| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| stronglikebull |
Posted - 02/18/2012 : 09:29:07
#1 @ BIR May 13th #2&3 @ CFR June 2nd&3rd #4&5 Flex Race Weekend @ GCR or CFR (your choice)July 7th&8th #6 @ RFR July 15th #7 @ RFR July 29th #8 @ RFR August 26th The Schedule Should be Posted soon on the web site. Also we will explain more on the Flex Weekend in the Eliminator & @ The Spring Meeting on March 24th @ The American Motorsports Bar& Grill in Cottage Grove. JM |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Lenny5160 |
Posted - 03/03/2012 : 14:45:13
Wow, I haven't checked this forum in awhile. Lots of crazy things in this thread.
1. The MDRA chairman position has been vacant for years. I'm sure Joe would be OK with someone stepping up. Has there been a leader of any organization in history that hasn't made some self-serving decisions? The next one could be you!
2. The track surveys were sent to all members. If you can't remember to fill out your survey and return it without a reminder, you probably don't have much right to complain.
3. It is the MIDWEST Drag Racers Association. It is based in Minnesota but there is no responsibility of the club to support tracks within the state of Minnesota. The racers support tracks of their choosing for various reasons, but speak with their votes. Races are distributed to align with the track survey results as closely as possible. As has been said previously, that is not an easy task.
4. I don't believe MDRA demands anything of the host tracks other than round sheets. Tracks that do offer extras, such as a Fun Race, are very helpful to the club and should probably get a little preferential treatment for that. I think the racers notice these things and show that in their votes, but something like that can help swing the decision when there is a conflict and one track must be given an extra race. Cedar Falls, for example, has kicked in extra funds for the Fun Race and some Iowa racers join the club so they can take part in the race.
Wow, that was fun! Good to see some action in the forum!
Tony Leonard |
| Superpro |
Posted - 02/23/2012 : 06:40:48
Is that really what MDRA is about? Who earns the races? Did you ever think maybe that's why Brainerd,Grove Creek, Top End drag ways don't care about MDRA? Like Andy said the other tracks give handouts at the meetings. Wonder how that makes the other racers from those tracks who have always supported that track feel about that? I don't see many sponsors in the eliminator from Iowa or Wisconsin. Not taking anything away from Dan & Jennifer they are the best managers of any of the tracks I race at. Sorry Joe I will stop now. |
| BOSS410 |
Posted - 02/23/2012 : 05:21:00
I agree a 100% Dave, they send them out early and get forgotten about, just as i did. Electronically or maybe a simple reminder for members to get there track survey is an idea. The whole point has gotten missed here, it's not about one certain track it was about supporting your more local tracks. Maybe Rick Austin would be more interested if more of the MDRA members would support his track instead of coming out for one weekend and look for a handout! I guess if voicing my opinion makes me a whiner, well, judge however you want. You know what they say. "opinions are like ---holes, everyones got one" Maybe just get rid of the forum. MDRA can keep my money, but don't expect a check next year. |
| 70 Boys |
Posted - 02/23/2012 : 00:27:41
Well it's unfortunate members are at war over the schedule. I feel if your going to have an MDRA race then have the race at a designated track per each race. Splitting the racers among two tracks on the same weekend weakens us as a club and to some it might even seem favored to accommodate certain groups of racers and not the club as a whole. Granted at this time MDRA uses the method of mailed in surveys which people lose track of or just plain forget about in the middle of winter. Track surveys should have gone electronic long ago making it easier for all members to cast their votes possibly even with a running total so EVERYONE can view the results. Communication is the key so hopefully we can turn this around into something positive pending future issues concerning the schedule. It would be shame to lose anymore valued members.
Dave Engler |
| Tim R |
Posted - 02/22/2012 : 21:51:58
It's threads like this that make me think all the checks should be sent back. That way all the 6 or 7 people who do all the work could go about there business and enjoy there racing without listening to all the whining.
Track survey rules. Whatever it says goes. There is only one weekend this season without conflicts. Just go thru and try putting together a schedule from that,
Better yet join the board, make a schedule, bring it to the March board meeting and watch while it gets pulled apart and reconstructed over about a two hour period until you get the least disagreeable schedule that meets the track survey requirements.
Ask any current or former board member what its like. It ain't easy.
Just for the record Rick Austin could care less about having an MDRA race. Jennifer Anderson and Dan Driscoll have both earned the races they have and IMHO deserve the ones they have and should have more. |
| BOSS410 |
Posted - 02/21/2012 : 20:05:57
Let it go Andy, time for a new topic... |
| andyschmall |
Posted - 02/21/2012 : 18:44:30
quote:
Originally posted by BOSS410
Let's just agree that we disagree and be on with our race seasons.
I don't understand what the disagreement is about? |
| KandJ |
Posted - 02/21/2012 : 17:51:55
It's a good thing that we don't have a race at Byron on the schedule! Hi Steve, dad. |
| Superpro |
Posted - 02/21/2012 : 17:20:34
Well we have all The Stocktons and 2/3 of the Schmalls. Brandon? Look this started out as a ribbing to Pops Schmall. Just ask one question would there be a flex weekend if Board members were running points somewhere else? That's the point I'm making. Is it fair to the rest of the members? This was not suppose to make anybody feel they weren't doing a good job. Thanks board members for the last 8 years I have enjoyed my membership but will not be renewing next year or sooner if a refund is sent. Because apparently if you have an objection the family members will come out of the woodwork. Lol
Relax and enjoy the season. See ya at the track. |
| steve stockton |
Posted - 02/21/2012 : 16:56:10
The less members we have, the more your track survey matters! I didn't turn mine in either, heck I haven't even paid for this year. But, Seriously, our sport needs more support from all of us than this. You want more MDRA races at your home track, get people that race there to sign up and fill out a track survey! |
| KandJ |
Posted - 02/21/2012 : 16:25:33
I feel bad that this has turned ugly. As a board member I know how hard it is to make everyone happy. No matter what tracks we choose, people like certain tracks or live closer to them. It would be easier to choose if we all lived in the same place. We live closest to Rock Falls. The Cedar Falls drive is much easier that BIR for us with all of the traffic from Cottage Grove all the way up there. I personally do not like the drive to Grove Creek either but then Jim drives there. Some of you live closer to the Creek and it's easier to go there, likewise with every track. You might live closer to BIR and want to go there the most. I truthfully think that we put a lot of thought into the schedule, not just try to choose what a few people want. This is why I don't like being a board member sometimes. We try to set up our races so that they don't conflict with another track's points races but it just doesn't always work out. This is supposed to be a fun thing and I sure wish we didn't have these problems that cause people to quit the group. I don't know what to do to make everyone happy with the schedule. Ideas would be welcome. I do know we all love this sport and we are lucky to have these tracks to go to. We should be finding more ways to have fun doing this than fighting about it. Kathy |
| BOSS410 |
Posted - 02/21/2012 : 15:49:24
Well that was nice of the board to think of us racers that support our state tracks. It not just a grove thing either. Let's just agree that we disagree and be on with our race seasons. As for the entree fee, the race season hasn't started and i believe i am entiteled to a refund. If there's something in the bylaws that says "no refund" that's fine. |
| andyschmall |
Posted - 02/21/2012 : 13:49:27
So to summarize... You want your money back because people aren't "forced" to go to the Creek. lol
I think dual races are good and bad. On the good side of them, people can choose to race where they want to race depending on other schedules/conflicts. On the bad side, it takes away the groups power on influencing tracks to want MDRA races. During a dual weekend members will be split up between two different tracks. As track owners look at car counts they are going to see that the MDRA race at their track didn't have much influence. This in turn will make track owners care less about having races at their tracks so you won't see them at MDRA events such as the banquet and spring meeting where they typically hand out free entries to races or points programs as an incentive to get racers to vote for their track. You can directly correlate the number of races certain tracks get to the managers/owners involvement in the group. I think racers notice the effort some managers/owners put into trying to draw cars to their tracks and they also notice when track owners/managers could care less about it.
As for the voting, I haven't seen the numbers yet but I would guess that Grove Creek barely had enough votes to get 2 races (one weekend) where Cedar Falls was close to getting 3 or 4 races (2 weekends). I would bet you guys would have complained about the schedule if there wasn't a race at all at Grove Creek and the board wanted to do something about that, hence, the dual weekend was thought up.
.02
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| BOSS410 |
Posted - 02/21/2012 : 12:48:23
Looks like the membership is down another one! I'll take my 40$ also. |
| KandJ |
Posted - 02/21/2012 : 12:04:53
Let's look at a couple of the bracket schedules from the past, which we can do on the website. In 2004 we had 3 races in Minnesota, in 2012 we have 3 races scheduled in Minnesota. In 2004 we had 3 races scheduled in Iowa, 2 at Cedar Falls, on different weekends,and 1 at Eddyville. So, if you wanted to go to all eight races in 2004 you had to make 3 separate trips to Iowa. Since that time we have taken advantage of the 2 day races held at Grove Creek and Cedar Falls to save our members travel expenses. In 2012 you can attend eight races with just one trip to Iowa. Remember that you don't have to go to eight points races as only your best five count for round points. In 2005 we did have 4 races in Minnesota, 1 at Grove Creek and 3 at Brainerd. It looks like the biggest trend over the years is fewer races at Brainerd and more at Rock Falls. The membership has spoken through the track surveys. |
