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If it would result in a very good site, how high of an entry fee would you be willing to pay?

 

 

 

For comparison, I occasionally go to Bonneville for Speed Week. This year regular registration (the first 1000 registered before May 15th) is $200 per driver. After the first 1000, or after May 15th, the price goes to $600 per driver. We also make large donations of $$$ to the Bureau of Land Management that oversees the site and weeks of volunteer time to prepare the site.

That's to race for six days at the best site for land speed racing. The Bonneville Salt Flats are the safest, fastest, longest and cleanest place for this kind of racing in the Western Hemisphere. Unfortunately, it's attached to Wendover. Our alternatives are some of the California dry lakes, which are short, dusty, dirty, and end up with dangerous ruts, or places like the Texas Mile, which is basically a mile long dragstrip, too short and too dangerous. Only Lake Gairdner in Australia has better racing conditions and worse city conditions.
 

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Aut tace aut loquere meliora silentio.

Hey Jim,

 

Apparently you haven't registered yet for this year's Nats.  Your first option is already too low...and that's for a free site.

--Andy 

If the site includes towing over 2000 miles from the west coast to share a hotel room with Lehman, because the hell hole town in the middle of east bumfork that doesn't have enough room at the inn...well, let's just say you couldn't PAY ME enough to make it worth my while....

Seriously, if the site was a good one and a shorter haul (read: more equitable) than Topeka, $200 is easy. 

 

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In slow, out fast.
In fast, out backwards.

Price out an HPDE sometime.  For a great site I'd pay.  It's not the entry fee that would keep me away...the gas on the other hand....

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Ted

2004 Z16/Z06 SS

With the rising cost of getting there, the entry fee may not be an issue in the future.  We have a relatively short tow to Kansas so future location may have more impact than other associated costs.

 Jeff Christianson (Iowa)

 

Duplicate

Andy Hollis:

Hey Jim,

Apparently you haven't registered yet for this year's Nats.  Your first option is already too low...and that's for a free site.

--Andy 

That's funny!  So the people choosing $100 tops won't be there I guess!

 

Howdy,

I voted for $200 max, but to be fair I just backed out (in planning, anyway) from going to nationals this year because I can't really justify the money spent vs. getting a shifter kart...

I'm looking at something like $800 in fuel just to get to Topeka & back.  Add in another $500 for a hotel for the week and I'm at $1300 without even touching the car, entry fees, or anything else.  That's about half of what I'm hoping to spend on a shifter kart and that has more reward for me.

It'd make more sense for us if it were in non-school-in-session months where we could go as a family, but as it sits Nationals is going to remain a "every now and then" thing for me pretty much regardless of what the entry fee is.

It'll be interesting to see what happens to nationals attendance this year.  I hope for the sake of solo that I'm the exception in terms of not getting enough return on the "investment" and that entry stays up in the 1200 range, but I wouldn't bet that it'll happen either.

Mark

mwood:

If the site includes towing over 2000 miles from the west coast to share a hotel room with Lehman, because the hell hole town in the middle of east bumfork that doesn't have enough room at the inn...well, let's just say you couldn't PAY ME enough to make it worth my while....

Seriously, if the site was a good one and a shorter haul (read: more equitable) than Topeka, $200 is easy. 

 

+1 to what Mike said....it ain't the entry fee that's the problem, its all the associated costs to get there.

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F125 #17
AS #197

+2   This won't cost me any more $$$ to go to nationals.........its just less $$$ to go to my employee friends at the local topeka party places :)

But really.....if I don't go to the clubs this year I'll save at least a few hundred dollars. Not that I want to  ;)    but I'm just saying. There is also $$$ to be saved by making lunch and dinner a few nights.........co-driving saves travel costs........lots of ways to save $$$.

If Nationals goes any further away in 2009 I will probably skip it. If the SCCA solo program ever gets a great site then its a different story. But I'm not really interested in driving to road america or where ever up north :)   I'm not really in favor of going to california or dc for example........

BUT....if it was a rotation between west central and east then that may be worth the trip every time :)

But I voted $200 but I might pay as much as $250. But if the entry goes up again next year to stay at HPT I"m staying home.  

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David Hedderick
Pearland (Houston), TX
01 CRG YZ125 (FOR SALE! $2500)
08 Mazda 3s
02 Mazda Protege (automatic tow vehicle)
92 Miata SE - Fun half-arsed STS2 Car

When you consider the entry fee to be only one component of the cost of going to nationals, $200 isn't that much.  For those of us that have to tow from one of the coasts, the primary costs this year will be fuel.  At $4+/gallon, I am looking at $1000 in fuel expense.  To itemize the various major expenses:

Towing Fuel:         $1000

Hotel:                    $500

Meals:                  $250

Incidentals:           $250

So I am looking at spending $2000+ to go and that doesn't include the entry fee.  A $200 entry fee is less than 10% of my total costs and its no higher than 4th in order of expenses for the trip.   

The location is likely to have a bigger effect on cost via fuel expense than entry fee.  As an example, Nationals were moved to Denver you add 1000 miles to my round trip tow and another $400 in fuel expense.    

I would pay more for a better, centrally located site to prevent my travel expenses from ballooning out of reason.  But then from the perspective of someone who drove their HS car, and who's fuel expense was 1/4th the above, it isn't as big an issue.

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Steve Hoelscher
#27 DP - Toyota MR2
http://www.terriehoward.com

not only does it need to be higher, there should also be tougher qualification standards like Runoffs

Nationals needs less social fodder and to become a more serious competition event

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"Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car and oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car.
Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall, torque is how far you take the wall with you." --Anonymous

Everyone should be careful what they ask for...

I can easily see Nats entry fees going up substantionally even with a free event site.

I'm still having a hard time understanding where the $121K is all going to go for this year (1100 * $110).  That is a serious amount of cash. 

--Andy

 

^^^^

agreed.

another vote to ditch the banquets.

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Carrie
'89 STS2 CRX Si (Thanks Ian!)
'88 STS2 CRX Si (it's heeeeee---eeere!)
'93 ES MR2 in L1 on occaision (Thanks Jerry!)

presumably the extra cash goes back to the Solo dept to help fund operations.

shhh. don't tell the National Office you're willing to pay $200 or that's what we'll

get to pay next year, free site or not... :( 

Andy Hollis:

I'm still having a hard time understanding where the $121K is all going to go for this year (1100 * $110).  That is a serious amount of cash. 

 

I have to agree with Andy on this one.  (there, we're even  )  During one of the last couple few years at Forbes Field, I remember seeing a budget in the $70K range.  Now I know that MTAA helped us out some with sweepers, etc... but dang, we are adding $50K to a $70K budget in a very short span of time. 

I would like to see the new budget numbers.

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Steve Hoelscher
#27 DP - Toyota MR2
http://www.terriehoward.com

Coming from the west coast, fuel is the biggest expense for me, The $110 entry this year is a non issue, so I voted over $200, I'm also looking at using a small open trailer to tow a smaller car(Dmod Europa vs CP Camaro) instead of my enclosed trailer to save on fuel cost, and a few other things.

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Jesus Villarreal
D mod Europa

edj:

presumably the extra cash goes back to the Solo dept to help fund operations.

Which is something I have a hard time with.  IMO, Nats should be self-sufficient.  Taking a cut from that to subsidize ongoing Nat'l office bureaucracy is just plain wrong.  "Tax and spend".  Time for some small-government republicans in Topeka.

--Andy 

Andy Hollis:

edj:

presumably the extra cash goes back to the Solo dept to help fund operations.

Which is something I have a hard time with.  IMO, Nats should be self-sufficient.  Taking a cut from that to subsidize ongoing Nat'l office bureaucracy is just plain wrong.  "Tax and spend".  Time for some small-government republicans in Topeka.

--Andy 

 

A new, properly functioning Pro Solo timing system would be nice ...

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"Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car and oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car.
Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall, torque is how far you take the wall with you." --Anonymous