Keith, one of the problems with an East Coast Shootout is cost. Tracks out east are 2-4x the cost of the little po-dunk tracks we go to. I'll give you guys some ideas on cost -
- 2003 - We combined with an ongoing event so I think there was no cost.
- 2004 - Norwalk cost us $1500 for a 1/2 day on a weekday. They provided one staff person to run the tree and timing/scoring. We didn't even have EMT's. The track was nice but the service sucked and we had to be out early.
- 2005 - Thunder City in Oklahoma (which was WAY out of the way for everyone) cost $2500 for full service. It was one of our worst turn outs, and the roster was nearly the same as it was when the race was in OH, meaning that we traveled a lot further and didn't attract any more people.
- 2006 - First year at Kilkare cost $1800. It was the cheapest full rental I have ever found.
- 2007 - Kilkare gave us the same deal. I think there was a stink about this with the owners because the track manager was fired the same weekend as the Shootout.
- 2008 - Kilkare raised our rate to $2500
- 2009 - Kilkare raised the rate again to $4500. We couldn't afford it. I shopped around and was quoted prices ranging from $8000-$14000 for an all day private event on a Sunday. Availability is also extremely limited for weekend bookings. Found Muncie Indiana willing to rent to us for $3000 which the best deal I could find, regardless of location. Then people complained about it being in the middle of nowhere.
- 2010 - We went back to Kilkare. Cost was $4000 but we decided it was worth it because we liked the location.
This is off the top of my head so I am missing a few years somewhere.
But anyway, currently we pay about $3000 for Clay City which makes it the cheapest track I could find that has a paved return road!
Moving to someplace like Cecil, MIR, or any of the tracks you guys frequent out there would mean somewhere around 3-4x the cost of Clay City. Anyone can do math, but when you see that we have had at most 45 racers and at least 25 racers, that means an $8000 (lowball price for east coast) would be $175-350/racer for the rental alone.
I realize that some people would gladly trade their travel expenses for the entry cost, but then again, how many simply would not come? I know for a fact that many of the people local to an event costing that much would stay home making it an extreme expense for anyone traveling a great distance while people local would balk at the cost.
I'm not opposed to moving the event, but that also means that a whole lot of planning and logistics have to be worked out (like for example arriving at the hotel only to find it's across the street from the ghetto), or that what seemed like a simple 10 minute drive turns out to be through murderous traffic with no place for people to feel comfortable leaving the hood of their car open for a car show. It takes a lot of planning to make something work out smoothly and you've got to have local people willing/able to take on the responsibility.
Frankly, that is one of the reasons I have resigned as Coordinator of the SC Shootout. I simply cannot give the time and effort necessary to make the event a success any more. This year the new crew did an excellent job, I'm not sure I'd want to mess with their recipe just now....
I also think that people should not feel bad about missing a year here and there even if you are a die hard. Life happens. I just sincerely hope that anyone who didn't make it this year has concrete plans to attend in the future. It really is a lot of fun, and it genuinely helps each one of us keep the spirit alive.