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

[3krazygt]

I voted again for indy... Can I transfer my other MI vote to indy since that's not winning?

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[Lori]

We can change that for you.

As for Pitt, there is always the option of moving down to Cranberry if we can find a hotel with enough rooms for us. That's where EVERYTHING was. The problem is, it's also further from the track. Our thought was that if we stayed closer to the track people could choose to drive further for food or not. If we stayed further from the track, there really was no option. And with events that start earlier, that extra 25 minutes drive time in the morning is a pretty big deal, especially when I'm generally at the track at least an hour before everyone else. There was a good selection about ten minutes away, but I think we've gotten spoiled with being on major roads where anything you could want is at your fingertips. That may not always be able to happen. There's also no guarantee of a full track, but we could at least do the new portion of the track so it would be different. There are new events available as well, and the awesome go-karts. The hotel is under new management, so I have no idea what will happen with the trailer situation. Last time, they had put in the contract that the trailers couldn't be in the parking lot, but then told people it was ok. That sometimes happens...

I think what's happening with the NG is what happens with many events. At work, I just had a HUGE annual event canceled by the organizer. The reason it ended was similar to what I think is happening with the NG. Instead of focusing on the things we like about the NG, people often focus on what they didn't like. For example, in Pitt. People focus on driving for food, but ignore how close the hotel was to the track or the fact that we could be as loud as we wanted and no one ever complained. It used to be that after the event I'd get a TON of "thank you" emails, commenting on all the positive things. Now I get a handful of emails, and they're all about what we didn't do. For example, in Bowling Green it was that we didn't get the full track and we should have. In Pitt, I'm hearing about the trailer situation and where the food was (not just now - I got a ton of emails right after that event), rather than how great the go-karts were, how nice it was to move east, etc.

Every year, there are going to be things you like and things you don't. And most of the time, the things you don't like are things that are out of my control. For example, the hotel in Pitt was the ONLY hotel we could find that could give us enough rooms. If we had chosen not to go to that hotel, there wouldn't have been an NG14. So there are always going to be concessions we have to make. As an organizer, I've had to learn that sometimes things just aren't going to work out quite the way I want them to. Tracks are hard to come by because we need locations that can handle all three events, plus a car show. That's not easy. They're also getting more expensive and we're getting smaller, so we can't do a lot of the tracks we want to. I think it would be more productive to focus on the things that are most important to us, rather than looking for the "perfect" location. I've always thought of the event as being about the racing and the people, not about the nearby food, availability of a nearby pharmacy (yes, that was something I caught it for at NG14), a pool, in-room refrigerators, etc. If I'm wrong, then certainly let me know and I'll focus my efforts elsewhere, but I think we need to give up on the idea of a "perfect" location if we want the NG to continue.

[mannavr4]

I don't understand the complaint about food in Pittsburgh. I know it's not walking distance away, but 10 minute drive down back roads with no traffic or tolls and you land on a main road with everything you can imagine on it. One place I loved to eat at was "eat & park". It was good food and cheap.

As far as trailer parking, yes it's nice to have them next to us but let's be honest, we only need Von's party trailer for the music,chairs, and the famous jenga

[Chris@Rvengeperformance]

voted

[MDoe8]

Vote placed!

[green-lantern]

Lori, I'm not trying to be negative, Alan asked lol, I totally understand what you're saying though.

That's pretty much the way it goes. If we want to improve we have to look at the negative also. The best thing about Pitt? I had a real good time, maybe too good of a time. I drove home with a big hangover and a pulled muscle in my chest.

[TLVDoghouse]

I don't care where we go as long as the weather is nice. So pick the place that won't have storms. As far as food goes, find a hotel with a grill and near a store. I'll make beer tacos. I just need to know destination for planning a road trip like Nathan.

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[anyonebutme]

Frankly I won't even complain if we end up at NG10 hotel, lol. I go for the roadcourse and the people. I also push myself a bit harder than most so I don't get bored driving the same tracks as some other people. I think it would take probably 10 or more days at the same track for me to string together my theoretical best sector times into a single lap, and continue to do so regularly. So when people tell me they are bored of a track after 4-5 hours on it without even nailing a single corner down, makes me wonder what their goals for being on the track are to begin with. Nothing is more gratifying than nailing the perfect line at 101% apex speed, it combines all the emotions into one half second.

[Lori]

Lori, I'm not trying to be negative, Alan asked lol, I totally understand what you're saying though.

That's pretty much the way it goes. If we want to improve we have to look at the negative also. The best thing about Pitt? I had a real good time, maybe too good of a time. I drove home with a big hangover and a pulled muscle in my chest.

I'm SO sorry if you thought any of that was directed toward you. It wasn't AT ALL. It was just an observation I'd had while faced with losing this long-term event (although not as long as NG) and the reasons why it happened. I was reflecting and realized that negativity really has a profound impact on any event. It used to be that people were thrilled with anything we did... Now they're far more critical of everything we do. The same thing happened to that event. I'm really sorry if you thought it was directed toward you - just the opposite. We appreciate criticism and suggestions. There are always ways to make an event better. But sometimes there are things we can't change, or concessions we have to make, too. I miss the days when people just appreciated that we "made it happen" instead of criticizing the ways we did it or the things we couldn't do. I think it has a really negative impact on the NG as a whole, brings down enthusiasm for the event itself, and focuses more on those things instead of the racing and the people, which is what it's supposed to be about (or so I thought).

[Lori]

Voting ends at the end of the day on FRIDAY! Please don't forget to get your votes in! Once all votes are in, we'll make a determination about whether or not it's enough to continue the NG. If it is, we'll announce the winner and contact those who voted for the other cities to find out if they want refunds or apply it to their registrations. Fingers are crossed!!

As of right now, we have 28 people voting, and the totals are:

Indy: 55
Michigan: 23
Pittsburgh: 41