The New IHRA ???

[Michael Beard]

This is my point, HOW did the Bader's do it?????

1) They had 2-3x as many cars and a much better economy, and 2) They didn't, for long. They learned that while it sounded great on paper, neither the sanctioning body nor the tracks could survive with that structure. If it worked, they would still be doing it.

Even now Norwalk pays for a 1st round win: http://summitmotorsportspark.com/ind.../mr-gasget-pro

$5. Five (5) dollars. To be able to pay even that small amount requires a massive number of cars. 75 cars makes $20 (gross). They draw more cars for a limited number of classes and run them all in a If this is the model you wish to use, is it realistic to expect 125+ cars in EACH of the seven sportsman categories at every race? How many days will it take to run 875 cars to gross $8,000? What's the track's cost per day? What's the sanctioning body's cost per day? What's your net? How much should the track and sanctioning body profit in order to remain viable?

Understanding it is bracket racing that they have posted, but it is still a business they have been successful at. Contact them to plug in your details to see if it would be beneficial or enlightening.

Bracket programs are a completely different animal than a traveling Pro-Am series (and that's a entire editorial of its own). I worked for Bill Bader. I am quite familiar with him and the various business models. I have also worked with and for race tracks, and have co-promoted several of our own events. I designed a race purse calculator spreadsheet that makes it incredibly simple to run numbers, and the reality is indeed VERY enlightening - particularly when you promote your own events and you see all of the expenses that you didn't consider when it wasn't your wallet.

At the end of the day I'm not debating cost, profits, cars or drivers.

My point is that you threw out a suggestion without being willing to do the math and figure out if something was realistic or not, without any care for "cost, profits, cars or drivers." Those are PRECISELY the things you need to look at.

I'm not debating cost or profits, without the tracks all is lost. But I do disagree with you about having to win a couple of rounds for any pay.

You cannot ignore cost and profits when suggesting monetary changes, and assume that the changes will have no effect on the tracks. They don't survive on good intentions. We all want the best for everybody, but not every segment can have everything. It's a careful balance.

Show us how it works. You've asked for money off the top and earlier round money. Lay it out. What's the gross of the current system vs your system? How will car counts be affected by 1) earlier round money 2) lower win money? What is a racer's break even point in each system?

I'm not trying to comes across as being mean. I'm challenging you to think through it. It's the same kind of analysis you have to do when building or improving a car, improving your driving, running a business, or anything else.