January meeting

[Dietmar]

January 28, 2009 Committee mtg.

The FV Committee met on Jan.28. Members attending were:
Steve Oseth, Stevan Davis, Bruce Livermore, Dietmar Bauerle

Ongoing discussion centered around the needs and benefits of the FV website (http://www.FormulaVee.us) . Currently there are 345 FV drivers signed up on the FV Registry, yet there are over 500 members on the FV Interchange- where are the rest?
Included on this web site are the names of people to contact in different areas of the country for those interested in obtaining information related to FV. To date, only one person on the list has been contacted (that we know of), yet quite a few new drivers have joined the FV community. The question arose as to how do we make contact with those who have an interest in open wheel racing, yet know nothing about FV. We are open to suggestions, not only on this issue but on any matter related to FV. The web site also allows for donations to help promote FV. To date, only two donations have been made to help cover the cost of the DVD which is still in progress.

Old business:

- Manifolds: an update on manifolds is now available in Fastrack

- Piston rings: current FV rules state that “rings are free”. No changes to this rule are being recommended by this committee

- Pistons: a request was made in a letter to allow for alternate pistons. This issue was discussed by the F/SR committee and their opinion will be forwarded to the CRB. It is however the opinion of this committee that there be no changes to the current rules regarding pistons.

New business- ongoing
-Received a letter from someone suggesting ways to promote FV and in the next month we will be looking at these suggestions trying to come up with a viable plan to not only attract new people to the sport, but also to maintain the level of participation. We are, again, open to suggestions.

No other items were submitted or discussed. Next meeting is scheduled for February 25

[flat tappet]

Dietmar..How about each of us"old men" try to take at least one teenage "gearhead" with us to a regional race, let them work as our pit crew and spectate. It's like going to a 1/2 day intro to racing by Skip Barber. Most of us are hooked by the event if we weren't before!

Best Regards,

Bruce

[flat tappet]

Dietmar..How about each of us"old men" try to take at least one teenage "gearhead" with us to a regional race, let them work as our pit crew and spectate. It's like going to a 1/2 day intro to racing by Skip Barber. Most of us are hooked by the event if we weren't before!

Best Regards,

Bruce

Ps. I have a spec miata but after watching many races and the exchange of fiberglass, I decided that VEE's made a lot more sense costwise.

[Dietmar]

Bruce:

Only problem is finding these "gearheads". They don't frequent the same places as us OLD GUYS !

But the idea is a start.

Dietmar

[rphillips]

I think the best way to attract attention to our hobby is to show-off our cars at public venues and have some literature to hand out. I ended up taking my car to a number of car shows last year to try to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project but at the same time I talked to a number of people about Formula Vees and there were certainly some that showed genuine interest in racing a FV. Anna Qualls had some great flyers produced and I handed those out to any interested party. I'm not sure if any of those leads turned into drivers but if FV racers did this across the country then I would think that some people would catch the bug enough to join in. Most car clubs love to see different cars show up at their events and the cost is minimal (usually $10 - $20). If you are not going for a trophy they might not charge an entry fee at all. I do think the economy is going to have an effect on the turn-outs this year which means that a lot of cars are going to be sitting in the garage instead of being raced. Why not show them off somewhere instead? Btw, I plan on taking my car to some more car shows this year as well.

Ray

[spdunlap]

Try to run a few ovals at the local venues as an intro. Stick a local celeb in one and run a couple controlled laps at intermission. Exposure is the key.Pick
a charity or a cause sponsored by the Vees alone.

[flat tappet]

Bruce:

Only problem is finding these "gearheads". They don't frequent the same places as us OLD GUYS !

But the idea is a start.

Dietmar

You are right, Dietmar but I will try any ploy necessary. I'm planning on trailering my VEE to the local hot rod cruise nights in Southern VT and see if I can generate some interest. My Dad took me to my first race at Lime Rock in 1958 and it has created a lifetime interest(tempered by raising a family and career in the middle years) in most anything with a combustion engine!

VEE's rule

Bruce

[aqualls]

Dietmar, this is my first response/message on the exchange. There are a lot of great ideas here and people doing wonderful things to keep FVee alive.

I am a wife (not a driver yet, but will hopefully go to driver's school next fall) so I have very little credibility - other than being a crew chief and caring about the survival of the sport. We just had a baby boy and we want him to have something to sit in when he comes of age.

I think it would be helpful to get a focus group of young drivers together (we have a few here in the DC region) to get a sense of what it would take to get the next generation into the sport. I constantly bug on of our young guys here for feedback. That's how this website (http://www.formulaveeracing.org) evolved. He provided a lot of helpful hints as to what people out there are looking for. But everything he tells me leads back to the web - then to cost. He says you cannot draw people into something that they cannot afford, especially in today's economic climate. (Incidentally, I would love to be able to put an online inquiry form on an FVee website that would send an automatic email about the sport with contacts, an RSS feed of announcements that could feed to portals etc.)

Today's kids are all about technology - the web, the web, the web. Facebook, text messaging, personalized portals, RSS feeds etc. Paper is out, email is in. It is in this climate that we need to make FVee relevant again.

Thoughts?

Best, Anna (Qualls)

[FV80]

... He says you cannot draw people into something that they cannot afford...Best, Anna (Qualls)

I'm pretty sure the operative "issue" here is STREET CAR!!. People HAVE to have a Street Car - so extrapolating that into 'racing' is a relatively small step.. However, going out and BUYING something that can NEVER be 'streeted' is a quantum leap, so to speak.

Methinks, that therein lies the basic problem
Steve

[Matt King]

I've run with NASA since 2003. NASA understands that the vast majority of young people who are attracted to high performance driving start out in an HPDE program with their daily driver street car, then gradually modify it as they progress through the program. Most of the people I have raced with in NASA are running a car that was once their street car and has evolved into a race car. Most are fans of a particular brand/model of car (Mustang, BMW, Porsche, Honda, etc.) and that's what they want to build and drive. Very few people jump into the sport these days directly into a purpose-built race car. The only ones I've seen do that are people who went through one of the pro schools like Skip Barber and then shopped around for a race class to run in. Considering the cost of those schools, that's a completely different type of customer than the typical 20 year old who likes cars.

[FV49]

With reference to kids/new competitors and attraction to FV and SCCA Road Racing Classes in general, I can comment about the Canadian Series and what the trend is up here.

Let's just say this, my wife likes us racing US Nationals! Why, simple, I'm the "young guy"! (no offence guys! LOL) I won the 2007 Canadian Championship and the damn headline read, "Golden Oldie Prevails as Champ" or something like it! OMG, this is one headline I wish never was printed! But it is typical of the preception we have seen up here in the last 3 - 5 years. The age range was 16 years old to 58 (I think), with one exception, Ken Rigg at 77, I believe, who technically retired last year. But the overall average in F1200 was mid high 20's or something close because half the pack was under 20!

TLM Racing rents three F1200's per season and has successfully created a ladder system into FF and then Pro F2000 by setting up an alliance with Brain Graham Racing. (it's posted on their site accurately if I've made a mistake). Their oldest customer was 18 YO in three years! They have very successfully targeted and market directly to the Karting Clubs in Canada as "the next logical step" for racing. As we know the karting budgets can get silly too but to jump from karts to a prepped FFord, Skip Barber, F2000, ouch! Vallis Motorsports also has seen keen interest from young karters looking to "move up" as the trend seems to be blossoming. F1200 / FV proves to be a very logical choice for these kids. FTDA (Formula 1200 Drivers Association) attends the Toronto Auto Show, Auto Exhibition, Karting Championship races, etc etc, it has taken them time and effort but the exposure is paying dividends. The hardest part is teaching them ....... to shift a standard transmission, think about it!! LOL

BTW, The 2008 Canadian F1200 Champ is 18 this year! I wonder what his headline said? Congrats Mike Iamundi!

[pillowmeto]

I constantly bug on of our young guys here for feedback. That's how this website (http://www.formulaveeracing.org) evolved. He provided a lot of helpful hints as to what people out there are looking for. But everything he tells me leads back to the web - then to cost. He says you cannot draw people into something that they cannot afford, especially in today's economic climate.

Today's kids are all about technology - the web, the web, the web. Facebook, text messaging, personalized portals, RSS feeds etc. Paper is out, email is in. It is in this climate that we need to make FVee relevant again.
Best, Anna (Qualls)

I feel I can speak here not as an experienced competitor but as the person referenced above. Anna, the new technology (internet ect.) is just a form of communication that allows us to better find information. It is difficult for people outside of the existing racer group to find information on local racing events as it is not well documented online and they do not know who to talk to. One really needs to go to the track and amble around the pits and talk to random people (after making up their mind of what class they want to race in most cases) to find out anything. Considering walking up to random people who are often busy is awkward, then take that place, make it 90 minutes from the nearest major city, and you can see how getting your foot in the door is difficult.

As far as costs go, the start up is the worst. I have a friend who would love to race, especially a small formula car (like FV), but he has no experience other than a few autoxs in his street car. He makes significantly more money than me, and asked me what it takes to race, here is really all I could come up with.

You need to:
Enter two drivers schools $500 each
plus expenses (tires, fuel, being there) $400+ partially included in rental
With a car (often recommended to be a rental) $1600 each school for FV
And a pit crew guy who knows what he is doing included in rental
And your full safety gear $400 you need to get some inspected
You will need a doctor visit $25
And a novice permit $150? more if you want it soon
You will need to memorize a large portion of a thick book and will be tested on it

You can argue that some of the costs can be limited (racing your own car [assuming you KNOW you want to race and will commit to a car instead of trying it out first], borrowing a friends, getting used tires, ect). Just remember that these do not come easy and they require relations with existing racers that are willing to help. Would you give your car to someone who has never driven a formula car before? How can you drive a formula car before your first school besides convincing someone to let you take a 40 second run in an autox in theirs?

And after all of that you will be allowed to drive 3 hours 6-8 times a year to spend $800 to drive your car (which you need to buy, you also need a garage, a bunch of tools, a trailer, and a truck ) about 80 minutes. Do you really think someone making below 40k a year is going to do that? Only if they are obsessed. So what is the alternative? Well, you can skip the school and pay 3/4 of the cost and run autoxs only an hour away from home 6-8 times a year'; you will be allotted about 4 minutes (if lucky) per autox. Is that worth it? Hell no. That is why my friends drive their street cars over to the autox and have a little afternoon fun.

It is not an easy problem to solve to making racing accessible because it is by nature expensive. I am not trying to give you solutions or telling you what is wrong with the existing sport. I am pointing out why people of my age do not readily jump in. My suggestion is to open a bunch of local go kart tracks that run every weekend. That is the only way I can think of now that will make racing accessible to the people who want to but can not commit so much to it. I would like to believe that drivers would graduate to higher classes to join us later.

As far as how I broke into the FV community, when I joined this site Ray Phillips contacted me after I posted something about the car I bought, he invited me over to his place to talk. From there I learned about the 45th birthday, and went all the way to Savannah to mix and mingle. I can not thank those who have helped me enough.


EDIT: I should mention that when I mention my friends I do not mean people who like cars, I mean my friends who do engine swaps, add superchargers to 1970s BMWs, paint cars in a personal painting booth, and that build their own fuel injection systems.

[FV80]

We need a 'find a driver in your area' option on our website. I'll see what I can do about that when I get back home. If anyone has some existing web code out there that works, PM the info to me . As John says, the first and most difficult aspect is GETTING the potential to the track. In my case, I worked corners for 2 years while autocrossing.

When I was Atlanta RE, I worked VERY hard toward getting AX'ers out to the CR events. I implimented 'free autocross for each CR day worked', but for some reason it just never seemed to amount to much. The chiefs at the autocross didn't promote it, so it just languished... (something about the AX'ers LOSING people to CR, I think )

Steve

[rphillips]

Matt,

Glad I could help you out -- just ask if you need anything else. Most of what you say is 100% correct and you made me think back to how I got involved. I'm sure there are a lot of similar stories from other racers but I basically ended up being introduced to Glen Sullivan through a mutual friend and Glen invited me to crew for him at a regional race. That was in 1994 (I was 28 yrs old and I was probably making around $40k/yr at the time) and I ended up crewing for him for the next 4 years until I could afford to race myself. When I crewed for Glen I drove over an hour each way almost every weekend (usually Saturdays and Sundays) just to work on the car in the garage between races and to learn from Glen. I really think it takes a person with a lot of passion and desire to become a racer. For me, it was something I wanted to do from a very young age. Although racing has the highest highs, it also has the lowest lows and most people aren't going to have the dedication and perseverence that is required to deal with just the emotional side of it -- not to mention the financial sacrifices that have to be made by the average person. Believe me, I would be living in a much bigger house if I didn't race -- I would also have a lot more cash in the bank! But I'm ok with that, it is the choice that I have made and I know that FV is much cheaper then competitively racing a FA, FC, or even a FF -- although I would love to race those too!! I guess my point is that the percentage of people that are willing to do everything that it takes to road race are few and far between -- but they are out there. They just really have to want it!! Glad you have decided to race a FV.

Steve, good idea in regards to the link.

Ray

[DanRemmers]

We need a 'find a driver in your area' option on our website.

I think that's a great idea. Were you thinking of an online form where you input your zip code and check a box for vintage, road race, or solo, and it gives you a contact list for vee racers in your area? I would put my name on that list. (I don't have the programming skill to create that webpage.)

[pillowmeto]

Maybe the growing database over at formulavee.us could help here. I remember on corvetteforum.com and alfabb.com there are features to look up local members (I think it is optional).

Ray, The shocks you gave me will be on the front of my D-13 this spring.