Let's show support for a Rocky Mountain area event

[PT Sportwagon]

With events poping up in other areas of the country, why not in the beautiful Rocky mountains. Post up if a pro-touring event is held in the Rockies would you attend?

Tim

[mpozzi]

All depends on who's hosting it, when it's being held, what the individual parts are, and where it's happening. Gotta say that putting on a full-fledged Pro-Touring event isn't cheap to do if you do one right. And you'll have a ton of people that say they'll come but not follow through for whatever reason. Stuff comes up that can't be avoided.

Mary Pozzi

[Draginutz]

Good Guys had a small event last year in Loveland CO. This would be a cool place to do it. http://www.highplainsraceway.com/track.html Not in the mountains but....

[BADNBLK]

I would totally be there and want to be involved in all aspects of the events if they at anything like the RTTH, RTTC, etc!

This is such a central location for so many people stuck in the middle... Access to two main interstates, I80 & I70. I have always wondered why so few National events held here. Highplains raceway opens up some doors for a brand new quality track to run... just minutes from Denver.

[Zachalanche]

Make it a hill climb and count me in. just give me a couple of years to finish my car.

[PT Sportwagon]

Larry once told me if we can get enough interest in an event here in the Rockies, Pro-touring would have one. Run to the Rockies.

Tim

[BADNBLK]

Larry once told me if we can get enough interest in an event here in the Rockies, Pro-touring would have one. Run to the Rockies.

Tim

RTTR just sounds so great! I'm sure some canyon runs could be organized to show that a run through the hills isn't that big of a deal :cheers:

[WS6]

as I said in the regional section, I'm bout it.

[andrewb70]

Make it a hill climb and count me in. just give me a couple of years to finish my car.

I used to live in Estes Park and the drive from Loveland to Estes was our own little hill climb...LOL

Andrew

[gjs14]

I live in Grang Junction CO, and would love to see a pt event in my state........yes I would go.

[BADNBLK]

I used to live in Estes Park and the drive from Loveland to Estes was our own little hill climb...LOL

Andrew

The Big Thompson Hill climb! That would be a great run. I love pushing it hard through the narrows when there is nobody on the roads.

[gonein67bird]

Miller Motorsports park! Longest road course in North America, can be split into 2 tracks. Do it Do it, I will be there.

[JD'sTT55]

Sounds good to me my car on the will still be far from running but I'd there to support it :) watch or help

[PT Sportwagon]

I never thought about Miller. I agree it would be a killler place for an event. But what to call it Run to Miller???

Tim

[gonein67bird]

sponsored by Miller lite!

[PT Sportwagon]

sponsored by Miller lite!

But only indulge after all the driving is done for the day.

Tim

[rockytopper]

How about run to PP.

Do a Pikes Peak half way up run it is paved on the bottom half and not to many drop offs as you find in the dirt at the top.

[BADNBLK]

How about How about run to PP.

Do a Pikes Peak half way up run it is paved on the bottom half and not to many drop offs as you find in the dirt at the top.

That would be super fun! I still have never been up there and lived in CO all my life... lame

[High Plains Mopars]

I have always wondered why so few National events held here.

Because the altitude absolutely kills power and a lot of people won't want to see their 600hp big block suddenly becoming a 200 hp slug. Honestly, when PPIR was running Busch races and courting Winston Cup, a number of big name racers said they would NEVER attend a Cup race at altitude, even if it awaded double points.

Would I attend one in the Rockies, maybe. Depends on where it is at. Saying we're having an event in the Rockies is like say we're having an event on the Gulf coast. What state and where will determine the attendance for casual enthusiasts. Put it in Montana, your turn out will be low. Utah, it might step up some, Colorado you might get some decent numbers. When I see car guys complain when an event moves from Ohio to Indiana, I can't imagine too many of them would drive all the way out to the Rockies unless it could be rolled in to some other sort of travel or vacation plans or you had a significant event going on.

[PT Sportwagon]

Tony,
A lot of people went to San Antonio for an event. and there isn't anything important in texas.

Tim

[High Plains Mopars]

Sure, but Texas has a population of 25 million people. If you combine Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho you are just shy of 13 million, almost half as many over 6 states. Yes, there will be a percentage of people who drive in from either end specifically for the event (BTW, the Colorado front range is made up predominately of transplants, mostly from California, Massachusetts, and Texas) because a week long vacation in the mountains is WAAAY cool, but they will not make up the majority of the participants. Looking at population numbers of Rocky Mountain States, Colorado leads the way with 5.1 million, followed by Utah-2.8 mill, New Mexico-2 mill, Idaho-1.5 mill, Montana-1 mill and Wyoming at 500k.

For the population numbers alone, I would think a stand alone pro touring event will have a hard time breaking even, much less being profitable, for promotors. Now if you tagged it within a week of some other significant motor head event, then you have the chance to drive up participation as people can book end their vacation with two automotive events. That means tie it in with a big promotion of something at Miller motorsports Park like the Winston West race, or book it before or after Speedweeks at Bonneville. Alternatively, Colorado offers the Mile High Nationals of NHRA, the Pikes Peak Hillclimb, and the Goodguys event in Loveland. There also is Highplains Raceway east of Denver, PPIR outside of Colorado Springs, and PMI's road, oval, and drag facility in Pueblo.

While I know a PT event is about driving, a big drawback to an event out here is that you may have an hour or two drive from anywhere the provides decent hotels and dining to a place that offers the ability to drive aggressively or on a track. I'm not saying its impossible, but it is a consideration. Certainly SCCA does it in parking lots across the country and there are active chapters of them and Nasa as well. I'd imagine input or assistance from either of those groups could help out along the way.

To an event promoter, this may be no big deal as they may already have the formula to make it all happen. I'm just rattling things off the top of my head that should be considerations in the plan. I'll certainly do my best to set aside time to attend, even if my car is not ready, just to be supportive, but I'd also like to see it be successful enough to make a run on continuing for many years rather than be a one or two time flash in the pan.



How about run to PP.

Do a Pikes Peak half way up run it is paved on the bottom half and not to many drop offs as you find in the dirt at the top.

They completed paving on the Peak last fall. It is now asphalt all the way to the top. Pre registration for this year's hillclimb has already broken records for number of participants. They think it may have to expand into a two day race if registrations continue. Expect records to fall and the variety of cars to increase as the smooth surface and need for downface began to alter what makes a successful hillclimb set up.

[Flash68]

^^ Tony you make a lot of sense with what you say and I agree. I was born, raised, and went to college in the midwest and there ain't much there. :)


Tony,
A lot of people went to San Antonio for an event. and there isn't anything important in texas.

Tim

They didn't sell out and I don't believe they were thrilled with the turnout. They were lobbying kinda hard up until the final week of the event to fill remaining slots. I remember seeing 40 something cars on the results list.



Larry once told me if we can get enough interest in an event here in the Rockies, Pro-touring would have one. Run to the Rockies.

Tim

Larry/Pro-Touring does not put on events. Unless you meant Bill and the gang.....

[gonein67bird]

Wow I thought you just wanted to have a little get together. Tony cut down on the caffeine.:jump:

[High Plains Mopars]

That actually is a good point. Are we talking about an impromptu get together of a dozen guys who frequent a forum that are going to meet at X place at Y time and drive to Z location or are we talking about a full blown event over multiple days set up and promoted by an organization?

With the involvement I've had in just a "simple" one day car show, I can say that the effort required to secure sponsors, set up venues, get trophies, arrange classes, recruit judges, ensure insurance coverage and then promote, advertise, and solicite partipants is a massive undertaking. To translate that to an event of multiple days over multiple venues that actually involve serious performance driving is a huge undertaking. I don't mean to be a wet blanket on the idea, but if you want to have any chance of success, these items need to be considered. Like I said, if there is a promotions group that has the formulas, sponsors and everything that is a packaged deal they can throw together with a few weeks worth of phone calls, cool. More power to them, I'll show up and support their efforts.

Yes, we have some beautiful country and some awesome drives. I'd love to share them with others.


Tony cut down on the caffeine.

Are you kidding, I live for caffeine. I would stop functioning without it.:)

[BADNBLK]

I'm good for either or type gathering of gearheads.

Tony - I have never thought about a lot of reasons you have posted about the location and population... your brain is working well on your caffiene sir!

[High Plains Mopars]

Thanks. I'm sucking down an espresso right now!

Having dabbled in events promotions for a few efforts, I know that it is not as simple as hanging out an online annoucement. I wish it was, but there are a number of considerations if you want to have a good event with decent turn out and a chance of survival for more than one or two events.



Good Guys had a small event last year in Loveland CO. This would be a cool place to do it. http://www.highplainsraceway.com/track.html Not in the mountains but....


Interesting that it is a "small" event. This Goodguys event actually started at PPIR in Fountain. After several years in southern Colorado, they moved to Loveland in an effort to bump up attendance. If this show is still small after that move, then I'd say Goodguys are either just making enough to continue to hold it, they have some affinity for the area, or it is subsidized by their other events. I'm not a Goodguys member, so I couldn't say. That is a very nice area of the state, which I imagine drove some of their decision.

Unfortunately, there are no real racing venues in the mountains of Colorado. Thanks to the NIMBYs, most of the front range tracks have shut down or moved far east/north of the population centers. Highplains Raceway is a nice looking facility. Its aproximate location is way east of Denver and north of Limon. There are a few other possible tracks to consider in ths Colorado area: Genoa Motosports east of Limon, http://www.genoamotorsports.com/, Pikes Peak International Raceway south of Colorado Springs, http://www.ppir.com/, Pueblo Motorsorts Park in Pueblo West, http://www.pueblomotorsportspark.us/, La Junta Raceway way down in the southeast corner of the state, and of course Bandimere Speedway just west of Denver, http://www.bandimere.com/, which is a drag strip but they do have a fairly large paved parking area where an autocross could be set up.

There also is Steamboat Springs. While there is no race track, there may be the availability of a parking lot large enough for autocross and some very scenic mountain drives. I know over the years a number of sports car clubs have held their annual events in Steamboat. This year the regional Mustang chapter is there.

But none of this is unique to the Rocky Mtn area, even though the details do become more imortant because of the razor thing margins events like this will have in our area. No doubt these considerations are made for any event that the ASCS puts together. To the original poster, you have been in contact with and are working through details of such an event with Bill and his team, yes? I'd imagine they have a basic blueprint to work with and while costs of specific venues drive the break even point on attendance, it does give you a ball park idea of the number of particiants you need to drum up. You will need to be finding and joining member boards for all major makes; Camaro, Mustang, Mopar, Pontiac, etc to make postings to generate interest. You also need to get in touch with all the regional car clubs of the area and make them aware of the gig and enlist their communication networks. If your tying this in with another event, what is the calander date of when it may happen and what potential conflicts or synergies exist with their efforts. Depending on date and effort, how quickly can it all come together. A major deal like this won't appear before 2013 and that is provided you start right now.

Lots to consider...

[PT Sportwagon]

Yeah, the mustang guys have an event every year in Steamboat. Including an autocross. Maybe just start with a meet and greet and a drive then go from there.

Tim

[MoparCar]

High Plains in Byers, CO all the way! Awesome new track.