quote:

Originally posted by Michael Beard:
The question presumes that racers that pre-register actually show up to the event. There have been many different events under many different promoters that have suffered a MASSIVE attrition rate, as much as HALF. And again, that's happened to more than one track or promoter! That's absolutely staggering, and virtually insurmountable. It's popular to talk about guaranteed payouts, but there's no such thing as "guaranteed cars". You can't count an entry until it rolls through the gate.

This is one reason why we don't even mess with pre-registration for 64-car shootouts anymore. For whatever reason, people like to have their name on a list. We could announce a Thursday night shootout on Tuesday night of race week, fill it up the same day, and two days later you're hunting 20 alternates. When we do shootouts, they are now first-come, first-serve.

Also, the question notes, "Pre Register so the Promoter knows if they can justify having the race". If a race formet is adjusted or cancelled due to low pre-registration, was it really guaranteed in the first place? That's no different than "Guaranteed Based on XXX amount of Cars".

We do have car minimums in place in case of a natural disaster (ours is spelled out on our flyers, along with noting that R/U, Semi, and all Round Money *is* guaranteed), but we have also paid full boat when the minimum was not met numerous times, added money to the purse numerous times over the years, and raised the purse from year-to-year numerous times due to racer support. When everyone is pulling in the same direction, it is great for everyone.

As a racer, I agree with Ferndale. As long as the minimums are reasonable, it's not a concern for me. I am not a fan of pre-entry. I'll still pre-enter some events, but it can be a real pinch on the wallet sometimes. It wasn't bad when their were just a couple per year, but now there are a huge number of events that want money months in advance -- and I'm not just talking about "big money" races. I'm seeing it on a local level now, too. Maybe I wouldn't care if I was independently wealthy, but I'm not. Cash flow is important. I'd like to pay for "this weekend's" race and "next weekend's" race before having to pay for a race months down the road.

$.02,

quote:

Originally posted by David Covey:
No car count minimums, race payouts based on amount of entries,NO buy backs, consolation race after X round, payout based on entries.

My .02..

Dave