Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible! Rob, RPM, for all his efforts, the great guys and companies who donated and of course all the riders!
If we had written a script, the raffle could not have worked out better; The Evil one had been sort of serious kidding all week that he really wanted to win the Tiny Tach and . . . . . . . . he did!! And the big prize, the new 6.5 Clone Motor, went right down to the very end, when George drew with only 2 items left and won it!!
For me, the racing really becomes secondary to the great fun of having all these very cool guys and the variety of bikes in one place at one time! The grandstand crowd always seems to love our little hot rods!
The racing at the end got a little messed up but was still fun to watch - the whole mob went out at once, and Rob was leading in fast form until his motor died and then Jimmy got the win and no sooner took the flag and our clutch grenaded! Too bad Edwin, Rob and Jimmy couldn't have peaked at the same time, that would be a good race to see!! Then, there was a final race run by only Edwin, Dan and Frankie! All good and all fun to watch!
In the cruiser heat race, I actually lead for a while, due mostly to me jumping the start a tiny bit. However, before long, Taco Bill came by, then someone else (can't remember who) and I squeeked in third! The track conditions were really great again, I thought!
Finally, thanks to the guys who have said some nice things to me about the event, here and in PM's - I appreciate your kudos!! Rob and I set some goals when we started out to do this and achieved more than we expected!
Like everything, these races have a serious money component - that is, the tracks exist to make a profit and that is made difficult by the insurance issue! To make any money, tracks need about $40 - $60 per participant. While this sounds high, track operators face shrinking revenue at the front gate and must subsidize it at the back gate - a fairly recent situation! In the old days the spectators financed the show and racers got a cheap entry! At Ventura, it was interesting to note that the participant count was way up, but the grandstand crowd was good, but not packed like it was a few years ago. The spending public has more and more entertainment options and the track must somehow compete! Meanwhile, most tracks are owned and/or operated by hardcore racers whose agenda is more in line with the participants then the spectators, while they struggle to get the stands full! So, while you can beat on them for lower entry fees and make a deal, if it is to be a regular event, they must be allowed to make profit! Thus, sponsers like TheHomeMag and RPM's Theraputic Home Health Care bring a lot to the ability to have these events. Any SoCal business owner/minibike enthusiast who would like to get involved with us would be warmly welcomed - call me!!
Again, thanks to everyone involved!
Track did look a ton better from the first time. I mean I'm not an expert on tracks (only 6 years of racing on them) but it looked way different on the videos in comparison.
