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You want travel ? Consider that every drag race aircooled VW from the state of NJ was at the fall Farmington event with the exception of the 2 from my family. Bruce, Ed and Tay ? They're from Va. That makes them a minimum of 4 hours closer to the southern events than us.

MADRA is not supposed to be a southern but kinda north series. That's what the issue is. There are 2 VW events at Englishtown. Did anyone contact them about being added to the series ?.................. I didn't think so.
 
Well guess i'll speak up even thought the last few years the economy has kept me down and looks like this year being unemployed and dealing with a dieing mom will sideline me big time.
Us Florida guys have to travel out of state for vw races with the exception of a race that Fisher will put on every now and then.(at a shithole of a track) from Orlando to the fram was close to 800 miles 1 way and we use to do it all the time. some of my team mates still do mostly Noel. :twocents: :twocents:

Anybody got any cheese to go with the wine here. :dunno:

I'll shut up now crawl back in my hole :doh:

Oh I want to thank Kathy and keith for all they do And I know that the silver dollar race is an effort to help us Fla guys out thats why I always try to attend and will again this year I hope
 
Discussion starter · #23 ·
dragbug4064 said:
MADRA is not supposed to be a southern but kinda north series. That's what the issue is. There are 2 VW events at Englishtown. Did anyone contact them about being added to the series ?.................. I didn't think so.
Well when are the Englishtown events? We haven't heard of any others except those that are posted on our schedule. We are not trying to exclude any of the other NE events, but haven't heard of them happening for 2012 so it is kinda hard to contact about them. Where are these published at?

JC....One day we will make it to Florida! Have been trying for years! We do appreciate everyone that comes from 8+ hours to attend our events. These events are for all VW Enthusiasts, like Keith and I. You think that I like to drive the 10+ hours it takes for me to get to NC, plus the hours to actually get to the track. No, but I love this sport and our Hobby and I do it.

It takes all of us to work and talk together to keep VW Drag Racing alive. So lets talk and see what can happen. You can call or email either one of us at anytime to discuss things. We don't bite! :happy:
 
The ETown events are early April and mid October. I can put you in contact with someone about possibly adding them next year if you're interested.

I know you guys have a lot on your plate. If I can help with the NE racers let me know.



And in response to racers from my area being spoiled Stephen. Damn skippy we are. We could race 20+ weekends a year and never travel out of state. Yet we try to hit both Bug Out's , Maple Grove(ok that one isn't so far) and Drag Night. After seeing the fall Farmington event last year, I believe we're going to try to hit that. Spoiled, yes. Unwilling to travel? No.
 
The rant isn't just about the travel distance. Why have 2 points series so close (and overlapping) each other. Why do you think N.A.S.A. was formed in Northern Cali ? The MADRA series is for the guys up north. I am giving real world answers from the racers that I talk to.
Why do you think all the NJ cars have been coming to Farmington lately? Hmmmm?
As for us not traveling Stephen, ask the Southern guys if they would travel for a bracket points series up North? I doubt it.
 
I was not really going to post but I am a horrible spectator. It was my belief that MADRA was started as a series to get racers NORTH of Virginia out of the garage and establish a a place to race for them. Races being held in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Northern Virginia and such were picked because these already had a following and it was determined that the guys not racing, had traveled to these events in the past and would do so for the MADRA. Now I see an issue with the 2012 schedule that these races, have NOT been attended by these racers and probably will NOT be, by most. Case in point was a the 2011 Atco race which had a potential for a rainout. In a drivers meeting it was asked that if this event was to be cancelled, would we like a make up race for points in Pittsburgh? 90% of paying membership said NO. That should have been the first clue right there. If the central guys are not going to travel to Pittsburgh, they wont travel to Radford Virginia. You will get some but not the almost 30 cars or so traveled most of our 2011 races.

It just seems like there is to much overlap inbetween the SEVWA and MADRA now. There is no "defining line" per say and its all kind of moshed together. I understand it is 10+ hours for Keith and Kathy to attend events up here. And it is appreciated what you guys are trying to do but I just think the mark was missed somewhat. And if you guys ever need help at an event and can't or don't want to travel the 10 hours or so, sit it out and ask for help? If you can save yourself a trip up here and have someone who is already attending deal with the points, registration and such and help out, ASK for it. I am sure there are very capable people that would be willing to help.

Now this might ruffle some feathers and be a little of topic but it is along these lines. Maybe we have to many events. Maybe this whole VW racing thing is not "specialized enough". By that I mean look at the two big races. Farmington and Drag Night. Both are VERY unique races that have an attention grabbing draw. Not the same thing you get with a Northern Challenge or VW's at the Rock. People want to come out to these events over JUST A VW BRACKET RACE and are willing to sit out one of the MANY JUST BRACKET RACE events for something that has MORE (Farm. and Drag Night) These are the events people travel to and willing to go 12+hours to get to over a 35 car turnout in Virginia a few times a year where its the same thing as 10 other times during the year.

Fewer races = more special = less traveling costs = more antacipation over a NOW saturated market where there are not enough cars to go around and be spread so thinly. If you have only have for example 50 or 60 cars in a part of the country, you can not ask them to travel 8-12 hours MULTIPLE times a year. It will not work and we are seeing that now. You only have such a small crowd to draw from, dont ask them to move about so many times a year.
 
Discussion starter · #33 ·
dragbug4064 said:
The ETown events are early April and mid October. I can put you in contact with someone about possibly adding them next year if you're interested.
I know you guys have a lot on your plate. If I can help with the NE racers let me know.
As for the Etown events, I looked at the Etown website and they don't have anything posted as for a VW event. Yes you can send us the contact to these guys to see if we can put them down as a place for you guys to go. We certainly can use and appreciate the help.

jersey joe said:
The rant isn't just about the travel distance. Why have 2 points series so close (and overlapping) each other. Why do you think N.A.S.A. was formed in Northern Cali ? The MADRA series is for the guys up north. I am giving real world answers from the racers that I talk to. Why do you think all the NJ cars have been coming to Farmington lately? Hmmmm? As for us not traveling Stephen, ask the Southern guys if they would travel for a bracket points series up North? I doubt it.
We understand that this rant is not just about travel distance, but you can't always have everything right within 2 hours of your home. As far as these events overlapping with the SEVWA, with there being on a certain few VW events in the NE with racing, we thought that these two events would be within reasonable distance for you guys to go and would give you the opportunity to race with others that you don't always get to race with. As of right now, we only see the Bugouts and the June Bug at Maple Grove being put on. If you only want those 3 to race at, that just doesn't seem like it is worth while to even have a series.
Why do I think all the NJ cars just started coming down for the Farmington event, well maybe it was just becuase you wanted to attend it and we hope you enjoyed yourself, because that is what these events are all about. I am sure some of the Southern Guys would come a little further North to race, it would just depend on that person and if they had the time and money to do such a thing.

gbaker770 said:
Just add another North Carolina event, then everyones happy.
Now granted there are alot of VW people in the Carolinas, but we already have 3 in NC and any more races put on by other tracks would only make those guys have to pick and choose where to go. As for that one race in Benson, this was just going to be FUN cheap event for everyone to do. But we decided to hold off on that for now.

Krylon Monster said:
I was not really going to post but I am a horrible spectator. It was my belief that MADRA was started as a series to get racers NORTH of Virginia out of the garage and establish a a place to race for them. Races being held in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Northern Virginia and such were picked because these already had a following and it was determined that the guys not racing, had traveled to these events in the past and would do so for the MADRA. Now I see an issue with the 2012 schedule that these races, have NOT been attended by these racers and probably will NOT be, by most. Case in point was a the 2011 Atco race which had a potential for a rainout. In a drivers meeting it was asked that if this event was to be cancelled, would we like a make up race for points in Pittsburgh? 90% of paying membership said NO. That should have been the first clue right there. If the central guys are not going to travel to Pittsburgh, they wont travel to Radford Virginia. You will get some but not the almost 30 cars or so traveled most of our 2011 races.
So if no one wants to travel to Pittsburgh or Radford, that only leaves the 3 current races. Which Keith has been in contact with the folks at June Bug at Maple Grove to insure that you guys get a guaranteed purse. I have not seen any other VW races posted in the NE or we would be in contact with them.

It just seems like there is to much overlap inbetween the SEVWA and MADRA now. There is no "defining line" per say and its all kind of moshed together. I understand it is 10+ hours for Keith and Kathy to attend events up here. And it is appreciated what you guys are trying to do but I just think the mark was missed somewhat. And if you guys ever need help at an event and can't or don't want to travel the 10 hours or so, sit it out and ask for help?
Well lets see we haven't even started the season yet and we certainly planned to ask you guys for help for those that maybe Keith couldn't attend. I just now had time to sit down and work on getting MADRA's site up to date and sending out emails to all the previous members and getting sponsors for you guys.

If you can save yourself a trip up here and have someone who is already attending deal with the points, registration and such and help out, ASK for it. I am sure there are very capable people that would be willing to help.Yes OF COURSE! This can't be done alone, we need everyone's help.

Now this might ruffle some feathers and be a little of topic but it is along these lines. Maybe we have to many events. Maybe this whole VW racing thing is not "specialized enough". By that I mean look at the two big races. Farmington and Drag Night. Both are VERY unique races that have an attention grabbing draw. Not the same thing you get with a Northern Challenge or VW's at the Rock. People want to come out to these events over JUST A VW BRACKET RACE and are willing to sit out one of the MANY JUST BRACKET RACE events for something that has MORE (Farm. and Drag Night) These are the events people travel to and willing to go 12+hours to get to over a 35 car turnout in Virginia a few times a year where its the same thing as 10 other times during the year.

Well we look at more then just the racing, that is why our events are all over the place in the Southeast. I have heard from many folks in the spectator area that they are just there for the swap or just the show, and some for everything. But we have to look at the VW Enthusiasts in general, the show car folks, swap meeters and the racers. I agree that Radford is no where near like the other races, but it takes support from the community to make each event what they are. We understand that you can't go to everything, we all have a budget. But to say too many races? We have our races spread out so everyone can enjoy them. Some folks will travel long distances to get to the events, while I have locals call me day of show to ask what the weather is like and complain of a 45 min ride. We just want to be able to provide you all with a place to race, show or swap and certainly have a good time.

Fewer races = more special = less traveling costs = more antacipation over a NOW saturated market where there are not enough cars to go around and be spread so thinly. If you have only have for example 50 or 60 cars in a part of the country, you can not ask them to travel 8-12 hours MULTIPLE times a year. It will not work and we are seeing that now. You only have such a small crowd to draw from, dont ask them to move about so many times a year.
We are not asking anyone to travel 8-12 hours for an event, that is up to that person. We don't make them come! We average around 40 bracket cars at each of our races, now that doesn't include when we have special classes like USE, Pro Outlaw or Pro Stock. There are over 50-60 cars on the East Coast and plenty to come to the events.

Before we (Kathy and Keith) go any further with MADRA, if any of you NE guys would like to take everything and run it, just let us know and we can give you all the information. Plus the website that Jerry Lewis had for you guys. Jerry did a great job with it the last 2 years and provided you guys with places to go race. We are trying to do the same thing, maybe we do it a little different, but we have had a points series for the past 10 years and have learned alot in those years.
 
Discussion starter · #34 ·
Make sure you check out our new forum, thanks to UAC, in the Racing forums section of this site.
If you have any questions or comments, that is the place to do it in.

We are still looking for sponsors for MADRA, so if you or someone you know is interested, just let us know.
All this goes toward you guys, whether it is product or cash to put towards the Championship or discounts for items you need.

If you plan to race at some or all our events, start getting those in so we can get our 2012 members section going!
 
Discussion starter · #36 ·
gbaker770 said:
I guess my sarcasm about another North Carolina race got lost in internet translation.
Nope I answered you, it didn't get lost!
What would happen if we went to KY? Would you be happy then? Sure you would, but we have to make sure that we could even afford to venture to new tracks in new areas. Right now the NC ones are doing good and plan to keep those right where they are.

Quote from: gbaker770 on January 28, 2012, 11:08:37 AM
"Just add another North Carolina event, then everyones happy."

Now granted there are alot of VW people in the Carolinas, but we already have 3 in NC and any more races put on by other tracks would only make those guys have to pick and choose where to go. As for that one race in Benson, this was just going to be FUN cheap event for everyone to do. But we decided to hold off on that for now.
 
Discussion starter · #40 ·
Hmmmmmmm SADRA? That would be the SC, GA & FL guys, that is the South Atlantic. We already have the SEVWA.......

Since you keep talking about this and haven't even raced with MADRA the past two years(or have you?), does this mean that you are going to start Bracket racing and Join?

Like I have said before, we have a schedule but that doesn't mean you have to attend them all. If you don't want to go to Radford or Pittsburgh, don't, just attend the 3 that are the closest. We don't make anyone come to an event! This points series is for you guys and hope that you can support it, or it might not be there for the future.
 
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