Dirt Oval Farming

I just ran across a thread on Hobbytalk talking about "Why Dirt Oval Isn't More Popular" and felt the need to reflect on that thought for a minute.

One thing that I think all of RC suffers from is the lack of new racers getting into the hobby.  Dirt oval racing, while perceived to be "easier" than offroad or onroad racing is actually quite difficult when you're starting out.  They say anybody can go in circles, but not anybody can go fast.  The learning curve, when you're getting passed every other lap and trying desperately to move out of the way the entire race isn't all that much fun.

Sticking with it can be tough for a culture addicted to fast food and video games that you can restart infinitely until you get a particular move down.  This is, of course, true for all RC as I'm sure it's not all that easy for the beginner to fly helicopters or run onroad carpet tracks.

I'm lucky.  When I started out in the hobby, there were a few really instrumental people that helped me get my feet underneath me.  They took the time to explain why I needed to worry about this or that and helped me fix my vehicle (which was quite frequently) when I really didn't know how to do it myself.   There were a few times when I would have sold all my stuff and gotten out if it hadn't have been for them.

I'm still not an expert on setups or equipment, but I can hold my own now so I want to make sure that I pay it forward as much as I can to others because I know now what those guys that helped me knew.  This hobby is going to die out if it doesn't have a constant infusion of new blood.

People are going to get out of the hobby (although it seems most come back after a few years) for a number of reasons.  Boredom, frustration, and financial reasons are just a few.  That and the average age of many RC racers puts them in the bracket of well, retirement.

This periodic outflux of racers necessitates the recruitment of new souls to compete with.  The question that needs to be answered is, how are you going to bring them in and keep them interested long enough to get hooked like you are?

I feel like it is therefore incumbent upon the existing racers to seek new racers out, mentor and encourage them so that the hobby can grow and it's future can be sustained.  I've thought about how that might be formalized in a number of ways.

One idea is to have a pit area dedicated to novice racers.  Anyone pitting in the novice area is saying "please come help me", so heading over there to lend a hand or provide advice is not inappropriate.  It would be up to some of the more patient fast guys to mentor them.  In our area, there is virtually no factory support for RC products, but if there was, I would think it would be a team drivers responsibility to hover close to that area to make sure that the new initiate had the guidance they needed to be successful.

It also seems like it would be a good idea to have RC setup seminars early on a race day.  Whether the topic was setting the diff, adjusting castor, or what the effect of wing placement on a sprint car does, developing a better understanding of how RC cars work (and by work I mean go fast), it sets the hook because once you understand a little, you're going to want to understand more.

Another issue that I think Dirt oval suffers from is exposure.   Most of the tracks that I visit are off the beaten path.  Beautiful indoor tracks like Monee sit in the middle of nowhere with little signage and curb appeal.  My home track sits in the back half of a roller hockey rink building with a small, hand crafted sign that isn't visible from the main thoroughfare.

I'm told that back in the day, parking lot racing sparked interest in the hobby by holding races, albiet not dirt oval races in places where there were more people to race and spectate.  I'm not sure what happened to that but I'm sorry that I missed out on it.

I think if people at full scale dirt tracks like Crystal, Hartford, and I-96 were ever exposed to dirt oval RC, they would go crazy to get involved with this hobby.  If it were ever possible to set up a loose dirt track in the parking lot on race day, I would bet my next paycheck that a couple of them would start RC racing the next week.  Once you get the bug, you can't stop.

See, for me it's all about cultivating the hobby.  Making it grow, not so that I or anyone else can make money, but because more racers equals more fun in my book.  The harvest would be more opportunities to share experiences, swap lexan paint, and talk about what I could have done, if only.......