state qualifier at redhills bmx

[Scott Mckay]

I should have been more clear. The two types of people are those that want it and those that don't. I remember when Red Hills first mentioned their schedule and were working on the requirements to have a State Race, that at that time everybody on this forum were all for it. I've always assumed we were going to have 4 qualifiers and feel like I was never misled otherwise.

Now that Dan has cleared up the answer it makes more sense to me. If we had 5 or 6 tracks in the state there would still only be 3 keepers and 2 to 3 throw aways. I still think the best riders have the best chance at completing there goals.

See you all at Red Hills soon.

[joker75]

[quote="Scott Mckay"]I still think the best riders have the best chance at completing there goals.quote]


So what you are trying to say is that I don't stand a chance no matter how many throw aways they give me.

J/K Scott. I totally understand what you are getting at.

On another note, I'll take any chance I can to gain experience and try to better myself as a racer. I had a blast at Redhills last weekend, and hope to get back there soon. I also realized at the SCQ at Rad last week and at Redhills last weekend that I have a lot of areas that I need to improve before I feel I can be truely competetive in the 28+ Novice class, so adding another chance to get state points may or may not help me out.

I also have to agree with Brent. It's not life or death, it's riding your bike and having a good time with people that you hopefully enjoy spending your free time with. If you don't then you are more than welcome to find another sandbox to play in.

[REDHILLSBMX]

The ABA has put an official post on there website about or SQ Race. Log onto www.ABABMX.com for info! Thanks for all your comments. We hope everyone will support our race!

[Diesel]

Ok, here we go!

Maybe I missed something on here but I really haven’t seen anything that could be construed as negative about Redhills BMX. Concerns about scheduling and what have you yes, but I don’t think anyone has a problem with them opening that new track. Including me! I really think it’s great to have a new track in Utah that will benefit many and as some know, we are working on opening another one up here in the Ogden area. Redhills opened their track for the same two basic reasons we want a northern Utah track. 1. Grow the sport of BMX, and 2. So we don’t have to drive so far to practice and race! Nuff said about that.

Now that we’ve cleared up the “having to go” vs “not having to go” issue this year, it helps those of us who are less focused on the local scene choose if we want to go down there or not. Next year we will know going in what we’re up against and can plan accordingly. Who knows, if our tentative plans to go to PA fall through, the Pattersons may show up there on 14 August.

Now on to something everyone should maybe consider, and that is the condition of the track for the race. Right up front, I am not passing judgement on the Redhills track cause I’ve not been there to see for myself. My deal here is based on a few “horror stories” from the past and pray hopefully this will not be the case with Redhills. You must know that I know Redhills will be way better than what I’m about to say. I’m just saying!

Raise your hand if you had to race an SCQ at East Carbon or Manti. If you did, you know where I’m going. Going to East Carbon was an eye opening experience to say the least. They didn’t have many races down there and only a few local racers at best. No one really to work and prep the track or ride it to keep it packed. This resulted in a track of questionable design to start with that had only one packed line leading from gate 5 all the way around. The rest was a sand pile! A serious racer of any age should not have to go ride a race that he/she must win to have a shot at being champion under those conditions. 3 years we had to do this and pay out over a hundy just to sign up! It was a complete joke! Manti was no way as bad as East Carbon, but they had similar problems because of the dirt they had to build the track would not pack down no matter what you did to it. The track design itself wasn’t bad, but the dirt sucked! The Lowery’s put a lot of time, effort, and money into their track for all the right reasons, but it was in Manti! There was basically no one down there to help or support them to make it work. Track closed. I think it would be impossible to stay motivated to run a track with only like 5 motos a race paying out of pocket nearly every time with nothing left over to make improvements, i.e. get better dirt.

Granted Richfield is a bigger town than Manti and surely they will be able to build a decent local rider base that will keep them running in the green. Hopefully the dirt they used will pack in and the turns are such that they’ll hold real speed. Anyone who watched Mr. King win 19-27x the other night should know what real speed looks like. Real speed is what it will take to beat Mr. King! Hopefully that is what we’ll see when we go down there. Everyone should know the younger novice/inter riders and the parents thereof will not have a problem. Anything over say 10x and the track design/condition starts to come into play! This is where I’m coming from.

I have always thought that tracks by rule should be held to a certain standard before they are awarded an SCQ. Both Rad tracks are certainly up to that standard already. Tooele I think makes the program as well, especially with the new track layout. Even though there were a bunch of folks that didn’t like the design, the last Ogden track was up to that standard. Nobody was blowing up in the turns because of track conditions. The old Battle Bay track barely made it. East Carbon never had a prayer and unfortunately Manti, though it had the potential to, didn’t because of the above mentioned dirt and lack of support. The NBL track down south I understand would make it based on what I’ve been told.

I promise everyone of you that the new track coming in Ogden will meet this standard or we won’t have a state race until it does if I have my say. The stakes are just to high for the racers in my opinion to have anything less! State Championships are a big deal!!! We take it very seriously over here!

Good luck with your Redhills track Rodger and Michelle! You have taken on probably the second most thankless jobs in existance. Second only to being a Republican sitting in the Oval Office!

Diesel

[bnd]

Wow, is this really Dan Patterson?
Very well written Dan, props!

I last raced E. Carbon at the SCQ in 98' right after the Harmons built it. It was in great condition at the time & I had one of my greatest wins there. I take it it went downhill from there.

Battle Bay BMX was flat out dangerous the last 2 years of its existence, good riddence.

Virgin BMX is awesome.
Deseret Peak is awesome.

I like your thinking when you talk about the Ogden track, I only hope it's built for the majority of the ridership & not the minority, dig?


b.

[Scott Mckay]

Where is the like button?

Well said Dan and your right, no one really said anything negative towards Red Hills that I remember either it just seemed to go that direction.

Good history from someone thats been there and done that.

[b2]

yup. good stuff. good stuff from some people with a lot of experience in this sport. I want to see Red Hills THRIVE! They have a good track. I think it could be great! Rodger did a good job. I will race there again. No negativity from me.

[REDHILLSBMX]

WE HOPE THIS ISSUE CAN BE DONE NOW! WE WOULD REALLY LIKE IT TO BE. THE COMMENTS WERE NOT ALL ON HERE THAT WERE CONCERING TO US, IT WAS SOME PHONE CALLS AND E-MAILS THAT BOTHERED US. IT WAS REALLY HARD TO TAKE THOSE NEGATIVE COMMENTS WHEN WE HAVE WORKED SO HARD TO GET WHERE WE ARE TODAY. WE THOUGHT BUILDING THE TRACK WOULD BE THE HARDEST PART, BUT IT CLEARLY WAS THE EASIEST. WE KNOW WE CANT PLEASE EVERYONE, BUT WE WANT IT TO BE A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE AT OUR TRACK AND HOPE THIS DOESNT PUSH ANYONE AWAY.AND ARE VERY EXCITED FOR IT TO CONTINUE GROWING.WE HAVE HAD 3 SUCCESSFUL RACES AND HOPEFULLY MANY MORE TO COME. WE HAVE SIGNED UP 68 NEW RIDERS SINCE WE HAVE OPENED. THIS HAS BE A VERY POSITIVE THING TO BRING TO OUR COMMUNITY. WE HAVE HAD GREAT SUPPORT. THERE WAS ALWAYS A TENATIVE SQ RACE FOR REDHILLS. WE JUST HAD TO PROVE WE COULD DO IT. OUR RIDERS HERE ARE SO EXCITED FOR THIS RACE. WE ARE TRYING TO BUILD OUR RIDER COUNT, AND WE KNOW THAT THIS RACE WILL HELP. WE WANT TO DO WHAT IS BEST FOR OUR TRACK. WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO MAKE SURE THAT THE TRACK IS READY, BUT WE HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE, AND THIS IS OUR START. WE CAN ONLY IMPROVE AND LEARN FROM HERE. WE HOPE YOU ALL UNDERSTAND. THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR SUPPORT, AND HOPE YOU ALL LIKE THE TRACK AND HAVE FUN WHILE YOU ARE HERE..
THE BRAZELL'S

[Diesel]

Sounds to me you guys are well on your way! 68 new riders with more to come is great. Hope they enjoy it and will stick with it! It would be cool to talk with you guys sometime this weekend. Maybe I could help clear up a few things.

BTW, you've held more races than Tooele has this year. What do you think about that? Isn't that interesting.

I'd say Great Job so far! It's all good!

Suggest turning off the "caps lock"

Diesel

[JasonStout]

b.

Thanks for remembering we're down here!

Props on the new track!

JS