What's with tracks behaving like crybabies lately? (1 Viewer)

[.]

This is like the third post I've seen in the past week about track management at different tracks acting like crybabies because somebody dared post something on Facebook. I just saw this a few minutes ago:

I'm suspended permanently because I voiced my opinion on how Andy Carter and Wes handled the cancellation and FB on Saturday while I was racing at the great track of Ardmore .

From somebody sharing the pic:

Appears that the Texas Motorplex's new management is a team of millenials that get hurt over facebook words. Makes it hard to support the track in any way/shape/form now (racer or photog). I'll attach the post that started all of this.

Banned 2 families and rumor is there's a third that has not come forth yet. Another 4th family voluntarily removing themselves from the track. Thanks to Facebook, the track has lost itself a good 25+ tech cards.

This is what the track general manager had to say. The root issue was that the track cancelled a race an hour before start time due to a 15 minute shower. The track was self-dry by the time most folks loaded back up.

Tracks complain about attendance and then cut off their own nuts with stupid shit like this.

 

[Pete]

I hate s

This is like the third post I've seen in the past week about track management at different tracks acting like crybabies because somebody dared post something on Facebook. I just saw this a few minutes ago:

From somebody sharing the pic:

Tracks complain about attendance and then cut off their own nuts with stupid shit like this.

I hate saying this, because I've been a diehard racers for 30+ years, but tracks make incorrect decisions all the time, especially with weather. Its one of those "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situations.
As the promoter of a 10.90 series, it began raining one raceday and it was a monsoon. After looking at the radar and reports, I cancelled the race after 1st round, paid out the racers and went home. I got a call a couple hours later saying the rain stopped, track was dry and they were racing..."what do we do about 10.90?". We ran the race out, for no points. I felt like an idiot, as everything pointed at a complete rainout. Now, what if I had stayed and waited those 2 hours, maybe it didn't stop raining or the track called the day...who knows.
The race track, although a 'getaway' for many, is a business and if there is a risk to lose money, it has to be mitigated. It costs money and time to keep the place open and especially to roll equipment to dry a track. Once the call is made to cancel, thats it, over.
All I am is saying is, once a decision is made, right or wrong, you have to stick with it and as racers we have to live with whatever decision is made.

 

[None]

NHRA in the past would cancel qualifying as often as they could, when the conditions didn't justify it. Saved on track drying and prep, hourly hired help, and the main reason, the NHRA management and the Safety Safari could get back to the bar early.

 

[.]

It's not so much the decision to cancel the race, it's the banning of people from the track over a FB post that gets me. Nothing happened at the track, the comment was posted on FB, so why send a stupid letter and ban people for making a post expressing their views/feelings? Are racers not allowed to have an opinion now?

 

[flapjack]

NHRA in the past would cancel qualifying as often as they could, when the conditions didn't justify it. Saved on track drying and prep, hourly hired help, and the main reason, the NHRA management and the Safety Safari could get back to the bar early.

Wow man, I know a person on the Safety Safari, and I am quite sure Alan knows quite a few of them, and they don't strike me as the drinking types during a race. The NHRA has a no tolerance for alcohol in the blood stream while a race is going on, and does random drug screenings, so I am quite sure there is no shenanigans going on during race time. Now, Monday or Tuesday, when they are done tearing down, etc. yeah, I can see them having a few librations to unwind.

 

[None]

Wow man, I know a person on the Safety Safari, and I am quite sure Alan knows quite a few of them, and they don't strike me as the drinking types during a race. The NHRA has a no tolerance for alcohol in the blood stream while a race is going on, and does random drug screenings, so I am quite sure there is no shenanigans going on during race time. Now, Monday or Tuesday, when they are done tearing down, etc. yeah, I can see them having a few librations to unwind.

Believe what you want. I am telling you how it was in the past. Alan knows more than anyone on here, but remember he has always ridden for the brand. He would be a fool not to put the company in a good light.

 

[vegasnitro]

Wow man, I know a person on the Safety Safari, and I am quite sure Alan knows quite a few of them, and they don't strike me as the drinking types during a race. The NHRA has a no tolerance for alcohol in the blood stream while a race is going on, and does random drug screenings, so I am quite sure there is no shenanigans going on during race time. Now, Monday or Tuesday, when they are done tearing down, etc. yeah, I can see them having a few librations to unwind.

I know a couple of people that work Safety Safari too, and I can tell you this, there are no shenanigans when a race is going on. Those guys are the first ones at the track in the morning and the last ones to leave at night. A 12 hour day during an event is a "short" day. It is usually more like 16 hours per day during an event. They do it because they love it, not because they think it's a party. And like Tom said, if you do want to grab dinner and/or have a cocktail with your friends on the Safety Safari, it is usually on Wednesday night before the event or Monday night after. During the weekend, you are lucky if you can say "hi" or "bye" to them.

As for the main part of this thread, I work for a drift organization doing tech inspections and running the grid. We changed the rules upgrading on board fire extinguishers from 2 pounds to 5 pounds. Well, the first event of the year was a practice event and we failed about half the cars because they had the wrong size bottle. Since it was just a practice event, we still let them participate but let them know when the first points event came around they would have to have the 5 pound bottles without exception. Well, the first points event comes around and guess what ... several guys still had the wrong size bottle. They KILLED us on social media even though it was entirely their fault. So racers can be just as big a group of crybabies as any track or organization. However, even though those guys killed us, we didn't ban them from competing, we even went out of our way to let them know when they got the right size bottle they were welcome to compete. We don't like turning down money. So I am not sure what the end game is for the Motorplex. Almost EVERY track pisses and moans that they are making no money, and they start banning competitors for Facebook posts? Does not make good business sense to me. All racers have cliques, you ban one, you are likely going to lose the business of 2 or 3 more.

 

[vlad the impaler]

This is another one sided bash the track thread without knowing what was said on the Facebook posts. We've seen the tracks response, but what are they responding too?

 

[TSK]

We've seen the tracks response, but what are they responding too?

Good question.

 

[Nick Name]

Do you think Billy Meyers knows this is happening?

 

[Jeff]

This is another one sided bash the track thread without knowing what was said on the Facebook posts. We've seen the tracks response, but what are they responding too?

Exactly...
Some folks like to post on social media without using a "filter" on what is said.
Sometimes it is not what you said, it's how you say it...

 

[.]

This is another one sided bash the track thread without knowing what was said on the Facebook posts. We've seen the tracks response, but what are they responding too?

It shouldn't matter what was said on his own FB page, it didn't happen at the track or during a race.

 

[flapjack]

It shouldn't matter what was said on his own FB page, it didn't happen at the track or during a race.

This is one of the reasons I ditched Facebook, things have a way of getting around even with locked down privacy settings. That and I got tired of BS posts and then I thought I was making my own form of BS posts, so I chucked it. Much happier now.

 

[MHayes]

It shouldn't matter what was said on his own FB page, it didn't happen at the track or during a race.

Sitting behind a keyboard doesn't give someone the right to say whatever they want to say and not deal with the consequences. Plenty of people have been fired from their job because of social media posts/comments, those are the incompetent that have to learn the hard way that there are consequences to what one says, whether it's on a computer or in person.

And Brent, your comment just shows your ignorance.

 

[ironpony]

I said in another thread, PJ's pizza s@@@@@ and caught he!!

 

[Dave]

Did you guys see the last sentence of the first paragraph? What was the "on site" actions? It sounds like these people might be the same ones who could potentially complain or yell at tech officials or race officials when in attendance also. I don't think just running your mouth on social media is enough, just another part of the actions. I wouldn't want a trouble maker at my track either. If you hate the place that much, there are a lot of other tracks out there to go race at. It sounds like in this case the feelings are mutual. He doesn't like the track, and the track doesn't like him. Don't come back.

 

[glofria]

Did you guys see the last sentence of the first paragraph? What was the "on site" actions? It sounds like these people might be the same ones who could potentially complain or yell at tech officials or race officials when in attendance also. I don't think just running your mouth on social media is enough, just another part of the actions. I wouldn't want a trouble maker at my track either. If you hate the place that much, there are a lot of other tracks out there to go race at. It sounds like in this case the feelings are mutual. He doesn't like the track, and the track doesn't like him. Don't come back.

It should be no different than going to a restaurant, a repair shop or any other establishment. Don't like it, don't go back. And that's why sites like Yelp suck too.

It's one thing to complain to your others in conversations, but in social media site, you just look like a whiner and a fool.

 

[Nemo]

When it comes down to it the track is a private business, nhra rule book or not they can ban anyone they want from racing there (unless it's because they are a minority or something silly like that). If people don't like the tracks actions don't support that track, if you don't want to get banned don't post your drama on social media...seems easy to me. Our lock track has a bunch of babies that constantly run our local track down, a track ran by a family that busts their humps to keep a great place to race open. They banned a few and I don't blame them, old days somebody would have walked down by their trailer and wooped them. Some people stopped going to that track, too bad but that's how it works. Until I pay their bills and take over the lease I'll go and race, live by the decisions they make and if it bothers me enough go somewhere else. Why would you think you can be the offender (by running down a business) and have that business take action against you then you try to play the victim...that seems like a total "mallenial" move to me...actions have consequences, that's an adult thing

 

[none]

 

[Cliff]

Alan, so right! Every track that I really loved is long gone. Lions, San Gabe, San Fernando, the old Irwindale, OCIR....... Pomona is all that's left. Speedworld here in AZ. Arghghhhhhh