It is a good thing someone had the sense to step in and stop that mess:thumb:
Simple shit, come on. Safety barriers, crowd control, shut down area, and a cable bigger than a pencil.
The few barriers that were poorly placed(b/c a racer had to tell them to put them up.)
Thats all I am saying, Drivers and Promoter need to work toghether not only to keep mud racing going but, to advance it further.
Rewarding drivers to race with little pay while beating on their equipment will not help. - How many "Professional" mud racers come to your events? (guys who make a living on it) Most people attending local mud events consider it a HOBBY, anyone expecting to get payed for a hobby is rather delusional. No matter how much you pay for placing i bet one breakdown will eat the winnings up quickly. At this level of the sport it should be about fun and comradery not payout.
-Ya I can't believe the racers would want to dump thousands, even tens of thousands of $'s into BDMT's and expect to be paid more that a trophy for second place at an event with 3500+ people and 75+ trucks.
Hell, they could race for fun in each others back yard. These are completive mud races, not back yard slings, not for fun. The comradely stay’s at home with the wives. Not professional in the sense that they make a living from it but, to a level that compensation is deserved. Especially at a show of that size.
Not only are the drivers not often rewarded enough. But, at a few events this season I have seen poor safety and planning also putting the drivers at risk for accidents. Safety is key, of all those bitching about the safety of the newaygo event, did any of you decide not to run the event. After all it is at the drivers discretion to run or not if he/she feels danger.
-NO SHIT, thats the fact I am bring up......to remind the drivers too.
-Maybe the drivers are caught up in the moment, racing.
Maybe they don't give a shit.
Maybe they feel they will be ostracized for standing up and saying something.
I am not sure.
A lot of you guys have bad ass trucks that need to be respected for their power. The best way to offer that respsect is to have safe venues to race at where the pay is compensatory. Again, who in this area dumps money into a BDMT and expects to pay for it with winnings? It just doesn't happen.
-There are more bad ass built mud trucks hiding in Michigan than you know, hiding in garages and pole barns because they cann't come out and race for peanuts.
-The sport will never advance if promoters keep hosting events with little consideration for drivers compensation and poor safety policies. All they need to do is some research about industry and safety. Contact in insurance company.
Keep the safety communication lines open, most importantly during and at the races, you have the right to say this is wrong lets fix it BEFORE I race. This means bring the issues to the attention of the promoter quickly and professionally, not after the fact on a webernets forum board. I bet the pits were full of babies crying saturday night about the track and safety, but not one pansy approached an official. I have seen this in EVERY form of novice level sporting event. Tough guys complain about things to their friends/family in the pits but don't have the balls to approach anyone with the power to change anything.
-A fair board member was approached by myself as he asked a driver what he thought about the pit. The fair guy was saying "that is our #1 concern, the pit"
I reminded him, "At an event that big, the #1 priority needs to be safety."
Reiterated to that fair board member was the fact that the shut down area was not sufficient. The driver he was talking to confirmed and said "its not enough room for my truck to stop." How about more barriers instead of just one with dirt piled in front of it making a ramp into the mid way. There must have been 20-30 of them that were not even utilized. Just behind the wall at the end of the pit was the fair midway. ie: the t-shirt stand, and food booth which was packed all night. The announcer was telling people to hit the sign on that wall for a $1000. Joke or not, not cool. Also, what about the possability of a throttle sticking, drive shaft breaking or brakes failing.
Later brought to the same guys attention was the fact that people were creeping into the unsafe areas within the arena, over the crowd control fence and sitting on cement barriers. Nothing was done:fish:
Maybe promoters are ignorant to the potential safety issues of unleashing BDMT's with 1000+ hp inside a confided arena surrounded by people.
Maybe they don’t give a shit either.