!

I was very upset when I ran my brand new SC truck in the first qually, the track had huge puddles. But I got over it, now I can spend the rest of the week cleaning it, lol.

The only thing I can say is that the watering needs to be done by the pro's and done lightly, NO PUDDLES!!!

Otherwise I had a great time, I did get a little frustrated with some racers in my heats that just drive right through you, I dont care if you are lapping me for the 5th time, you need to go around me if I cant get out of the way, dont just expect somebody to get out of your way, drive around, if you are faster it is no problem. I was taken out 3 times in my first SC qually, while I was leading it no less, WHERE IS THE LOVE????

I also got peeled and broke in Jones in the Stk Truck A main while I was leading it, maybe we need to enforce penalties? Black flag the hacks, Nascar does!

Please, Racers, We are here to have fun, PLEASE HAVE RESPECT, it is better to lift off the throttle for a split second than to take somebody, and yourself, out. Slower is faster, thats a fact. (A little onroad saying, lol)

Cant wait to see the vids, Mad props to Handy for takin the vids.

Apple

Yes, the race was a blast, Kevin and everyone did a great job.

One thing that is different now then years past when there were 250+ entries is that we now run 5 minutes instead of 4. This adds 1 1/2+ hours to the race day.

I also agree with the watering schedule. I even complained on the drivers stand as one of the racer's (and was laughed at by that racer) continued to water before an "a" heat race. I had tires on for a dry track and during the race there were water rooster tails coming off the tires.

There is already a 4pm cutoff for the 3rd heat which was put in place when there was less then 200 entries, why even start a 2nd heat when there are now over 250? I know my limits, if it runs later then I feel comfortable with, I'll leave before the race is over. Some may not think they have a problem... all is well until someone falls asleep at the wheel at 4am driving home. Would we still be all in favor of a 21 hour day racing until 2:30am?

I would be in favor of a strict 2-minute clock between heats. We all know the drill, we've done it 100's of times. If you allow racers to get away with it, they will continue to do so. Let them know you mean business (and stick to it) and they will step up. Heck, in years past I missed heats at the MARS races because they didn't hold up a race to keep calling out for racers to show up. Some may complain if they miss a heat or are penalized but on the other hand you have many more racers that do it right and now maybe wonder why they bother to do so.

Heats could easily have 12 in a heat since IFMAR qualifying is used. Mains could then be run with a max of 10 on smaller tracks.

A couple pics from stateline, thanx Tonia for manning, I mean womanning my camera, lol. Also thanx for the grub, very kind of you ducks, lol.

I was the first to go up the stand in every class I ran, If I can be on time running 5 classes than everyone can, I agree with hank, 2 minutes between heats. Now the Marshalling needs to be addressed. I am sticking with each track that wants to host a MORL race needs to have at least 5 full time marshals, and they can water as well, as long as they dont leave puddles, lol.

I ran back to back twice and had only 1 race between once, I did not marshal alot, but I couldnt, again the track needs to have marshals handy, No pun intended, Handy, lol. Great vids BTW

Apple

Most of us hangout with other racers, like Apple running 5 classes, if you need a help at Marshalling ask we can help. Hey Apple you can't blame me for hacking you but I understand what you are saying. It has gotten bad this year.

The 2 minute clock needs to start after the last car finishes. Some classes could see a 50 second lap if a racer crashes on the last lap. A minute and ten seconds is a tall order to get off the stand, turn your caroff/tech and get out on a big track to marshall.

No worries about getting pealed in the SC main. If I thought it was intentional I'd be a little upset. It's not like I didn't get into a few people through the day.

Some good points Apl! I've seen some people still not have enough time between rounds to get ready! All we can do is race!
What fool laughed at me on the driver stand for qualifying 9th in sc? Whoever it was didn't win! So who laughin' now?

Just my two cents worth also. NO WATERING JUST BEFORE CLASSES. I believe there were four or five heats in my class. I ran the first race. The racers that were in heat four or five came out and watered the track so bad we raced in standing water also. We kept yelling from the driver's stand and they just yelled back they wanted a good track for their heat which was three races away. NO WATERING JUST BEFORE CLASSES!

Apl don't forget that you had to change the radio module as well. Also I would have marshalled for you durring the day being that I was only running 1 class, but I really wasn't feeling all that good on saturday morning.


But like said how hard is it to be ready to race. I ran 1 class, but I was ready to go somthing like 6 races before I was up. Of course I was only running 1 class, but the point is it isn't hard to be ready to go long before you are up to race. After all if you are running li-po's then that takes about 30mins to maybe an hour to charge it back up, and durring that time you can get your car cleaned up and replace any broken parts, then just sit back and watch everyone else race around the track or go talk to people after you get your car ready to rip for the next round.

I know I wouldn't mind if the racing went with a 2 day event on sat and sun, but I know there were a few people who left because they still had to go to work on sunday or like hank just said it would be better to leave early then to risk staying up that late.


I also wouldn't mind if we did run 1 heat and a main, but I know I normaly drive the best in the 3rd heat when I don't get any pratice in on race day (part of the has to do with my lack of track time throughout the year). Sure I was there on friday, and had the track figured out, but it is still a little hard to get back up to speed for me on sat if I don't have any pratice that day.

In any case, I am just happy that I am able to even race right now, as I am unemployed. So even if I were to race for 1 lap I would be happy as I would get to race with other people, but I would also be able to talk to people that I don't get to talk with localy.

I would stay over for two day race, I know alot of the racers have to work but if it was a two day race thay could make some kind of arangement to be there both days.
But why was it so hard to get out to marshal after you raced. you put your car in tech go out to your spot done. Why do you have to watch your car in tech or take it back pits there was 41/2 hours to work on stuff even if you run more than one car every one has freinds that will take your car back for you start docking laps for not marshaling

What fool laughed at me on the driver stand for qualifying 9th in sc? Whoever it was didn't win! So who laughin' now?

No worries Pauly.I was the Gootch"10" in the A sc so, you know.

Most of us hangout with other racers, like Apple running 5 classes, if you need a help at Marshalling ask we can help. Hey Apple you can't blame me for hacking you but I understand what you are saying. It has gotten bad this year.
I didnt even know that was you, funny, no worries DoN.

The 2 minute clock needs to start after the last car finishes. Some classes could see a 50 second lap if a racer crashes on the last lap. A minute and ten seconds is a tall order to get off the stand, turn your caroff/tech and get out on a big track to marshall.

No worries about getting pealed in the SC main. If I thought it was intentional I'd be a little upset. It's not like I didn't get into a few people through the day.
I got peeled in the first SC qually, like 3 times, I was on a TQ pace, but im not in the points anyway. No biggy. I think I got peeled in the main too, but I had fun.

The 2 minute clock needs to start after the last car finishes. Some classes could see a 50 second lap if a racer crashes on the last lap. A minute and ten seconds is a tall order to get off the stand, turn your caroff/tech and get out on a big track to marshall.

No worries about getting pealed in the SC main. If I thought it was intentional I'd be a little upset. It's not like I didn't get into a few people through the day.

Agreed.

Apl you are very welcome for the pics and the food.:thumbsup:

On the note of getting back out to Marshall, I know that some racers go all the way back to their pit areas to take care of their Radios since Tech will not hold them ( don't blame them for not wanting that responsibility) but you all pay good money for these and do not wish to just set them down. Since I am not a racer I was holding Radios for racers while they Marshalled (at one time I had four Radios and a truck! Thankyou Kevin for building the shelf on the building!!) LOL As my husband,Duck,mentioned most of you hang out with other people and you could ask them to hold your Radio for you so that you can still return in a timely manner. This is just a suggestion: Maybe set up a table for Radios Only and have one of our Elected MORL officials watch it. You have a Tech area and pay for those people so why not set up another table for this? I ,as my friend's designated "Pit Buddy" gladly take tempory responsibillty for their Radios. I understand that not everyone has that option but once again you all have a buddy system with someone.

Great racing and good times with friends is what this is all about and we had both once again this past weekend!!!! Tonia/aka Momma Duck

Apl you are very welcome for the pics and the food.:thumbsup:

On the note of getting back out to Marshall, I know that some racers go all the way back to their pit areas to take care of their Radios since Tech will not hold them ( don't blame them for not wanting that responsibility) but you all pay good money for these and do not wish to just set them down. Since I am not a racer I was holding Radios for racers while they Marshalled (at one time I had four Radios and a truck! Thankyou Kevin for building the shelf on the building!!) LOL As my husband,Duck,mentioned most of you hang out with other people and you could ask them to hold your Radio for you so that you can still return in a timely manner. This is just a suggestion: Maybe set up a table for Radios Only and have one of our Elected MORL officials watch it. You have a Tech area and pay for those people so why not set up another table for this? I ,as my friend's designated "Pit Buddy" gladly take tempory responsibillty for their Radios. I understand that not everyone has that option but once again you all have a buddy system with someone.

Great racing and good times with friends is what this is all about and we had both once again this past weekend!!!! Tonia/aka Momma Duck

Thanx Tonia, I usually run to my pits to put down my radio, and then run back to marshal, I am allways on time, if i cant i almost allways get a friend to marshal for me.
All these suggestions are good, this lets the MORL officials know how the racers feel, and it should be all about the racers since we are the ones shelling out the cash to race, and some of us shell out ALOT, lol. My fees were 60 bucks this weekend, not including fuel in the generator, lol, I used 2 gallons in 2 days, and fuel in the car, I spent like 150. for the weekend, not too bad, you could lose alot more than that in a few hours at a casino. I live to race, and really enjoy hangin with all my homies, and homettes, lol.

if you all recall way back when, we had to turn in radios to the tech people, they took care of them after each race and made sure they were off, and were numbered to each driver. also at the same time, you turned in your stock motors at the end of the day and picked them up to start the day off. also numbered to each driver.

i never had any problems getting back out to marshall, i turned my car into tech, they said your good to go so i would take my car and my radio back to the pits really fast, and still make it out to marshall. i was all the way in the back by the horses.

also, cant wait to watch the other videos, the slash race was cool to watch on tape, actually watch and see how it progressed.

I don't want to keep you guys waiting without an update, the vids aren't ready to post yet. Will keeping working on them tommorow...

Thanks for the patience.

For me being from WAAAY out of town, stateline is the only race I can make at its a 3+ hour drive(I live in IN). Starting at 9am on a Sat is really hard for out of town racer that have to work Fridays and on top of that work nights. To me when you start that early on race day, Friday practice is a must which makes it a 2 race day essentially. How about starting later on Sat at say Noon or 1, run 2 quals. (maybe even run part of the 3rd round time permitting) Then start at 9am on Sunday finish quals and run the mains. Should have it all said and done by 4pm and those of us who have a 4hr drive or more are still home in the daylight and can still spend the evening with the family.

I know for me I worked until 12:30 on Fri, went to bed around 1:30, back up at 3:30 made it to the track at 8:15. Left the track at 1:20am made it to my dads house(alot closer than my place) at 4am. That was by far and away the hardest drive I ever made.

My Dad did fall asleep at the wheel at 4am on the way home from a race(a race that went way too long) and had an accident. He's lucky he lived and no one else was hurt.

I pulled in the driveway at 5:30 sunday morning. And there were still 5 races after I marshalled for my truck main. Unreal.

For any one that thinks running 1 qualifier and a main is exceptable, WOW! I spend to much money and drive to far for all these races to only get 1 qualifier. End of story.

As for the race program. STOP WAITING FOR PEOPLE!!! When the 2 minute clock is up, start the race. I counted 5 minutes between some races while they waited for either racers or marshalls. If you think it can't be done, your wrong.

I seen a comment about a "Board" that got "Elected" some where. Hmmm, thats funny. MORL is turning right back into MARS. The racers don't get listened to. Its the officials way and thats it. Which is funny since with out racers there is no series.

Kevin... Keep up the awesome work. Stateline is by far the best track I go to every year. I think all the other tracks in the series and area should start paying attention to what you are doing. If you put on a big electric race this year, I'll be there.

Thanks everyone that is making comments on the race for keeping it polite and productive. I am taking notes and we will discuss these things. Just a FYI, at some point we would love to be able to put more than 10 in a heat but we don’t have the AMB 20, so currently we don’t have the option, but we might sometime in the future. Going to a two day event is unlikely as many if not most drivers would not be able to or would be unwilling to do 5 two day races over the summer. Expect your only warning about marshalling to be at the drivers meeting. It is the driver’s responsibility to have a replacement, if they cannot for whatever reason do it. On the watering we try to do our best.

Apl,

I think that a lot of the take outs that are going on are from lack of practice (race practice). There are a lot of people who only race at "The artist formerly known as MARS". People forget how to race clean when they are only racing once a month. It's not an excuse but I think it's part of the problem.

I don't think I've been taken out on purpose a single time this year. I have been hit a lot and hit a few guys. It happens....

I actually get more annoyed with people blocking during qualifying than I do about getting hit to be honest. Some of the guys are lucky that we don't have the 3 turn rule of thumb that the onroad guys use.

I think from the comments so far, two heats and a main is the minimum program. Others have stated, and I would include myself, that if it is one heat and a main, it isn't worth the trip and I too would probably be asking for my money back and going home.

On the other hand, I think having the programs run past midnight on a regular basis is not a good thing either. I know I thought long and hard before heading to Stateline, knowing it was going to be delayed by rain and a long day. Glad I decided to go, had a great time, but I was on the fence.

I can't remember who I was talking to, but they made the comment that maybe there needs to be a limit on the number of entries. Not necessarily what you want to do when you are trying to grow, but maybe we have grown beyond a one day program. I personally like the Saturday/Sunday two day option. If someone can only show up on Sunday and run one heat and the main, maybe give them a discount on their race fee (maybe $15 instead of $20 and $8 instead of $10.) At least then they are making the choice to run one heat and the main and not having it forced on them.

Just more thoughts with the best of intentions.

From the amount of people that camped or stayed Friday night, I'd say you already have 2 day races.

From the amount of people that camped or stayed Friday night, I'd say you already have 2 day races.

A great deal of folks plan their weekends around the schedule and not only try to arrive Friday, but also stay over until Sunday. As I understand it, camping availability on site is part of the criteria for track selection.

For example, Lansing's Grand Woods Park has a wonderful facilty with lots of room and on-site power (in at least some amounts) - yet I'm told MORL (or MARS) events are not able to be held there due to it being a City Park and camping is not allowed.

I for one, think a Mid-Michigan track is needed badly to make travel equal for everyone. It seems we have one event on the East side at Pheasant Runn, and then after that the other venues all favor the West side of the state with Mid-Michigan folks always having to travel while many others are more or less in the back yard.

It amazes me that folks travel from Saginaw to attend, it seems they are really inspiring for the rest of us. I imagine they do hotels or camp but not sure.

It amazes me that folks travel from Saginaw to attend, it seems they are really inspiring for the rest of us. I imagine they do hotels or camp but not sure.

That would be some of our group. I drive from Bay City to all of these races. P-Runn will be the closest and it is still over an hour. And yes, we stay friday nights at a hotel but drive home after the races.

Suggesting a 2 day race to the officials is like beating a dead horse. Its been done since the 90's.

Well it is a classic example of being "burdoned" by success. The more folks who particpate, including multiple classes each person, the larger the program will be, more heats, more classes (1/8 scale electric for example, only last year it was more or less an exhibition class, whereas now its multiple heats at times)...

If we were analyzing supply vs demand vs capacity, it would be Economics 101 - raise prices to "optimize" production vs time. But, the idea is to increase participation (it could be said), and that wouldn't help AT ALL (raising prices).

All in all it seems a few basic things would go along way to keeping particpation up and folks happy (1) limit to 2 rounds of qualifiying (especially with rain delay and large turnout), (2) the MORL folks should upgrade the software so more could run in each heat (seems minimal cost), and (3) the MORL folks should put their collective feet down RE stricter heat turn around schedule (it seems a perfect opportunity to teach new folks how to operate within the program).

After that, at some point folks will need to decide what level they wish to particpate. But in the end, it is what is is.

The Washtenaw Program suffers the same participation driven constraints both with registration numbers and heat turnaround times. At the end of the day, the folks who want to be there are, and the folks who don't, aren't.

It would seem a few structural improvements such as mentioned above (and by others) would clean up about 75 % of the issues folks are concerned about.

I for one will "go with the flow" - I'm happy with it all in whatever form it takes.

(I AM known to be a little eccentric)