Spectators for RTTH

[SRD art]

I'm too late getting the car ready and get registered for this year but Joe (from Bulldawg Musclecars) and I are considering heading up in the wagon on Saturday just to watch and mingle. I skimmed over the website but didn't see anything about spectator pricing. Can someone tell us how much and what time we should get there? We're about 4 hours away and don't want to miss much...

[Bill Howell]

come on, and ask for me, I may know the right person to get you in the gate.

[GeoffP]

I hope you guys can make it! I want to show Joe some things on my car, idea-wise.

[JEFFTATE]

Ben , we can get you up-close-and-personal ( right on the track ) .
You just may have to be a cone worker . LOL !

[CornHusker4Life]

Ben,

I will be at BullDawgMusclecars this Friday morning to pick up my 69 camaro and hopefully drive it up to RTTH. This will be my first PT event. I will also be a spectator until you guys finish my next project.

Jeff,

I know you provided some parts for my red 69 camaro at Joes and I appreciate it. Just a little sad I am losing my GM parts hookup but Congrats on the new job.

Cannot wait to actually meet everyone in person and seeing all the rides.

Jarrod

[SRD art]

Thanks Bill! And being a cone boy sounds good! Live action! The smell of burning rubber and race gas, mmmmmmmm!

[JEFFTATE]

Thanks Bill! And being a cone boy sounds good! Live action! The smell of burning rubber and race gas, mmmmmmmm!

Sometimes you gotta move quick and jump out of the way !
I'll see you guys up there .

[Garymac69]

come on, and ask for me, I may know the right person to get you in the gate.

At previous RTTH's spectators were welcome and no fee was charged. Has this changed?

[SRD art]

Hmmm....Lol!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/09/willworkforfood-1.jpg

[71duster]

Hmmm....Lol!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/09/willworkforfood-1.jpg

lol! that's pretty good! are you going to bring my rendering with you?

[SRD art]

Can do, pm sent...

[JEFFTATE]

At previous RTTH's spectators were welcome and no fee was charged. Has this changed?

No , nothing has changed , spectators are still free ,
Bill is just being funny .

[JEFFTATE]

come on, and ask for me, I may know the right person to get you in the gate.

Tehehehehehehe !!

[BustedTruck]

Last year I came to rtth & I was hooked. I wasn't quite ready to run this year, but today I drive up here to be turned away at the gate. I am very diss appointed. I have looked forward to this event all year. I had a great time last year. I read on here that's it's still open to spectators. So what is it? Can I watch or not?

[coreyslude]

So today I tried going to the autocross and was told they were not allowing spectators. I've been to atleast 3 as a spectator no problem, was told today insurance reasons would not allow it. Was it the fact I was not in my corvette and instead riding in my buddy's Camry hybrid? Or are spectators not allowed?

[BustedTruck]

Apparently you have to know the right people. I would have gladly signed a waiver to watch. The funny thing is earlier this week it was confirmed that spectators would be free. The guy at the gate said the information was on another forum?

[JEFFTATE]

Guys , I'm really sorry .
I did not know that this was not a spectator event .
I did not check the details before I posted and I thought Bill was kidding in the previous post .

It had to do with insurance to cover spectators , and safety barriers .

That being said , once again I'm sorry if anyone was disappointed or inconvenienced ..
Next year , the insurance and safety barriers should be in place .

[goob8869]

I agree this was a bunch of crap drove 3 hours Friday night and spent 150 for room just to watch it Saturday morning just to find out I couldn't get in so turned around and drove 3 more hours back home

[SRD art]

I got the same "no spectators" at the gate, but after driving for 4 hours and sitting in downtown traffic for another hour to move just 4 miles I didn't wanna turn back! So I said "Bill said it was ok, Bill Howell." (see above post) He looked at the other guy and said "Bill's letting people in?!?" Then he was real pleasant to chat with and made me sign the waiver form and let me in. That was about 2:30 in the afternoon, so maybe that had something to do with it. Maybe it was because I have my "Street Rod Designs" stickers on the car, which he mentioned, and he thought I had business connections or something. Either way I feel bad you other guys didn't make it in...

[JEFFTATE]

Any pro-touring members that showed up could get in by saying they were there to work . Just sign the waiver ..
The event just wasn't open to the general public , like people who just happened to drive-by and want to stop .

Like I said , I'm sorry about this guys , I didn't now before hand .
Next year it will open to spectators ..

[SRD art]

Just a thought, maybe on the race's website, pro-touring.com, lateralg.net, etc, there could be a link to a coupon of sorts that you can print off and that's your legal entrance pass. Don't have one, you don't get in. That would be an easy way to let us in and keep the public out. On that coupon it could have a specific set of rules for spectators, like look but don't touch, stay away from the track areas, don't walk out on to the course to snap a photo of your favorite driver ;) , etc.

[Frankenstine]

I made the trip up from NC only to be told at the entrance that it was a private outing no spectators????? They could have posted that info on their web page. :banghead:

[Shupee]

I drove from South Carolina spent $300+ on motel only to be turned away also. Not interested in attending any more of their events.

[BustedTruck]

So where was it posted about spectators not being allowed? I am not trying to beat a dead horse here, I just want to not make the same mistake again. Thanks.

[turner69camaro]

WOW that's CRAZY!!! I was in Pigeon Forge as well over the weekend with my black GTO and didn't get a chance to go out to view the cars but I don't get it? Its open to the public at all the Goodguy events! The way you grow a sport is to invite and include as many people you can to joing and not deny them access!! I understand that they had all they wanted for the event but to not alow access to the public was a big mistake! Thats just my 2 cents! LOL

[goob8869]

So where was it posted about spectators not being allowed? I am not trying to beat a dead horse here, I just want to not make the same mistake again. Thanks.

Last post I saw said all spectators were welcomed and free of charge

[71RS/SS396]

Goodguys also has safety barriers set-up and the speeds are quite a bit slower. This was their first year at this location so they have some kinks to work out and they're aware of that. I think we should cut them a little slack.

[Slick68]

GoodGuys is already a major spectator event. Their insurance is setup for spectators, and as mentioned, they have barriers up. I'm not trying to take any sides, but I understand it from both ways. I went to this event as a spectator last year, and as a participant this year. There's a lot going on at any given time with really nowhere for spectators to be safely and out of harm's way. What few sepctators that made it in were parking in the staging area in the side parking lot. After a while, there got to be enough that it started to get a bit crowded and we(drivers) had to watch out for pedestrians.

Another concern I'm sure Bill had was the rod run crowd. Bill is from Pigeon Forge, and I was born and raised here, and have attended pretty much every rod run in town since I was 8. This rod run crowd can be very curious and sometimes pushy. We're talking about people that will fist fight over a parking spot. They will jump fences, drive right past gates and security without permission and take the chance that security just won't mess with them or follow up on them. just to save a few bucks, or not be denied access somewhere. We also just had just enough workers to chase cones, run timing equipment, keep the gate, and other small operations, so ther wasn't anybody for crowd control.

Also as mentioned, this was the first time at the new venue, so things were kinda new to everyone involved. My suggestion is that Bill should work with Dollywood next year and have them charge for spectator parking in the main entrance and get a few employees for crowd control, then allow only participants to park in the "paddock" area. The Splash location actually had a decent area for spectators at the top of the hill in the gravel parking lot. It was out of harm's way, fenced, and provided a great way to view the whole track without getting in anyone's way.

I really don't think it would have been an issue at all if not for the rod run being the same weekend. Hindsight is always 20/20, but hopefully whatever they work out for next year will be more "spectator friendly".

[JEFFTATE]

There was a lot of last-minute communication going on between DollyWood , the Insurance Company , and others .
It just so happened that the Insurance Company wanted a HUGE ( I'm talking astronomical ) amount of money to cover spectators at this event.
Because of the track layout ( in proximity to the vendors and spectators viewing area ) , the Insurance company and DollyWood Officials wanted concrete road construction safety barriers installed ..( Those huge monolith concrete blocks )
It was just too cost prohibitive to do on short notice ( SHORT NOTICE is part of the key here . The baseball stadium parking lot was still on hold as a backup plan just in case )

So , off-the-street , general public spectators were not allowed .
BUT , any pro-touring member could have gotten in by just saying that they knew Bill , or were there to work the event .
This point probably wasn't communicated effectively .
But , next year this event will be set up for Vendors and Spectators of any kind . Just like GoodGuys , expect with a nice big track layout .

The event is experiencing some growing pains , it will all work out .

[CornHusker4Life]

I had a great experience at this years event. It was my first time seeing autocross in person. Yes, I was a spectator. I personally have never met any of the drivers, Bill, or Jeff. I was with a buddy who is into imports and after his experience at RTTH he has changed his views on what is cool. The minute we got back to the rod run he was looking at classic american muscle cars to buy and build. This is a prime example of how great this lifestyle/community is. We did not personally know anyone and the impact it made on my buddy will last a lifetime. He will be depoying for 6 months to the desert in 2 weeks and this was kind of my send off to him. I cannot thank Bill and the rest of the organizers for putting this event on and letting us spectate even though we did not ask:smoke: We stood about 5 feet back from the computer(displaying times)in amazement of what your cars can do and no one was rude to us or kicked us out. Thanks Again.

[SicMonte]

I had a great experience at this years event. It was my first time seeing autocross in person. Yes, I was a spectator. I personally have never met any of the drivers, Bill, or Jeff. I was with a buddy who is into imports and after his experience at RTTH he has changed his views on what is cool. The minute we got back to the rod run he was looking at classic american muscle cars to buy and build. This is a prime example of how great this lifestyle/community is. We did not personally know anyone and the impact it made on my buddy will last a lifetime. He will be depoying for 6 months to the desert in 2 weeks and this was kind of my send off to him. I cannot thank Bill and the rest of the organizers for putting this event on and letting us spectate even though we did not ask:smoke: We stood about 5 feet back from the computer(displaying times)in amazement of what your cars can do and no one was rude to us or kicked us out. Thanks Again.

Im glad that we could provide some entertainment for your buddy who is about to deploy! Its good to know that we opened his eyes to our world!!

[Jrock072]

Hey Everyone~
I am so sorry for the people who drove out, only to be turned away. As you know, this was the first year at Splash Country. When we arrived, the property owners would not allow spectators, due to insurance and liability reasons. We weren't allowed to let anyone in. Nothing was posted on the site, but that is because everyone involved with ASCS was at the track all weekend. (Those who participated can attest to that fact.) We will resolve this by next year, and everyone who is admitted (participants and/or spectators) must be on a list prior to the event. Again, my apologies to those tho were effected. :(

[Bill Howell]

Here is the deal guys. This year we moved to splash country parking lot. It is much closer to PF and therefore, the Grand Run people somehow found out about the event and came in droves. We turned about 700 cars away. REASON: 1. We did not have proper insurance for that number of spectators, nor did we have proper barriers for that many people . When you go from an event with 11 cars to an event with 80 cars and that many people you do have growing pains sometimes. Anyone that came to the gate, asked for me, Brian, Yancy DSE, Ridetech, Pro-touring group, baer brakes, Jet Hot coatings or just about anything that proved they were supposed to be there were welcomed. Next year we will have proper barriers, etc and let more in.
While I hate that some of you may have not gotten in, I doubt there will ever be another event where spectators are allowed in free. It cost money to get all the things right and insurance is really cracking down on events so that just goes with the territory. I hope this clears things up as to why things were like they were.

[Bill Howell]

WOW that's CRAZY!!! I was in Pigeon Forge as well over the weekend with my black GTO and didn't get a chance to go out to view the cars but I don't get it? Its open to the public at all the Goodguy events! The way you grow a sport is to invite and include as many people you can to joing and not deny them access!! I understand that they had all they wanted for the event but to not alow access to the public was a big mistake! Thats just my 2 cents! LOL

Goodguys is not opened to the public. It is open to those that pay at the gate, it has a barricaded autocross that usually is about 30 seconds and maybe 40 mph. Anyone that was at RTTHs8 understands why safety to the public would have been an issue. IF you are going to offer your 2cents, get your facts right first. We are growing, and FYI, we were autocrossing before GG was on much bigger tracks. Comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges. We are working to make this open next year, but believe it or not, safety first is our main goal.

[rmk600]

Cornhusker, this was also my first event and I have the same feelings about the people there. It was an eye opening event to attend and spectate and I will be building another Camaro soon that will be a little more "fit" for doing autocross. Can't wait for next year!

[CornHusker4Life]

Ryan,

I am in the same boat. I have a 69 camaro with an LS2/4l70 that is slammed to the ground but no "real performace suspension", just a very nice show car. After seeing this event, in person, DSE recieved a phone call. I am having another 69 camaro built at BullDawg MuscleCars for autocrossing. Bill is there anyway I can get reimbursed for the money I am spending to build another 69 camaro to autocross because of you and RTTH?:lmao:

[Bill Howell]

Ryan,

I am in the same boat. I have a 69 camaro with an LS2/4l70 that is slammed to the ground but no "real performace suspension", just a very nice show car. After seeing this event, in person, DSE recieved a phone call. I am having another 69 camaro built at BullDawg MuscleCars for autocrossing. Bill is there anyway I can get reimbursed for the money I am spending to build another 69 camaro to autocross because of you and RTTH?:lmao:

Sure, it is called the TEAM T/A contingency program. Just put on all the go fast parts, then win every event and you will be surprised how much loot you will take home at the end of the season at the Protouring dinner at SEMA.. :)

[SicMonte]

Sure, it is called the TEAM T/A contingency program. Just put on all the go fast parts, then win every event and you will be surprised how much loot you will take home at the end of the season at the Protouring dinner at SEMA.. :)

Exactly what Bill said.....

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/09/2011101420201110142000120105_zpsa3c7fa63-1.jpg

[CornHusker4Life]

Damn, I was just joking but that sounds sweet.

[rmk600]

HAHA. That's great! Can't wait to see this new Camaro. Rear disc brakes and POSI going on soon. I'm probably gonna put a "For Sale" sign in my windshield over at Cruisin the Coast in Biloxi next month. If I get the right number a new build will start soon! Want a 6-speed car LS2 minimum.

[Slick68]

Ryan,

I am in the same boat. I have a 69 camaro with an LS2/4l70 that is slammed to the ground but no "real performace suspension", just a very nice show car. After seeing this event, in person, DSE recieved a phone call. I am having another 69 camaro built at BullDawg MuscleCars for autocrossing. Bill is there anyway I can get reimbursed for the money I am spending to build another 69 camaro to autocross because of you and RTTH?:lmao:


HAHA. That's great! Can't wait to see this new Camaro. Rear disc brakes and POSI going on soon. I'm probably gonna put a "For Sale" sign in my windshield over at Cruisin the Coast in Biloxi next month. If I get the right number a new build will start soon! Want a 6-speed car LS2 minimum.

I'm in a similar situation with my truck. My truck is a nice "show" truck as it sits now. I'm not sure if I want to spend the money to make it an autocross vehicle and take away from what it's good for now. After taking a few rides with others, I'm interested in building a Camaro or Nova. Heck, I was even eyeballing a Pacer on the strip Saturday night. LOL

A P-T Pacer. That would be a site wouldn't it?

[rmk600]

Matt, I think this could be an expensive hobby/passion. LOL. By the way, I loved your truck. Been showing it to all my friends and especially my dad. He has a '69 F100 that's blue and he's owned it since '74.. trying to get him to get it into shape and using your truck as some motivation.. I'm gonna start a picture thread but here's a teaser. Hope you like it!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[Slick68]

Wow! Thanks for the pic!! I can't wait to see more! Yeah, anything in the car hobby is expensive. It all just depends on where you spend the money that makes it useful for a particular venue. Until lately, most of my money has been spent on looking good. lol

[CornHusker4Life]

Ryan,

Here is the start of the new camaro. Will start a build thread when the work gets started. I agree, expensive passion. It helps my wife does not B*tch too much. Matt, your truck is nice. I remember staring at it on Saturday.
64694
64695

[rmk600]

Good start! Mini tubs are a must. Will look for your thread when it is created. And having an understanding wife seems like a huge bonus to me. LOL

[SRD art]

I know my opinion isn't always with the masses, but personally I wouldn't mind seeing the spectators be somewhat limited, maybe to those that are actually interested in the sport like forum members and their friends. At this year's location there didn't seem to be much area for seating, and if 700 cars with at least 2 people in each car came by, 1400+ people wandering through the pits and all around the racer's lanes could get pretty hectic. How many of us have been to an event with all the idiots that get involved in the hot rod industry and seen the stupid things they do? My car is way short of a show car but I'd still rather not have some guy with 5 beers in him coming up and touching it in the pits. If the venues were limited to those that are at least somewhat involved in the sport (i.e. spend some time on forums and such) and those chaperoned by those involved, it seems it would be that much more manageable for crowd control.

The way I saw things run at the event, it was very fast paced moving cars from the pits to the lanes to the course and back to the lanes. Seems smaller crowds would keep things a little safer.

[Slick68]

I agree with you. That's why I mentioned a sectioned off area for spectators. This also means extra workers and "security" to keep spectators out of the paddock area. That's where the aforementioned idea of coupons or tickets only available from sponsored sites would come in handy.

[Bill Howell]

I know my opinion isn't always with the masses, but personally I wouldn't mind seeing the spectators be somewhat limited, maybe to those that are actually interested in the sport like forum members and their friends. At this year's location there didn't seem to be much area for seating, and if 700 cars with at least 2 people in each car came by, 1400+ people wandering through the pits and all around the racer's lanes could get pretty hectic. How many of us have been to an event with all the idiots that get involved in the hot rod industry and seen the stupid things they do? My car is way short of a show car but I'd still rather not have some guy with 5 beers in him coming up and touching it in the pits. If the venues were limited to those that are at least somewhat involved in the sport (i.e. spend some time on forums and such) and those chaperoned by those involved, it seems it would be that much more manageable for crowd control.

The way I saw things run at the event, it was very fast paced moving cars from the pits to the lanes to the course and back to the lanes. Seems smaller crowds would keep things a little safer.


How refreshing, someone gets it......lol
It is amazing how you see things differently when you are actually at an event rather than being an internet warrior with your opinion when your opinion doesn't even match what was there or happened.

You too Matt, you guys make 2 converts..haha

[JEFFTATE]

No one is trying to separate spectators , enthusiasts , regular-joes , wanderers-by , people with kids , or tourists from the cars or the pro-touring members ..
This is not some elitist , class-separated event .
Everyone is welcome ( everywhere ) at these events , and it will always be that way .
It's just that Dollywood wouldn't let spectators at this particular event for safety reasons ( to cover Dollywoods own a** ).. you can't blame them .( The venue wasn't set-up for mass spectators )
It's nothing more than that .

[Bill Howell]

No one is trying to separate spectators , enthusiasts , regular-joes , wanderers-by , people with kids , or tourists from the cars or the pro-touring members ..
This is not some elitist , class-separated event .
Everyone is welcome ( everywhere ) at these events , and it will always be that way .
It's just that Dollywood wouldn't let spectators at this particular event for safety reasons ( to cover Dollywoods own a** ).. you can't blame them .( The venue wasn't set-up for mass spectators )
It's nothing more than that .

Jeff is right here too. Different venues mean different rules, etc. El Toro used to not want any spectators, but now they have let us bring in some. They still don't want 5000 people there, neither do we.

[pharmd]

Guys that didn't get it...don't give up because of one bad experience. I blew a motor trying to make an event this year...My wife who was with me said, "this is a sign that you shouldn't be doing this, just give it up." So I proceeded to spend $$$ getting my ride right for this event. Althought late night thrashing only allowed me to make the Saturday Autox, I had a blast and look forward to making more events next season. Aside from the spectator/growing pains issue, the event was very well run, organized and overall well done. Next year this event (and others im sure) will come off without a hitch, but even if they don't, we are all human and should be allowed a little room for error. It shouldn't have been a total loss anyway, you had 5000 cars at the Rod Run to check out. Last 3 years I just went to the Rod Run and had a blast...I didn't know anything about pro-touring.

[SicMonte]

I agree with Ben...bigtime!!

Kim and I both had all our tools, jacks, fluids, floor mats, helmet bags, chairs, etc just sitting out in the parking lot and felt 100% comfortable doing so. If there were a ton of outside people there I know that it would be a pain to secure all the stuff we took out of our cars to compete.

He also made an excellent point on the specator safety issue. I know I went back into the pit area a bunch of times to check on things etc and it was easy because there wasn't a lot of people there. I have been to a Goodguys event where participants literally had to honk their horns to make people move out of their pit spot. That amount of spectators would be cool....but I'll pass.

[pharmd]

Guys that didn't get it...don't give up because of one bad experience. I blew a motor trying to make an event this year...My wife who was with me said, "this is a sign that you shouldn't be doing this, just give it up." So I proceeded to spend $$$ getting my ride right for this event. Althought late night thrashing only allowed me to make the Saturday Autox, I had a blast and look forward to making more events next season. Aside from the spectator/growing pains issue, the event was very well run, organized and overall well done. Next year this event (and others im sure) will come off without a hitch, but even if they don't, we are all human and should be allowed a little room for error. It shouldn't have been a total loss anyway, you had 5000 cars at the Rod Run to check out. Last 3 years I just went to the Rod Run and had a blast...I didn't know anything about pro-touring.

[BustedTruck]

I didn't get in & that sucks, but I loved RTTH 7. 7 was a small crowd & everyone acted like they had some sense. Everyone I talked to was awesome & the bug had bit me. Tell you the truth I liked the small crowd. I will be back next year, but hopefully be part of the small crowd. Although I like RodRun I went to attend RTTH. No hard feelings. Hey Bill save me a spot next year.

[TonyBolton]

I love reading Bill Howell posts....saves me the trouble from typing EXACTLY how I feel. ;)

[bugdewde]

I'm too late getting the car ready and get registered for this year but Joe (from Bulldawg Musclecars) and I are considering heading up in the wagon on Saturday just to watch and mingle. I skimmed over the website but didn't see anything about spectator pricing. Can someone tell us how much and what time we should get there? We're about 4 hours away and don't want to miss much...


Hi Ben, it was nice to meet you. I was in attendance with Wracker (as an occasional cone worker and photo grabber for his chassis tuning.... hahaha). I enjoyed seeing the "Pumpkinator" and talking to you guys. If you remember, I love Station Wagons!!!!

I tried to show you some pics of the Vega Wagon on my phone but we all know how that goes out in the sun. So here's a pic of it with the Custom A-arms and cut Cosworth Springs up front and IROC 16" wheels to fit the 4th Gen Camaro brakes. It's sitting a little high in the front, as the little 320 lb all-aluminum Buick 215 cubic inch V8 or the 3rd gen T-5 trans isn't installed (Pay no attention to the MOPAR 440 hood "resting" on there.... it's Wracker's shop shelf).
Hopefully, next year, you can bring the Pumpkinator and I'll have the "Junkyard Dawg" (tentative name for the Wagon) in attendance and we can marvel over the outstanding attributes of STATION WAGONS!!!!


64928

As for the spectators not being allowed in...... that's fully understandable from a participant and promotor's insureance viewpoint. It would definitely suck from a spectator that was turned away viewpoint. I actually invited several family members and co-workers to come up and join in on the fun...... Because we all know how fun Bill's (as well as the other events) events are. Luckily, they didn't want to brave the Pigeon Forge Rod Run traffic and weren't turned away.

I'm sure that the next event will be much better planned and staffed to allow for this growing event to be enjoyed by many. ....... Eventhough I do prefer being one of the smaller crowd, too.

My hat goes off to all you guys that sponsored, promoted, worked and hosted to make this event so enjoyable. Thank you!

[SRD art]

Wagons rule dude. Are there any other cars out there? Lol, j/k.

I see your point Jeff and there needs to be some interest spread out to those that aren't familiar with the sport. I grew up drag racing and after seeing the trend shifting in the g machine direction in mags it really peaked my interest but the cost was beyond me. Eventually when the time was right I bought the wagon, hacked the springs, and tried a small autocross course. No turning back from there. Now I have a car that'll be hunting pony tail next season. Needless to say I haven't had any desire to go drag racing since. I'm sure there are lots of folks out there that would do the same. My son, who is 14 and came to the event with me can't wait to get his Nova built and be old enough to join in. He reminds me almost daily that we need to get started on his car, lol!

I was visiting with another member of the forum and he suggested had we not done it the same weekend as the rod run the general public spectator count would have been way lower. In a case like that I can see letting folks in, but we'd probably need to corral them away from the pits and lanes. Way too much movement going on out there and with so many pretty cars in attendance and all our pit gear laying around that would be best.

On the other hand it would be nice to create a way for spectators to see the cars up close-ish, I don't mind answering questions and rubbing shoulders with folks that are interested in my car or the sport. I guess he who can come up with a way to make everyone happy is he who has an extremely successful event. Good luck Bill! ;)

[SRD art]

Another thought. If the event is limited to X amount of cars, it could become somewhat boring after a while for general spectators. With Goodguys, (I haven't been to one yet) my understanding that any of the cars there can jump into the autocross giving it a nice variety. Also spectators have the freedom to go look at show cars, swing by the course and watch a bit, go look at more cars, swing by an watch racing, ditto ditto. It would seem that those interested specifically in autocross and the g-machine movement wouldn't mind watching the same cars race again and again. So is this much of a general public venue? It would suck taking $10/ person and after 2 hours have them be annoyed or bored and leave.

Just throwing out a possible other side of the fence point of view, hopefully discussing it now can help us fine tune it so next year is an even greater success than this and on and on in the future.

[Shupee]

I fully understand the difficulty in running events with spectators and insurance issues etc. With this being said maybe it would be best to A- have the event the weekend after all the Pigeon Forge "jockey lot". B-let the Pro-Touring members know that spectators will not be allowed rather than the post that I read stating the opposite.09-12-2012, 02:05 PM #12 JEFFTATE
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Originally Posted by Garymac69
At previous RTTH's spectators were welcome and no fee was charged. Has this changed?
No , nothing has changed , spectators are still free ,
Bill is just being funny .

This is why I showed up. Now then, with this all out in the open I assume you were referring to me as an "internet junkie"???
Bill a little kindness will go a long way in life. Would have been nice to just say sorry it worked out this way or something of that nature. Don't expect you to kiss anyone's rear. Your attitude about this just plain sucks. Jeff I admire your attitude concerning this snafu

[Garymac69]

I visit the Rod Run every year and it's great that the RTTH is the same weekend (as I have attended for 4 years). A good friend was running and I had reserved a ride, so would have been greatly disappointed if I had been turned away. I did have a little trouble getting in and had to mention several names. Perhaps an event password could be provided for forum members.

Gary

[xxxturbo6]

People not getting let in this year was a very unfortunate situation but as mentioned above there was last minute changes and things went the way they did and it was too late to change them at that point. Bill has been putting on events now for the last 8 years without a single hitch, this may be his first glitch but was out of his hands at that point due to the land owners insurance, and the time constraint. If you know Bill Howell,Yancey Johns, Brian Finch like I do then you know they will definitely not let this happen again! Bill,Yancey,and Brian will go above and beyond to make people happy and accommodated and trust me if they could have fixed this issue they sure as hell would have! I am the worlds worst when it comes to registering and I always seem to miss it but these guy's find a spot for me so I can compete. This is a Fantastic event run by great people and I look forward to competing in next years event!

[Frankenstine]

Does any one know for sure if spectators are allowed for the event this year????

[Bill Howell]

Yes, spectators welcomed Friday at autocross and Saturday morning at Dragstrip.