NG16 - Information and a chance for you to influence the location

This is a great conversation - very informative for me, and I definitely don't want to interrupt it. But I'm curious to know how people feel about doing the pace lap again... Is this something we should pursue?

Also, we're currently considering breaking apart all registration fees. There would be a general registration fee, t-shirt option, banquet option, pace lap option, autoX, drag, road course, car show OPTION, all separate, along with some other options that have always been included (like ride-alongs for anyone registered, spectator fees, etc). I'm interested to know your thoughts. Again, no decisions have been made about NG16. The number of refunds we're doing for the voting may prohibit it. I'm just not sure yet, but we're trying to move forward with planning just in case.

Thanks for all your input. It really is helping with the decisions.

I'd like to do the pace lap on IMS, but I haven't done it before :)

Like I said, the more things there are to do the better. Breaking up the fees won't matter to me as I will do everything, and I think it would be good for other people as some people pay for registration and don't bring a car. So it might help them. Pace lap is a good thing as long as it is not a negative money wise for the NG. But I think most people will do it.

I thought most things were already broken into separate categories and optional? Anyway, in one of the other threads, there was a lot of talk about the weekender option. It seems a lot of people would like to see that come back.
The pace lap is something I would definitely like to see us do again, even if it means paying extra for it.

Personally, as far as the pace lap goes, I can take it or leave it. It was fun to do once for the experience and to say I did it. It was just way too slow for it to really be "fun." Though I feel this way, I believe it's a good draw for attendance especially for those who didn't do it the first time. If we brought it back, I would still participate, I won't be a wallflower. As far as the reg fees go, I like the idea of options. I felt that $100 to bring my g/f was rather high, considering she didn't participate in any racing events. It was basically for the banquet and a t-shirt. Whatever the case, I hope it all works out cause I wanna be at NG16.

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Originally Posted by Zucchini

Personally, as far as the pace lap goes, I can take it or leave it. It was fun to do once for the experience and to say I did it. It was just way too slow for it to really be "fun." Though I feel this way, I believe it's a good draw for attendance especially for those who didn't do it the first time. If we brought it back, I would still participate, I won't be a wallflower. As far as the reg fees go, I like the idea of options. I felt that $100 to bring my g/f was rather high, considering she didn't participate in any racing events. It was basically for the banquet and a t-shirt. Whatever the case, I hope it all works out cause I wanna be at NG16.

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Perfectly said. Especially the $100 for my wife. That's like paying to put a car in the show without bringing a car. From what I see for cost of entering a car show the guest should be $20 - $30 cheaper.

Biggest draws for me are the Road Course and AutoX. Pace lap could take it or leave it but if we have it I'd probably do it because I missed it before. Feel same about Drag Racing, can take it or leave it, won't miss it if we don't have it.

- Bill

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Originally Posted by mannavr4

Perfectly said. Especially the $100 for my wife. That's like paying to put a car in the show without bringing a car. From what I see for cost of entering a car show the guest should be $20 - $30 cheaper.

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Wait until your kids get older Manny. Simon was $50.00 and honestly I feel that is in line to cover the cost of him attending the banquet, events, and adding him to the insurance policy. But I am clueless to what the cost of the event insurance is.

There seem to be questions, as always, about the event fees... Just so you guys know... The banquet cost us about $35/pp once we paid for the insurance (yes, there's event insurance to rent a banquet facility), facility rental, food, beverages, and gratuity. T-shirts we really don't make much on, so figure $20 for that. There's $55 right there. Add in event insurance, which cost us about $30/pp this year, once you add in all the venues. Does $100 really seem unreasonable? Also, guests can attend the events. If they're registered guests, they're sometimes allowed to do ride-alongs. Unregistered guests are not even supposed to be at the track with us, much less in a car.

Every year, we're questioned about the fees, and every year it's the same answers. By breaking things out, things might get a little more expensive. I'm not really sure. We've always included the car show and just "eaten" the facility rental and insurance on that, but we won't be doing that anymore if we break everything apart. When it wasn't broken apart, everyone was essentially chipping in a little. This way, it'll be the participants covering the entire cost.

Something else to keep in mind... By breaking it all up, we'll be adding A TON of extra work for us. We'll have to monitor everyone who attends every event, every driver at every event, every passenger, who attends the banquet, etc. Until now, a badge meant entry into everything. Are people really going to leave when we tell them they're not signed up to attend? That was a serious problem this year. We had two people who attended the event without a registration and who refused to pay. There was really nothing I could do... They couldn't get on a track, but unless I have someone to watch the gate at all times, I can't prevent people from coming in. One had said he'd take care of it but then never did and later refused. In St. Louis, it was a huge issue as well. It's one of the things that makes me really thinking about not doing another one. People don't understand that they show up, enjoy all of the events, and think they shouldn't have to pay... then when the event doesn't make enough to cover their costs, I'm the one paying. And please don't tell me that everyone would stand behind me... Not a single person did this year.

Insurance is a gigantic pain in the ass, is what you're saying? :)