|
IRA December Newsletter
Season's Greetings,
I hope everyone enjoyed themselves at the banquet, I thought Turner Hall did a
fine job. And to our race teams, I think Santa did a pretty fair job
providing a decent point fund and plenty of contingencies in their envelope. A
IRA record $63, 500 in cash awards were presented at this years banquet, plus
another solid contingency effort.
While I hope most of you are enjoying the off season, there seems to be very
little time not related to racing around here. At the very last minute I flew
out to the RPM (Promoters) workshops in Reno where I spent a day, primarily
educating myself on 07 insurance options, and learning more about the proposed
national 410/winged tire rule. I was there strictly representing IRA and was
received well by the large group attending. Now this week it's off to Orlando
for the PRI show, hoping to take full advantage of our recent publicity boost
courtesy of our Sprint Car & Midget story. I know several IRA teams will
also be attending, and hopefully all of us that make the trip can get together
down there and discuss some of the opportunities being directed our way. From
what I know at this time, if this tire deal remains on the table the way it
was presented to me, there isn't a team, series, or track that won't benefit.
From the teams that put on new rubber every night, to the teams that only buy
a few new tires all year, there are financial positives across the board as
tires will cost less per unit, be constructed to last a little longer, and
have financial rewards to our club that will be used to benefit our 75% teams
in regards to point fund, and directed to some additional program ideas we can
discuss. Again this has the potential to bring in 4 times our current tire
dollars to IRA, while providing cost savings to our teams at the same time.
Being a nationally designed program, IRA is being recognized as one of the
true key players in this decision.
Again the schedule process is moving ahead, 25 dates are penciled in as of
now. The noticeable differences at first glance thus far would be the
less distance between shows on a few travel weekends, and only one trip to
Knoxville. Of course additional options always come up at PRI and the Chili
Bowl, so a few rotations could take place, but without hesitation we'll be
able to offer a schedule by mid-January as we already have a fairly solid one
in place today.
All our sponsors have indicated they will be back, and we did receive yet
another 3 year contract extension from Bumper to Bumper. Of course we're
looking for more, as presenting, co-series, event, etc.. sponsorships would be
gladly welcome.
Due to our recent December banquet, the RPM and PRI shows, and Christmas all
falling so close together and the fact that our elections have already been
decided, there will be no December membership meeting. I know at least two
other IRA board members, other than myself, who will be attending PRI. We'll
take what we learn and share it with our other board members prior to our next
membership meeting which is scheduled for January 17th at The Bowlero.
Memberships will be available at that time too, and it would be great to get
some in as we still incur operating expenses even in non-racing months. We
raised our dues $10, but are still the least expensive of any racing
organization that I am aware of.
Please pay attention to the expiration dates on certificates you received at
the banquet, and throughout this past season. Also if you can't use something,
please return it to us or find it a home with another IRA team. A thank you
goes a long way when making purchases or redeeming certificates, and helps us
retain these sponsors. If you need contact names from any of these companies,
feel free to call or e-mail me. Design 500 Racewear $200 certificates arrived
the Monday following the banquet, there is 1 per team and I'll have them at
the Jan. meeting. If you would like it prior or mailed to you, please give me
a shout, and I'll get it out. Also please remember those that support us when
making purchases for the 07 season, and especially our local dealers who play
such a big role in regards to our contingency program; Behling, Gleason, Lane,
and R&H.
At our last meeting, two different ideas were brought from the floor regarding
the need for 100% 2007 teams to be additionally rewarded. One thought was to
raise our participation requirements or limit our point fund to the top 20 in
points, while another called for some of our longer tow events to be double
show points thus giving the true point chasing teams more points which would
provide them with a few more $$ from the point fund. These ideas remain on the
floor and open to further discussion. I too believe these teams need to be
rewarded more, however we don't want to discourage teams on at least trying to
make 75% either. I'm hopeful we'll have more $$ in 07 to work with, so we
should discuss some different ways to direct some of the additional dollars as
I too have some programs I'd like to see enhanced additionally. All this and
more will be discussed by the Board prior to the Jan. 17th meeting.
On behalf of the board I'd like to state how pleased I am with the overall
confidence the membership has shown the board, keeping our current group
together for yet another year. Based on our last meeting it was also good to
see that confidence from the floor as those attending simply wanted The Board
to implement procedures thought to improve our program. Lastly regarding our
meetings, over the years I have likely become too informal regarding our
meeting procedures. From here on out, you must raise your hand to be
recognized prior to speaking. Also in respect to the person who has been
granted the floor, nobody else will be allowed to speak until that person has
concluded making their point. This is to simply be fair to those attending,
and hopefully create a more productive meeting and
atmosphere.
In the meantime, feel free to call or e-mail as I welcome hearing your
thoughts one on one. I'm really optimistic regarding what IRA can offer teams
in 2007, nothing else in our market even comes close. I hope all the IRA
family has a great Christmas and New Year. I hope 2007 can be happy, healthy,
and prosperous for us all. You guys are truly the best of the upper-midwest.
Merry Christmas,
Steve Sinclair
|
|
|
