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newago county fair bog

4K views 41 replies 13 participants last post by  dirty addiction 
#1 ·
august 7th 3pm has any one ran there before ? classes? payout?
 
#11 · (Edited)
How about it, one of the most unsafe race venues I have seen all season.:confused:

And they managed to pour in the crowd and pay the racers jack &#!*.:confused:

The shut down area was way too small. (nice ramp into the mid way though)

And yes, the cable was just bigger than a pencil.

Plus, there are 20-30 cement barriers around the entire track. But only a couple lining the pit? Leaving a nice 'EXIT' area right toward the announcers shack where 20+ people were standing.

And all those people climbing over the crowd control (white fence) and sitting directly on those barriers. What good are they now.

Did any one happen to catch this news story about the 8 deaths at an off road race due to the lack of crowd control.http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/15082010/58/road-crash-leaves-eight-fans-dead.html

Boy, imagine your stickers on that rig, or your name in the story, or your truck in the picture, O wait, better yet, your innocent family the victams.

It is the PROMOTERS as well as the RACERS responsability to adhere to proper safety policies. When do you guys stand up and say enough is enough? You must self govern these races and fix the issues.

Stand up and say, lets fix this, or move these people before we race.

Are we waiting for some catastrophic event to wake us up.

Hello neglegence......you mean they were told that the track was unsafe and wouldn't meet the safety requirements for event insurance.
 
#10 ·
he ran ok! i think he was having some carb issues it was cool running under the lights there where alot of trucks and people pay back for the smaller classes would be nice. and didn't care for all the gravel fixed in the clay and the 3\8ths cable was a joke but all in all it was a great time there crew did a good job keeping track of the line up and keeping things moving as best they could nice trophies i would say 200 plus trucks and well over 3,000 people . we had 5 trucks from are area holland\zeeland and took home 4 trophies and a pay back in fourth in 44 class for hareled and brian and myself took first place in 35 and 39 class and matt had two seconds. we took top 4 spots in 39.5 class but there was alot of horse power not bad for are second mudrun of the day borculo and fremont
 
#14 ·
Keep in mind that this is only the second year for this event and the first time it was in the main arena. After seeing the video I do agree that a lot needs to be changed with safety in mind.

What was the per class entry fee? Also, realize that ALL gate admissions of spectators during the fair week go to the fair board and not the event promoter. So payout for classes has to come from the racers entry fees.

Since I was not there, could anyone put into detail the issues that need to be addressed and possible remedies. From what I say they should reverse the direction of travel in the pit and give you the open end of the arena for shut down, just like they do with the tractor pulls.

Thanks
 
#19 ·
i agree that saftey and organization are key to keeping are sport going there will alway be back yard mud runs that's where this sport started but also to put on a good event does take time and good help they have a good thing started i just hope they can improve on some things and better payout and safty will help. us as driver put alot of time and money into are rigs to come out here to bet the hell out of and with out the rigs coming back the crowd won't either!! but as a mud run owner i do understand you need to make money to keep a good thing going. good luck to everyone and we all need to help keep this sport going.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Thanks for the CONSTRUCTIVE input. It seems rare around here.

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.

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.

Alot 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.

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.
 
#22 ·
We have ran gaurenteed payback races for a number of years now. Regularly shelling out $3,500+ per event in winnings. The last 'fair' race paid out $4550. Over those years, on the occasion that the crowd wasn't there, we paid the money out of our pockets.

You must have raced in the factory class, the ONLY one that trophys are the norm. It has been this way for quite a number of years and has been publicised that way. It is designed to be a local, drive it in class.

By only offering trophys and not cash it resuduces the likelyhood that competitive racers and builders will enter the class, thus leaving it open to fair, local competition.
 
#29 ·
E=dirty addiction;2328608]i pay in stock class just depends on how many trucks on how much i pay!!!!! i paid back good to stock class last month we atcually had enough truck in it to do so.[/QUOTE]

And I stand corrected. Sorry I thought that it was a trophy only class. So I must have made a couple dollars a coupple months ago and forgot.
 
#32 ·
E=dirty addiction;2328608]i pay in stock class just depends on how many trucks on how much i pay!!!!! i paid back good to stock class last month we atcually had enough truck in it to do so.
And I stand corrected. Sorry I thought that it was a trophy only class. So I must have made a couple dollars a coupple months ago and forgot.[/QUOTE]

it's all good denny old age gets to all of us!!!!:poke: an yes some months are better than others for pay out. i no jason just has trophies for stock.
 
#31 ·
BigBlockford79 Were you there? The official was going to hook 2 tow straps togather with a clevis after the cable broke. Let along the one strap was a 2 inch yes we steped in and cried about the clevis and the saftey.Guess what happen after they looped the straps togather? That 2 inch strap broke.

No we dont make a living out of mud racing. We would like a little to pay for the fuel. There was prize money donated to each class from Twisted Racing and that was the only money that was paided to the 2 lower classes. So somebody made some money and it wasnt the racers.
 
#33 · (Edited)
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. :confused: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.
 
#34 ·
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.

I still don't agree with your feeling that there needs to be a huge payout. I will have over $25k into my truggy when its complete and I will have to PAY almost everywhere I go to use it with absolutely no possibility of a payout for showing up and beating on my rig. After all it is something I enjoy and have fun doing. Also, don't forget that that pit didn't get dug for free, or filled back in that way either. Also, the city charges for every gallon of water used to make that gooey mess. So, with the crowd they had that night it might not have been much over break-even after they paid the racers what they did.

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.

You know what you're right. next time I am out thrashing my truck and someone says "hey nice truck" i am going to charge them $5. Cause hell the truck didn't pay me to build it and that person obviously enjoyed being able to watch it work, so i should get paid RIGHT???

I guess the moral of the story here is this: MOMS Motorsports is the only promoter in MI that cares about safety and pays its drivers (even if it puts them out of business).

All you mud racers should be glad that Rick and his crew are here to help you out and give you a place to race. DON"T CHEAT ON MOMS (cause it makes them cry)
 
#35 ·
One last thing and then I am finished with this idiocy.

I completely understand the concerns about the safety, I feel the same about it, the money issue I feel is just whining. BUT the biggest issue I have about this is the fact that one of the largest promoters of this type of event is throwing another venue under the bus. It looks EXTREMELY unprofessional to badmouth a fellow promoter of the sport, especially one that happens to be in a area near where you operate. Bad Form MOM's. Maybe instead of bashing their efforts you could do the stand-up thing and lend a hand and help them be more safe. You will never get to host an event there, but why not do what you can to make sure none of your patrons or their rigs are put in a dangerous situation while at another local event.
 
#37 · (Edited)
Tried to stand up to help, concerns were ignored.
Did you forget to read this part.......

...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

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.

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.

I still don't agree with your feeling that there needs to be a huge payout. I will have over $25k into my truggy when its complete and I will have to PAY almost everywhere I go to use it with absolutely no possibility of a payout for showing up and beating on my rig. After all it is something I enjoy and have fun doing. Also, don't forget that that pit didn't get dug for free, or filled back in that way either. Also, the city charges for every gallon of water used to make that gooey mess. So, with the crowd they had that night it might not have been much over break-even after they paid the racers what they did.

-1st,who said anything about huge. Some payout for past 1st place though... not every one can afford to dump 25k into a hobby. That is why we pay back through 4th and 5th place, spreading the wealth BACK to the racers.
2nd, why do you feel the need to explain the economics of putting on a show, i'm aware.

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.

You know what you're right. next time I am out thrashing my truck and someone says "hey nice truck" i am going to charge them $5. Cause hell the truck didn't pay me to build it and that person obviously enjoyed being able to watch it work, so i should get paid RIGHT???
-No you shouldn't get a dime. Tell ya what, I think you should go race it for free infront of thousands of people and let someone else get paid. Why should the promoter or fair get to line their pockets and not compensate drivers. Let alone put the drivers and crowd into harms way with such poor safety

-Bottom line and the point I am trying to make. Racers, race where ever you want. Just do it safe and have the gumption to stand up if something is not. AS for promoters and competition mud organizers, plan your event around safety and pay the racers for their efforts.

If promoting safety practices and advoacting for driver compenstation is the end, then see ya. Atleast we will sleep well knowing we did our best and did it SAFELY.
 
#38 ·
The 44 and King swamp class had ok pay but, not great for the size of the class or show. But the smaller classes, where MOST locals race and where most guys were out classed by the tire size only rules didn't pay jack. 100 for 1st...trophy for 2nd. (30+trucks, I am not sure about registration fees but drivers were $19 a head).

It is BS that I get e-mail from a unsatisfied racer from an event we didnt even run. He was rather upset that a truck with our stickers on it was placed into his class, taking first and bumping him to $0.

How many other racers were discouraged by the poor pay, poor safety and poor classing? These are the types of issues that discourge people from competing.
 
#39 ·
We always enjoy the races Mom's puts on and after running at some other poorly run events it is refreshing to race with you guys because we know what the rules are and how well it will be run. Your races seem to be well organized and normally run fairly smooth.

Dad's and Borculo bog also put on a good show:thumb:

See you in Sept. :woot:

Adam Frank
Top Notch Racing
 
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