Hey oval racers in the Omaha area, the new track is open at Hobbytown in Omaha. Rob Murdock of MurdockRC burned up the track in 19 turn with a 3 lap lead over 2nd place. Come on down and give him some competition. Saturdays doors open at 10:00 am and races at 12:00. Track is great with 175 ft driving line. HWY 680N & Irvington exit :thumbsup:

No doubt on the track. Excellent track, pits and a great guy running the show. It is going to become a very fast fun place to be. Long over due in the Omaha area

Rob @ Murdock R/C & Performance

:freak: GEEKED OUT cowboy, I guess that will do. Headed down for the tuesday night show and do some laps. Hopefully see you there

Rob @ Murdock R/C

Im with you on that one Cowboy. Hopefully they dont stay with that. To many of us oval guys are in points battles and like to travel east to race to go head to head with the other tracks. Plus we wont even have a chance to get them over this way to have more competition for us. Plus it really throws a bind in the bigger events that are coming up that I have made plans for already. This was bad timing for a change. I was wanting to head east this week to work on the mod program.

new schedule for hobby plex.

http://omahane.hobbytown.com/custompages/?id=23985

Looks like a nice place,wish it was a couple hundred miles closer.
Pretty tough for most tracks to make it with seperate oval road programs,but it would be nice not to have switch the track over.
Any plans for a two day oval race anytime soon????

There is talk of doing something big yet Hoop, but if they dont switch the race days back around there may not be any oval left to have anything Im affraid. Hopefully this is just a 1 time deal this week. It is tough to go anywhere when 4 tracks run oval the same day.

Rob M

Guys,
If you checked the new oval schedule at Hobby Plex, oval was moved to Sunday and on road to Saturday. Sounds like the on road guys complained and the days were changed. I us oval guys are not as important at that track. Well, it will be a great oval track if we can put pressure on Ski to give us Saturday back. Lets keep up the pressure, won't see you down there much as Sundays don't work well for me.
Jim
"GO FAST, TURN LEFT"

Looks like I may have to change my mind about getting back into racing if this is what their going to do. Saturday would work better for me, and if they don't change back they will have lost somebody before they even got started.

Chad O.

Hey Guys
Before we give up on Hobby Plex lets put some pressure on Ski, I am sure he want the track to succeed. He is looking at the number of onroad racers he has now, if he comes around and promotes oval next season we will out number the onroaders by far. If anyone can find out if Ski has e-mail we can voice our opinions that way. If you get it post it here.
Jim
"GO FAST, TURN LEFT" :thumbsup:

Hey Cowboy
I see all your replies were deleted, were you getting vocal about your displeasure with the schedule change. :thumbsup:

There is no riff between the onroad and oval guys. Neither side wants it the way it is nor did anyone want it changed. All we can do is hope that it gets changed back and soon because oval on the local level is all but dead for car count of any kind. We need to leave it open for others to come over if they want or us go there. Hobbyplex cannot compete with existing tracks and right now is a very bad time for this with the special events coming up this month. My scedule is in pieces right now but Im affraid to make new arrangement in the event that hobby plex changes there mind again. Time will tell I guess

Hey omaha racing, bring that 700 out tonight and let Ski know that you are interested in oval saturdays.Talked to racers in Iowa sun, they would like to try the place out-on SATURDAYS. It will be hard to build an oval crowd when everyone else has been running all season somewhere else on Sunday.

Hey Phil & Bob -

You know my thoughts on this - As you know, my pref is "road" on Sundays - primarily cause it's my day off & have to work on Sat.

Last wed. I tried to get a bunch of "Road Drivers" to write out a note for the "suggestion" box at the track to change the schedule back. Most everyone wants it back..... We'll just have to keep trying.

-Todd

Well sunday's are just impossible!Omaha has always been a Saturday track and all other Club/Tracks in the area have scheduled accordingly!Sunday you have Iowa,KC,Stanton,phillips etc...!Does not make alot of sense looking from that view!Lincoln use to be a Friday track then they switcheed and look at Lincoln racing now!I would rather see Omaha race Oval on a Friday night than Sunday!this a tough time of year to get cars anyway with spring and outdoor activites starting,plus all the seaon fanalies such as Trophy races and points battles finishing up!If they don't listen to the voices of the racers this will end up like Lincoln DEAD!I remember Lincoln also told the Oval guy's they didn't need them!LINCOLN now is quote the omnise UNDERTAKER {RIP)!LOL I'm not saying Oval is the only thing but it is nice when you have oval and road course the same day so you have more time between rounds to tune on your car,plus if you want to race both oval and road you don't have to come up to seperate day's and when you have a 150 mile drive your only gonna do one of thetwo!
JUST MY OPINION!
Al & Josh Halte

Thanks Cowboy-

I'll be racing road at HobbyPlex tomorrow night and 'll spread the news about this thread.

As far as why the change was made-- I have no idea what the actual reason is - but have heard speculation that because of the 8 minute 12th scale heats - it makes a longer race day for the track...?

But the last road race they had (on Sunday) they had a vote for 2 or 3 qualifiers... and of course everyone voted for 3. My opinion - it should only be 2 qualifiers & a main. (But That's the Race Directors Job) to determine how late he wants to stay...?Ha

Any way we got done around 8pm -and it would've been around 6:30 had we only run 2 Q's & a main.

Spead the word to all --- PLEASE SWITCH IT BACK...!!! Sat Oval - Sun Road!!

It sounds like we are all on the same page, and that is Saturday has been and should be oval race day in Omaha. Sounds like mixed feeling as to whether it should or should not be with onroad racers. Let keep giving Ski feedback in a nice way. We all gain if the track is successful, and everyone loves the new track. This is just the beginning and perhaps by fall season things will fall into place.
Jim Carson

"GO FAST, TURN LEFT" :wave:

I, also, am trying to get back into oval racing, and Saturday would be the best for me. Omaha has always been a Saturday oval.

Thanks,
Denny

Guys
Todd is putting together a petition for Hobby Plex to return the oval to Sat. & onroad to Sunday, besure he has your name for the petition if thats what you want. :wave:
Jim

Todd did you recieve my cc?

Chad

Todd
Thanks for your support on getting the race schedule reversed to oval saturday & onroad sundays. I think your idea to have us sign a petition to present to Hobby Plex is a good idea. I forewarded a copy with my name on it, to the rest of you who want the saturday oval, send your name to Todd to add the petition.
Jim :wave:

Yes Chad - I did get the cc: and the list is starting to build. I got about 12 signatures at the track tonight and will continue compiling the list thru this week.(or next if needed)....!

"OFFICIAL COUNT" (16) as of the 1st day

Please add your name to this list, copy this email, Add Your Name, then send to a fellow racer, "Please Make Sure" to Cc:tabeardmore@yahoo.com on your email. I will compile the list of names for the petition/request.

FIRST and LAST NAME -PLEASE-

1) Todd Beardmore
2) Chad Oliver
3) Craig Maline
4) Mike Carson
5) Jim Carson
6) John Houchin "aka" cowboy on HobbyTalk - Sidney Iowa
7) Mike Clement
8) B.J. Benesh
9) Chris Nichols
10) Bob Roegge
11) Mark Zitzlberger
12) Joe Bruno
13) Kenneth McKinney
14) Mike Soltau
15) Rod Scheer
16) Mike Garrett
17)
18)
19)
20)
21)
22)
23)
24)
25)

Todd
My apologies to you and the other onroaders at the Hobby Plex. It appears by the number of onroad names beginning to appear on your petition/appeal list that this was strictly a management decision to change the days we race. I appreciate your efforts to get it changed back and hopefully others feeling this way will go to the thread you started and get their names added to your list.
Jim Carson

"GO FAST, TURN LEFT" :thumbsup:

FRIDAY NIGHT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA. Let not go there. I love to race but I dont want anything to do with weekend night racing. Many of us have familys and other things we like to do that Friday night would interfer with. This is pretty simple really. Nobody wanted the change on either side. To many other tracks already had Sundays sceduled and this has hurt both road and oval turnouts, with the oval racers having to make choices now that we dont want to and our turnout being hurt the worst. Like Slowpoke said, lets keep it clean about our needs here. But at the same time we have all been asked and filled out the suggestion box and it changed anyway.

Thanks Todd. If you need me sign in person I plan to be there this Sunday and, if Speedpunk brings my new car, I will be racin'.

Stagger

Slow Poke aka (Jim Carson) and 86 Racer aka (Bob Murdock).... with both of your permission - I will add your names to the list... as if I should have to ask for your approval.... !!!

PLEASE ANYBODY ELSE WHO READS THIS AND WOULD LIKE YOUR NAME ADDED LET ME KNOW - WE NEED EVERYONES NAME ON THE LIST...!

Thanks
Todd

"OFFICIAL COUNT" (28) as of the 3rd day 10:20 pm 3/12/04

Please add your name to this list, copy this email, Add Your Name, then send to a fellow racer, "Please Make Sure" to Cc:tabeardmore@yahoo.com on your email. I will compile the list of names for the petition/request.

FIRST and LAST NAME -PLEASE-

1) Todd Beardmore
2) Chad Oliver
3) Craig Maline
4) Mike Carson
5) Jim Carson
6) John Houchin
7) Mike Clement
8) B.J. Benesh
9) Chris Nichols
10) Bob Roegge
11) Mark Zitzlberger
12) Joe Bruno
13) Kenneth McKinney
14) Mike Soltau
15) Rod Scheer
16) Mike Garrett
17) Dennis Johnson (drjohn)
18) Shane Schmidt
19) David Schorr
20) Dustin Schorr
21) Miles Page
22) John Clark
23) Ken Lundberg
24) Chuck Kleinhagen
25) Rick Mathiason
26) Roy Mathiason
27) Jamie Mcwilliams
28) Taner Mcwilliams
29)
30)
31)
32)
32)
33)
34) Phil Beardshear
35)

Guys, we have all complained until we are blue in the face here but lets not be adding names unless the person wants it on the petition :confused: . I never put my name to that list. Although Im in ageeance here I dont think any of this is going to help. The track is going to do what they want because our feelings have not been heard up to this point with a suggestion box or anything. So who ever added Bob Murdock to that list please remove it. I dont want any hard feelings with Tim and I. He knows how I feel already :mad: . I told him the result before it was ever done. If we dont like it the only thing to do is not race there and maybe when no cars show up that will get the message across. I would think that cutting the car count down for 70% last week :( as a total would have sent a clear message. It is bad when racers who live 15 min's away drive 4 to 5 hours to race instead of a place like that.

Rob M

Didn't count the racers there today, was told the schedule will not change=road sat/oval sun.

:mad: So much for our nice new track having any kind of turnout :mad:

I know i am just an outsider, but...we try to make it over that way to race a couple times a year, because so many of you support the tracks in eastern Iowa

You basically have three kinds of tracks out there. 1) Non-Profit Clubs( like IROAR) 2) Privately owned tracks that support racers 3) Privately owned tracks that don't support racers

Take a guess at which ones are the most successful. And it is hard to start up a new place and make everyone happy. But with the info I have gotten it sounds like This new track falls under #3. Which is sad.

My suggestion would be to approach the owners of the track with a proposition to start a club type group, that can run the races properly and look out for the best interest of the racers. This would take three or four guys to volunteer time and effort to do this, but the alternative is not having a place to race. Since it is a permenant facility, you guys have it easy, trust me!

Having a track attached to the hobby shop is great, but money from entries won't make the owners very much profit but having a good turnout of racers that go spend their money in the Hobby Shop will! Also how will it look when someone new comes to watch the races and see 10-15 guys there racing? That isn't very attractive to a newbie, but a place like Vinton that gets 80+ cars on a race day is. Part of IROAR's success over the last couple years, is our new guys out way our loss of guys each season. We may lose 2-4 guys between a season but we seem to gain 4-7 guys.

If the owners are smart business people, they will realize they have already made the investment and to get any return on that investment they should have an attitude change toward the racers.

It will be a shame if a nice place goes to waste.

Danny Bartholomew

Typical Hobbytown!!there way or the highway!I have been in this hobby for alot of years but am seriously cosidering calling it quits!Tired of the B.S. Hobbytown has seem to forgot where most of the racers came from(oval) heck tim used to be a Oval racer!Great track LOL Or a Joke!My son loves this hobby and i feel maybe it's time to find a new hobby that cares about the people involved!we have quit racing because lately because it just isn't the way it used to be!Racing used to be fun!Not political!We live to far away to travel to Iowa!

Danny B you hit the nail right on the head especially the words "attitude change towards the racers". IT AIN"T THERE. There was a suggestion box at the track that was used by the racers and the track did not listen. Don't have a suggestion box for the racers if the attitude is not to listen. Racers have talked in person to the management. They did not listen. Post have been going on this thread for over a week and a half for a change in attitude by the track. They did not read. This track wanted regional races in the future. The way I see it they won't get it. They even talked of national races. They won't see it. Until the attitude toward the racers changes, this track is doomed.

Your right Cowboy. I take back the "our" part. I should have used "ME" instead in regards to the ownership/management. Because ABSOLUTELY NOTHING the drivers want has been heard.

Danny B Im also in complete ageeance with your post. Right on Dan.

Im sorry to say it but this completely STINKS that not a one of the drivers complaints or requests have been heard. Ive been a track owner and I told Tim before he did this that he was headed for a meltdown by doing what he has done. I would have NEVER, NEVER, EVER thought of TOTALLY disregarding the drivers feelings like this when the speed zone was in operation.

SIGNED:COMPLETELY DISSAPPOINTED :mad:

HI Cowboy - Did anyone get a count from Saturday Road Course???

Less than 30 in road on Saturday and less than 20 for oval today. Turn outs are down in a bad way and only going to get worse. Oval would be fine if hobbyplex wasnt trying to run agains 3 other oval tracks on the same day. We are loosing locals and not gaining any away people. This is a dead discussion I think. Nobody wants it this way and yet it is. You tell me what the problem is here. I have a good idea but it dont make any sense to a person like me that strives for success.

Rob M

My track also changed race days for last season to bring in other guys from other tracks. When the attitude changed, went back to old times and days, almost all the OVAL racers went to other OVAL ONLY TRACKS or just stopped racing all together. Buy the way your on road guys stop racing in the summer, or go off road racing, Oval racers stay. Just my 2 cents, hope this helps...

This Is One Of The Best Tracks I Have Race At Racers Need To Stop Bad Mouthing It I Like Oval Racing On Sunday I Think Both Oval And Onroad On Sunday Would Be Best Not All Racers Like Driving 3 Or 4 Hours To Race I Think Tim Is Trying To Listen This Discussion Is Only One Side Not Everone Dislikes How It IS This Track Will Have A Regional Or National RACE So Racers Stop Make The Track Sound So Bad On Here Because It One Of The Best Tracks Around

Hey Randy, calm down and maybe throw a comma in there,we know how you feel about it.
I hope to race there when the season is complete in Albion.Hobbyplex IS a first class facility that should NOT be half empty on race day.
With Sunday oval locals likely will be it, maybe a few will travel here,hopefully some new racers will take up oval.

We raced there yesterday and couldot find anything wrong with the place at all,first class everything. The ony bad thing is not enough racers to give more time between races to do anything to your car.As far as the saturday or sunday That is a big can of worms that will never make anyone totally happy, if you work Saturdays you like sunday if not then you would like Saturday. For Ben And I both road and oval on Sunday And start early. all I can say is everybody Should be HAPPY they have such a nice facilaty in their own back yard and do not have to drive 3 to 4 hours to Race,wish one like this was out here in sticks,IA. I do understand for the guys that want to race out of town.We would race here on the weekend that IROAR does not race,1 it is closest,2 It is a very nice place. Last of all Guys (I am not buy any way trying to cause any trouble but does anyone know the Business side of this decission? I run a Truck repair shop and sometimes make decissions That not everyone likes but it is best for my business. Like I said I do not know what Tim's or his bosses reasoning is, But I do hope it works so if we the racers can bend our days and times a little to help. Staying away will not help them or you the racer to have the track exist.

Nobody is saying that the track isnt awesome because it is. But, oval doesnt have enough racers locally to run against the other tracks. There is no reason with the small turn outs to split oval and road course up the way I see it. It was mentioned yesterday to run both road and oval on Saturday and Sunday. This may solve both sides of the debate. Because then the oval guys would have a Saturday track to race on and Sunday if they want. People from both sides could race the day they can or choose. Or both. This way, everyone would have time to wrench on the cars, play with set ups and all the stuff we dont have time to do right now because of only having 4 or so heat races. I wonder if we could get this across to management to lay this thing to rest.

I completely understand how the guys feel that cant be there on Saturday, (I want everyone there if possible) but from a competition/business standpoint the change didnt make sense. When you go from mid 60's in road to under 30 and over 30 to under 20 oval then the change would not make the grade in my book from a business or competition standpoint.

The way I see it, running both days like we did years ago would be the best solution here. Then everyone could be there and that would be fine with me. Everyone could make one of the days or both, guys from other Sunday tracks could show up on Saturday, people who work one of the days could be there, we would have time to work on the cars, everyone could be happy for the most part. How does everyone feel about that and could we get it done would be the next part of this.

Rob M

*** Confucious Says***

--i Think That Would Be The Best Solution--

Run Both Road & Oval On Saturday & Sunday

Make All Racers Very Happy-- :) And Hobbyplex Mo' Money..!!


ALL WHO WOULD AGREE SAY "I"

It would be like the good ol' days wont it Todd. We used to pack them in both days at hobbytown and nights at rc speedway. Never a short crowd and I dont remember anyone compaining with that. I wouldnt mind seeing that theory given a chance yet this year to see what the results would be.

Rob M

Both On Saturday & Sunday, That Would Work

Ok Guys -

The "List" has been delivered to Tim. I pointed out the list was about 50/50 road/oval drivers and some even run both classes. The downfall of the current schedule forces the racers who drive both classes to choose which day/class to race, not to mention those of us who have to work Saturday and prefer to race road course...

The objective, I mentioned, is that if they could run both oval & road on both days would take his Saturday racer count to around 45-50 avg. and Sunday to around 30-35 avg. when considering the cars counts from the last two weeks.

What's the bottom line?? Hmmm about 30 x $10.00 per entry = $300 more per week x 52 weeks per year = $15,600 per year in race entries?

I think if Tim decided to do this - He would deserve a raise - All those in favor (SAY I)

Plus, the goodwill and happiness of the racing community will earn the store more of our hard earned money for the retail part of the store.

Tim did say he "did" think about at least running both classes on Sunday- which of course - will not appease the Oval Racing community.

That's my 2 bits!! Hope it helps?

-Todd -

It has become quite apparent that the oval racers are being put out to pasture here even though both sides are on the same page with our wishes. There are high hopes by management to hold "big" events in the future but if this is how the wishes racers are going to be met then management can kiss those hopes good bye. Because without driver support ROAR, ARCOR or NORRCA will look the other way without blinking. Ive been there supporting the track every week now even though I dont agree with what has been done, but it is going to have to stop somewhere. This has gone way beyone the scedule, what day we race or any of that. Nothing is being heard. WHY WONT MANAGEMENT LISTEN TO THE DRIVERS!!!!!!!!!!! :mad:

Where would I find info on this race???

Hoop, I think there were some fliers laying around at the awesome IROAR event this weekend. I didnt look at one but there were there somewhere.

Rob M

Yeah Rob,Jim gave me some flyers but I posted them in the building and forgot to take one home :confused:
Im trying to talk Ronn into going...........its a long trip by yourself.