Suggestions for the CRA, and questions asked they haven’t answered:

WaltersBrothersRacing

WaltersBrothersRacing

PR Member
Why does the CRA continue to not put out how many places back they will give year end awards too? Instead it’s just picking a random amount of places per class each year at the END OF THE SEASON; maybe it’s only 1 or maybe its 11, who knows. Why not say top 3 or 5 for a class at the beginning of the year? How many folks that finished 6 and back actually show up or pickup their award? Wasted money getting awards made if they are not getting picked up or even wanted.


Why not put those folks that win a year end award on stage to actually be recognized and get a group photo taken? Make the $100 something dollars spent on taking the family to the banquet a little more worth it for everybody.


Why are Meadowlarks and Pyma the only tracks that list requirements for year end track awards?


How come winning a 1 person gate at Pyma pays the same as winning a 15 person gate at lets say Amherst?


Maybe there should be a limit of how many races at a particular track can count towards year end series awards. Right now you have folks that in essence cherry pick Pyma with their very limited turnout, they don’t really show up at other tracks that have a turnout but when they do are lucky to barely finish mid pack. And because of cherry picking Pyma that doesn’t have a turn out, they can win the series championship? (Not bashing Pyma, but the track has a race every other week which is too many and it shows by their poor gate turnouts.)


You don’t have to work with other series, i.e. the OMA & AMA, but don’t work against them. I believe in 2014 the CRA had 2 or 3 double points races on the same days as LLQs. And this year having a double point’s race on an OMA / AMA – State Championship race, and 2 Sunoco races on LLQ days. I would think for ‘bragging rights’ the CRA would want their racers that primarily race their series to invade other series / events and represent the CRA without essentially penalizing them in the points by doing so.


Again not bashing the CRA or any track, but changes need to be made in order to make the series more successful. What was done 25 years ago doesn’t work today, changes need to be made to stay relavent and current. How about marketing the Sunoco or Wiseco series races to non-CRA regulars as something that they would want to come to and compete in. Sometimes less is better, definitely cuts down on over head having fewer races with larger gates than too many races with no one on the gate.
 
Mr. Walters-
Here are some answers. You are always welcome to contact Peggy or any track promoter if you have specific questions and they will be answered.

A rider needs to compete in a minimum of 10 events to be eligible for a year end award. A rider's best 15 events will count towards the year end award. A rider needs to compete at a minimum of 4 different venues to be eligible for a year end award. Based on these qualifications, it is hard to say we will give X number of year end awards. Some classes have more riders that qualify than others. We are very generous with our year end awards. Even if the awards are not picked up at the banquet we try and distribute them to the riders throughout the year.

Not all tracks give year end awards. That is up the promoter of the track, not the CRA. If your question about a year end award is for a specific track, will need to address that question to that track.

We had a "sliding scale" for many years but riders told us that they felt that was not fair! They may like going to a track that may not get as many riders and they felt they should get the same points for their win.

The way it is set up, a rider needs to participate at events at FOUR different facilities to earn a year end award. Only a riders best 15 events count towards the year end award.

Most times, our schedule is put together before other organizations schedules are posted, so we are not working against anyone. No organization wants to decrease their rider turnout by running on top of another but we all know it's going to happen. It's inevitable when you have several organizations running in one state/area. Also, not all racers are looking to race Loretta Lynn's. We provide an event on those dates for those other riders who are not planning on racing Loretta Lynn qualifiers/regionals.

Changes are made every year to help our organization grow and be current.
In order to compete in our series (just like any and every other organization) you need be a member of that organization because series races require you to race several events at several tracks.

Thanks for your concerns.
 
I believe many of the concerns brought up by Walter Brothers is what led to the formation of the OMA. The OMA has tried to be progressive in their thinking, while CRA, maybe not so much.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the requirement of needing to participate in at least four different facilities/tracks is a new CRA rule for 2015. I also heard through the grapevine that might not have been a unanimous decision by all of the tracks.

You are 100% correct though about certain riders only racing at certain tracks in order to benefit from the low gate numbers. The number of races at Pymatuning this year is roughly half of what it had been in years past. We used to race at Pyma close to twenty years ago and never minded the facility, but in more recent years I believe that they have become more or less a $20 whore due to the frequency of the races and no obvious upgrades so to speak. I have had my own personal boycott on Pyma for those reasons and do not foresee attending any races there in the near future. You should not be able to win a year-end class championship by racing at one track against three other racers every weekend.

Think of the money the CRA could save by not purchasing awards for those who won't pick them up or may not even want them in the first place. Think of the money the OMA did save by requiring an RSVP for award winners.

I don't want to start any kind of feud between these two fine organizations who provide a venue for what we love to do, but some feedback, if digested correctly, can be helpful.
 
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Race CRA said:
Mr. Walters-
A rider needs to compete in a minimum of 10 events to be eligible for a year end award. A rider's best 15 events will count towards the year end award. A rider needs to compete at a minimum of 4 different venues to be eligible for a year end award. Based on these qualifications, it is hard to say we will give X number of year end awards. Some classes have more riders that qualify than others. We are very generous with our year end awards. Even if the awards are not picked up at the banquet we try and distribute them to the riders throughout the year.
Click to expand...
As it states in the rule book, "NOT all eligible riders are guaranteed a year end award". So it doesn't matter how many riders qualify in whatever class, just set a number at the beginning of the year.
 
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