EKN Trackside - 2012 Rock Island Grand Prix

Jim McMahon · Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 9:08 am Post subject:

Yeah I have to say that last weekend was the most fun I've ever had bending an axle at 75 degrees.
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Roger Ruthhart · Joined: 24 Jul 2001 Posts: 1302

Look, all the feedback and suggestions are important. If you don't agree with someone, that's important too. We know some racers are drawn by the purse, but honestly the purse is generally a function of entries. We pay back nine places -- right or wrong? Every class, senior and junior -- right or wrong? Our break-even point for the purse is at 20 entries, so if we have less we either eat it or, as we did this year, reduce the purse. It's basic economics and we have always tried to give as much to the racers as we can. Not many other races handing out $25,000 in checks -- don't forget the contingency programs too.

As for the small fields, we said at the beginning of the year that we were not going to cancel classes and we didn't. Right or wrong? The result (after some attrition earlier) was a 3 car Komet Senior race which.

As for Pro Open -- we want to see it take off. But if no other engine builders are going to join the fun and we end up watching Haddock-built motors racing against each other with a few other entries "for fun" then what's the real point? No one else wants to accept the challenge?

Please share your thoughts -- either here or privately (rruthhart@qconline.com). We know the economy is an issue but to what degree? And what are other issues?

The bottom line is that to do the high-quality event we do costs the same whether there are 230 entries of 430 entries. At either level we are still paying 2 ambulances for 2 days at $150 per hour ($300/hr total); we are paying dozens of police for crowd and traffic control and security at $35/hr.; we are renting hundreds of barriers for thousands of dollars and paying an equal amount to truck them here. We can't do this with entry levels we had this year and, besides, if racers can't support the event ... well, that's who we are doing it for. The racers and the community.

We are going to turn up our efforts to increase sponsorship as a means of revenue, and I'm happy to talk with anyone about that. But we need to know what it will take to get more of you here. We have taken a financial loss 5 years in a row and there might not be enough in the piggy bank to cover a sixth.

Even with the light rain, it was a awesome event with great crowds -- even though we had to compete with one of the top air shows in the country making a one-time stop on our weekend.

Congratulations to everyone who participated for an awesome weekend of racing and congratulations to the winners -- most of which had to survive the hard-fought battles The Rock is known for.

And congratulations to Brennan Harrington who was selected as the winner of the scholarship to the 3-day Skip Barber Racing School and the Karting Shootout provided by the Skip Barber Racing School and IZOD IndyCar Series.

In summary -- please email me your thoughts and ideas -- good and bad. We do listen and need your help and input to identify and address key issues.

David Cole · Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 12:34 pm Post subject:

Make sure to post your video or others you may find here:

http://www.ekartingnews.com/viewtopic.php?t=117018
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Keith Bridgeman · Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 4:48 pm Post subject:

I've never really expected big cash payouts in karting. If your looking for that karting isn't the place to be. I don't know of any events that you could expect to break even with expenses. I was surprised at the dip in entries especially for the big classes. I don't get it. I will be back next year I'm sure. The rock should be one of the biggest national events, its great.
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Ben Beasley · Advertiser Joined: 24 Nov 2006 Posts: 129

I was not disputing it is a great event and loads of fun. It has always been one of my favorites. I was just saying for us this year in this economy, it was an event we couldn't do. Hopefully we'll be back!

Jim McMahon · Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 8:13 pm Post subject:

Perhaps pro open needs to be more, open? Ie 4 strokes and wankels, larger displacement limits, multi cylinders, multi motors and maybe even gearboxes?
I believe there was set of rules suggested from oval racing that could possibly be adopted/adapted.
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mike prokup · Joined: 11 Jan 2009 Posts: 237

The wrecks scare me so I will not let my kids run it. No run off on the track. Last turn wrecks this year were very violent. Saw a couple of drivers fly thru the air after being thrown from their kart. One limped away and the rest walked. How they didn't get killed is beyond me. Have never seen wrecks that violent in sprint karting. I guess it is a credit to safety gear. Regardless...the perception is that street races are more dangerous than races at a track.

Nobody seems to want to say this but it is one reason some people do not enter a street race.

Move the race to 61 kart way...offer the big purses.....

Rich Eisgruber · Joined: 23 Aug 2001 Posts: 474

Thanks to all at the RIGP. I had a lousy weekend as far as results but had a great time racing even after I got run over. This was my 2nd and last Rock but I will always remember the fun I had there and enjoyed meeting new racers like Jeff Stamper and Bernie Lacotta as well as running against some top racers like Connor Lund, Matt Pew, Cale Downs, and Garritt Powell.
For me this race was about some of the highest level of competition around and how I would stack up
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Kent Metcalf · Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2012 11:33 pm Post subject:

Like a post said earlyer I also have not see to many places that had cash payouts and I always was told karting is for the love of the sport. Lower the payouts and keep the money to pay the help. $300 an hour for 2 ambulances? wow did not see that coming. Maybe a 50/50 for the drivers and pit crews
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Paul Makarucha · Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 6:59 am Post subject:

I had a good time returning to the Rock. Not sure if I'll be back but it is the best run event I have ever attended. Hands down.

Only critique I have is the tech-pro barriers being positioned freely. They need to be either bolted/tied down or butted up to something solid. I saw wayyy too many karts just graze the barrier but get 'pulled-in' and smack! bent up equipment. I know it would be easy for everyone to just say "don't hit the wall then" but c'mon, racers gonna race.

I'd like to see the hay bails back and placed behind the tech-pros. So off of the curbing we'd have those large grey plastic divers, a haybail, another hay bail, then the tech-pros. This would keep the track narrow enough and save a TON of karts over the weekend. (secretly I missed the wet hay smell too)

Thanks Roger for putting on a class show!
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Roger Ruthhart · Joined: 24 Jul 2001 Posts: 1302

Thanks for the feedback. All of the experts, including the barrier manufacturers will tell you the barriers need to be free to move with space between them. Think it's bad getting sucked in -- what if you "bump" them and they don't move?

Keith Bridgeman · Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 3:52 pm Post subject:

I agree with Jim after two years of 7 karts open up the Open class to all engine other then shifter (maybe air cooled shifters). It can't hurt, just give the two strokes a big break. The wankels and vampires etc, would spice up the show. If it doesn't grow then after that then its a dead idea.
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Alex Nowysz · Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 11:43 am Post subject:

I wanted to comment about a couple things from this year, mainly the barriers and also the starting procedure for one of my races:

i'm sure everyone at rigp had a reason for using traffic cones to line the straightaways (cheaper?), but i really felt like they were more dangerous than using hay bales. a cone will do nothing at all to stop a kart. obviously there aren't as many crashes on straights as in corners, but should there be a messy start or somebody just gets some wheel on wheel contact on a straight, they could be flung straight into the curbing/street light posts, garbage cans, trees, etc. a hay bale will at least slow you down if that happens, so i'd like to see them come back.

i've been racing at rigp for about 5 years now, and i've usually been happy with the starts we've had, but this year i literally saw the worst-run start of any race i've ever done. i was starting 2nd in leopard, and as we were coming around turn 6, the pole kart just decided to floor it, which i would consider way too early. i lost 2-3 kart lengths at least, and i saw a corner worker on the straight hold up 1 finger, as in "take another lap, you're not formed up well enough". then a couple seconds later, the green flag waved and basically i was at a huge disadvantage from that point on in the race. i don't know why we got 2 different signals, and it really shouldn't have gone green that lap. i'd like to see the system 61 karways uses be used, where there's an acceleration point marked on the track, so we know exactly where it's ok to start accelerating. ive raced there a long time and it seems to work great.

overall though, i'd like to add i always have an awesome time at rigp, and i'm planning to be back next year!
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Andrew M. Coulter · Joined: 11 Jul 2002 Posts: 147 Location: Quincy IL

I'm finally settled down enough from last weekend to reply to this thread! First off, I really do not understand why entries are not at the very least double if not triple what they were at this year’s RIGP. Everyone that has driven this race has made a comment that this is the most fun they have had in karting, but then follow up to say this is probably their last year returning. Why?

There are two reasons that I can gather why entries are hurting. First, I know numerous karters that do not run this race because of safety concerns. Choose your style of racing I guess, street racing is not for everyone. Most of the guys I have talked to have never actually raced in the Rock. I guess the word "street" race scares them away.

Secondly, I think basic economics have a reason to play in this. If you jack entry fees up, you get less karts. If you pay out more, you get more karts. The LO206 class is a good example of this. The TAG Sr class is a good example of this. $25 entry fees, full field. $6000 to win, full field. $500 or $250 to win, half a field. The main difference from the Rock to other races is that the stake of tearing up equipment is naturally a lot higher. I'm guessing what Ben means by his post is that, to pay hundreds of dollars in entry fees and to chance tearing up thousands of dollars in equipment may not be worth the $500 or $250 payout. I for one spent upwards of $550 just to enter the races this year. Entry fees have almost doubled from recent years. If payouts are high, I could see a higher entry fee. But I would think lowering the entry fee back to where it was would help the kart count.

If I can afford to come back, I’ll be back. This year I could verily afford to run and be competitive. I ran last year’s tires in one class. I ran one set of tires for two classes. I was DQ’d from one class for not running the “spec” rain tire. I understand a rule is a rule but it’s becoming a money game (in karting in general).

I would like to know where likes of Lawson, Wiegand and Beasley were this year? I think Ben already answered the reason for them not attending, but what about the rest of these guys?

All in all, I want to thank Roger and staff for continuing to put this event on. I know that it is far from an easy task to coordinate and run an event of this magnitude. You guys are doing an awesome job, but there has to be answers out there to the recent turnouts… guys!?

Bob Monday · Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 91

Even if the entry fee was lowered $30-50, that's not going to make up for the non-controllable (by RIGP) costs. Diesel fuel, lodging, tires, race gas... RIGP just can't make up for those other costs through what little they collect from entry fees and (the same economic difficulty of finding) sponsors. The significant costs of racing are not the entry fees.

John Wiegand said that Kyle had a conflict with another (non-karting) racing series that he's committed to doing. John was there, though, so I trust that Kyle would have been if he could have been.

Bob Monday