US Title Series News

[Rex Hall]

Entrys

You cannot compare the entrys from the Title Series races with Depue, because the Title Series does not run antiques and OSY-400 at their events. There will always be more entrys at Depue because the one or two race a year driver will show up for this race.

[Smitty]

My racing was long ago, but some of the controversy here sounds familiar. Got a couple of questions:

Why is it felt necessary for APBA to keep track of points at all? National points were always sort of bogus because the participation and competitiveness of each racing class varied from region to region. Since only Region points have any real meaning, why not have the regions (or individual clubs, to make the points even more meaningful) keep their own points (if they want to bother with points at all).

By the same thinking, why is it called the U.S. Title Series when the races are too far for a lot of racers in the U.S. to justify the time and expense of making more than a race or two? Even if they agreed to hold one or two races outside the Midwest and Southeast, it would still be a midwesterners' and Floridians' series, don't you think? Hard to fight history and an established name, but wouldn't it be more accurately called something like the "PRO Title Series", to remove the illusion that it is truely a national competion? BTW, please don't take any of this as reflecting resentment! The USTS appears to be a top-notch operation, and deserves to go from success to success.

Just askin' . . . .

[Rex Hall]

U.S. Title Series

Smitty, the Title Series is not limited to the midwest and Florida, we run races in Connecticut,North Carolina, Ohio, just to name a few, and we would run races on the west coast if we could find a good race site that would pay $10,000.00 for the sanction and tow money. We travel all over for good race sites.

[Nilsen Racing]

Bingo

we would run races on the west coast if we could find a good race site that would pay $10,000.00 for the sanction and tow money.

Good luck US Title Series

[Nilsen Racing]

we would run races on the west coast if we could find a good race site that would pay $10,000.00 for the sanction and tow money.

Good luck US Title Series

Just to elaborate, if you (or any group) can garner $10,000 from a race site for the sanction and tow money, more power to you.

[Susan Rautenberg]

?????

I know you have one, how's it doing?

I do not have a sidewinder. we ran the promo motor out here- and it has been sitting stagnent for legal parts. Finally hit the fork in the road- buy a sidewinder- work on it like a pro motor or go PRO. Colin opted for going pro and Ashley too. Kids wanted out of "A" anyway-- we are not fully out of stock-- will run yamato as well. Just done with the A classes
so this whole thread and usts--not necessarily a slap in the face- i filled in the blanks here about mixed emotions-was looking forward to depue but.........

[Ron Hill]

USTS Thread

Sorry, Susan, I was thinking this was the Stock Thread....Thanks for answering anyway.

[Smitty]

Surely "Yankee Racing" has a good take on this decision from USTS: APBA could take it as a challenge to improve.

For starters, if the "rich folk" (well, for starters, THEY race for money!) in Offshore, Unlimiteds, and OPC are getting their insurance effectively subsidized by the little guys as Rex Hall states, why can't the little guys, who probably have the votes, immediately require an end to this? Further, as an apparent large majority of posters here indicate that Crown is mismanaging things (and they do seem to have made a mess of the website), can the contract with them be terminated? Can more cost-cutting efforts be made (for one small instance, dropping the recording of national points), as every other organization is having to do in these lean years?

I know little about any of this, but again, some of the current criticisms of APBA, especially those asking whether the benefits are worth the expense, go back decades.

[bill van steenwyk]

Surely "Yankee Racing" has a good take on this decision from USTS: APBA could take it as a challenge to improve.

For starters, if the "rich folk" (well, for starters, THEY race for money!) in Offshore, Unlimiteds, and OPC are getting their insurance effectively subsidized by the little guys as Rex Hall states, why can't the little guys, who probably have the votes, immediately require an end to this? Further, as an apparent large majority of posters here indicate that Crown is mismanaging things (and they do seem to have made a mess of the website), can the contract with them be terminated? Can more cost-cutting efforts be made (for one small instance, dropping the recording of national points), as every other organization is having to do in these lean years?

I know little about any of this, but again, some of the current criticisms of APBA, especially those asking whether the benefits are worth the expense, go back decades.

Smitty:

Welcome to the party.

It is very difficult to know the answer to your questions regards Crown and this contract. If you have followed the discussions about Crown, its contract, and other items under discussion with/about APBA you may be aware of the following:

It is very difficult to have any type meaningful conversation with anyone, much less APBA, if the conversation is one sided. They (APBA) have been asked NUMEROUS times on this site, Ron Hill's Boat Racing Facts, and even on their own social page on the APBA site, these same questions, OVER AND OVER AGAIN. I do not know of ANY officer, BOD member, Region Chairman, Category VP (or whatever they are called now) that has made one post in answer to any of the many questions that have been asked specifically about Crown and which cover the things you have asked about including the cost, expectations, length, penalties, or anything else regards it. The ONLY thing that was published was a very short sentence by Mark Wheeler on the social page site which stated that vendor contract costs are not given out or divulged.

I have an e-mail from one of the staunchest, long time members of APBA and also one who has spent thousands of his own money (as have others) to promote the sport. This person states that one of his life long friends, who has also been a BOD member in the past, cannot tell him the answer to questions about Crown. Whether the person means the friend cannot or will not he did not clarify, only that no answer was forthcoming. SAD, SAD, SAD.


Regards your question about the "little guy" and his votes:

It is very difficult to change anything within the operation and hierarchy of APBA by membership vote. Only about 20-25% of the members bother to send in ballots each year for any of the things that are on the ballot, including voting for the people that run the organization.

Sad but true (about the vote) so I guess you could say, as in any political situation, the members of APBA get just the representation they deserve. Unfortunately, most of the members that have the opportunity to vote on these people or measures, just want to race and possess the little card that will allow them to do that. Consequently few of the total membership except as mentioned take actual interest in voting for officers and issues that would actually change the way the organization is run, or the folks that run it. The "runners" know that, and keep a group voting for them that also benefit from their election. If that sounds harsh, it is a fact, and has been that way since I wrote my first check to APBA for membership in 1968. If you doubt my word, just look at the folks names that have run the various racing commissions, and other governing boards/committees over the years. Very few changes except over time, and by the time does change, the directions those committees have taken over the years tends to stay the same, become entrenched, and become very difficult to change the longer it stays that way. I will leave it to you to decide if you think those directions have been proper, based on the state of APBA racing in the US today.

Not saying I or anyone else could have done better, just trying to answer your question to the best of my ability after having observed the process and result since 1968, and also participated in some of those discussions/decisions myself as a member of some of those groups.

Regards the decisions by the USTS BOD:

The statement on USTS website is very clear about the reasons for the way they plan to go in the future. Only time will tell if APBA will understand that continuing to operate in the manner they have does not endear them to the racing clubs that pay the money for sanctions and insurance, and the members that continue to send the checks for membership. This way of operation is not conducive to long lived loyalty, and the folks that have criticized USTS for the recent actions taken should realize this.

As was stated in an earlier post, this might open some eyes in APBA, but based on the past 45 years I have witnessed, I would not bet on it.

[Al Peffley]

I just want to race PRO Hydros and Go Fast!

As an APBA and AOF PRO class driver for over a decade now I still enjoy racing the PRO hydros at different PRO racing venues around the west and midwest. Why are some of you "occasional" PRO class drivers on the west coast getting so "pissy" about this USTS/NBRA sanctioning partnership? It's all about membership exclusivity, entry fee money, and competing weekend race dates, isn't it?

I don't care what boat race venues are sponsored by whomever as long as I can race my PRO hydro and have fun. I joined APBA PRO category this year and paid my $185 membership fee for 125/250ccH PRO classes. I will also pay the NBRA and USTS fees (did any of you ever notice that you also paid a USTS fee at the Depue Nats?). So what! The membership fees are nothing compared to race season operational costs (especially tow vehicle and lodging costs) per race event.

I look at this new boat racing partnership as an opportunity for me to pick and choose more boat races to drive my equipment in, and to enjoy a weekend race with some folks who have a common passion for PRO hydro racing. The launching and on-site repairs help at USTS and past AOF/SLORA races has been outstanding. I also enjoy racing with my dear friends at CORA and SOA in PRO heats sanctioned by APBA. I really like my Rossi motors. I hope Giuseppi and Rex can continue to support GRM equipment; without them I would not enjoy PRO racing.

I think majority of the APBA boat racing insurance fee increases are not due to outboard racing accidents, but primarily to inboard racing liabilities and risks. Why else would an insuring company expect "Jersey barrier" style barriers in front of spectator bleachers (yes, some of the parks we race at have formal seating setups for the occasional spectator that is not a retired driver or related to an active racer.) I have been a Risk Manager for a NW boat race sanction in both APBA and AOF. The APBA insurance company rules and stipulations I received in 2010 did not appear to differentiate between an inboard or outboard boat racing event.

I spent my time on my knees with stock and mod classes and had a lot of fun doing it. The west coast APBA local club races are usually centered around an ever-expanding list of stock and mod classes that dominate the weekend race schedule. USTS specializes in the classes I will run in 2013. I want more heats and less long days of racing, but I can live in both worlds for now. The economy sucks, so the mixed opportunities for receiving tow money at sponsored professional races mixed with a few local APBA-sanctioned, "weekend warrior" races sound good to me. I've heard all of these promises about expanding PRO classes in Region 10 before - I'll believe it when I see more than 350ccH PRO class promoted, sponsored, and supported on the west coast. I have spent too much time getting reliable local business sponsors and my personal financial resources on my PRO equipment not to optimize my investment with only local race venue opportunities. Unlike some PRO racers, I do not own a business to help fund my racing operations.

Thank you USTS and NBRA for giving me some new boat racing location options (I thought Trout Creek was really a blast to attend in 2011.) I can't see the personal finances available to attend the USTS east coast races, but I am interested in possibly attending a future USTS race in the midwest. I would love to drive in a UIM O-125 or O-250 race sometime, but I'm too fat to be competitive against those skinny, young European drivers! (LOL)

Cheers,
Al