Apparently we're not terribly friendly

steve remchak · **Posted:** Tue Dec 10, 2013 11:48 pm

Donnie Barnes wrote:

JamesShort wrote:

Yes, we've heard this feedback a few times over the years (everyone was really mean to Remchak apparently

).

I'd just like to point out in that specific case, well, we were right. We just weren't quite mean enough. :lol:

(I kid, I kid!)

--Donnie

Miss you too Honey............. :kisses:

I've stated my case and it would seem that things are different these days. I applaud the effort put forth by the younger / newer officers. But just to be clear.............. not all of the disenchanted folks are showing up with the Ricer Maximus and a massive ego. But, I do believe there is a certain amount of that going on here.

Ricer Maximus has to be outgrown. In the case of the LKQ guy... I'd be suprised if he fell into that category since he still feels the need to bring it up in conversation. That isn't a typical huge-ego response IMO.

And just to be clear, one of the more redeeming experiences of my first autoX involved meeting Mitch and Emmett. But that was a BMW thing........

Meeting VK that same weekend was................ interesting............ :lol:

JerryMaloney · **Posted:** Fri Dec 13, 2013 1:39 pm

So as most of you know, I started this season as a brand new Novice with no prior Auto X experience. I wanted to share my thoughts about the first event I attended (Fayetteville - event 4 or something).

If you remember way back to when you were brand new, you may recall that your first event is very daunting. I was completely confused about what I should be doing, where I needed to go, or what the day would hold. The folks around me were very busy preparing their cars. There was a moment when I wondered if this was really the right place for me. I was lucky enough to meet Rob Lupella pretty quickly since he broke his jack and borrowed mine. After a minute or two he must have determined I was new because I was so clueless. At that point I had access to all of the assistance I needed and found the entire experience to go really well.

My point is that without already knowing somebody that takes you under their wing and gets you started, it really is a lot to take in. The folks around you are all very busy getting ready for their day and may seem unfriendly simply because they are busy. A way around this could be some set-up to let novices know who the novice coordinators are when they register and have them check in with them upon arriving, and include a quick link the Novice tips on our webpage (I found this after my first event).

All in all, I found my experience with the club to be very positive and I have told several other folks about us. Hopefully more positive experiences like mine will change any perceived negative thoughts about the club.

RickyBeam · **Posted:** Fri Dec 13, 2013 5:48 pm

JerryMaloney wrote:

So as most of you know, I started this season as a brand new Novice...

So what was your take on your first few HPDE's with the club? If I'm remembering correctly, that was at CMP. (I was driving in Green group, to not inflict the novices on Kraig again... 3 groups, 3 drivers; somebody had to.) I didn't get any impression that anyone was lost in the first classroom sessions.

Brett_Murphy · **Joined:** Thu Jan 12, 2012 2:02 pm **Posts:** 355

I emailed David ("The LKQ Guy") and told him to bring his truck to a rallycross. I figure if he passes tech and we can't break it there he can run it in autocross without any issues. I really hope he shows up, I want to see what this thing can do- apparently there are a lot of 510 parts on the truck.

Brett_Murphy · **Joined:** Thu Jan 12, 2012 2:02 pm **Posts:** 355

I emailed David ("The LKQ Guy") and told him to bring his truck to a rallycross. I figure if he passes tech and we can't break it there he can run it in autocross without any issues. I really hope he shows up, I want to see what this thing can do- apparently there are a lot of 510 parts on the truck.

Turner Oppy · **Posted:** Thu Dec 19, 2013 1:10 am

I can't agree enough with Jerry, our reigning Novice Champ's, experience. My 1st AX with THSCC was several years ago, and was very intimidating, mostly due to the overwhelming amount of things all going on at once. I should also note that it was a year and a half before I came back for Novice School. I did find some more veteran guys, that helped me navigate certain aspects of the day, but that mostly just kept me from getting myself killed. I had participated in a couple AXs with the Hurricane PCA guys, but they are mostly "waxers" and are just looking to squeal their tires a little. They are great people, but the AXs they host are non-competitive, and only have ~20 drivers. Which is why I was so shell shocked when I showed up to a THSCC event that had over 100 drivers. I didn't register as a novice in that very 1st event, btw. I knew that I wasn't an old hat, but I had SOME experience and I couldn't find a clear "definition" of Novice class.

Ultimately I think the club does a good job directing novices to help and "friendly" veterans. We could do more, but there is definitely a degree of responsibility on the novices to seek help, ask questions, stick with it, and have thicker skin. I like Rodney's idea of putting some type of visual indicator on novices, so we can be more outgoing towards them. Another suggestion is to put a stipulation on participants, that you are automatically in the Novice class if it is your 1st event with THSCC. It would also be good to note that "unless you have competed for at least one full season" you should consider yourself a novice. I know it took me 4-5 events before I really had a good grasp of how we do things. I also got a bit lost when we went down to Cherry Point, when those guys didn't run the event the same way we do.

Just my 2 cents.

JerryMaloney · **Posted:** Thu Dec 19, 2013 11:01 am

RickyBeam wrote:

JerryMaloney wrote:

So as most of you know, I started this season as a brand new Novice...

So what was your take on your first few HPDE's with the club? If I'm remembering correctly, that was at CMP. (I was driving in Green group, to not inflict the novices on Kraig again... 3 groups, 3 drivers; somebody had to.) I didn't get any impression that anyone was lost in the first classroom sessions.

I was at all three HPDEs with the club this year and had a very positive exerience there as well. I asked some questions from the folks paddocked around me and they instantly helped me figure out what I needed to do. I very quickly met Patrice who gave me some insight. The classroom session really helped prepare a total newbie. I had read the pre-course information which was also a great help. This year I have also attended several other HPDEs with different clubs and have found that ours is leaps and bounds above the others when it comes to classroom preperation and the green run group in general. Richard Anderson does a fantastic job in the class. I have actually told a few people that are thinking of coming out that I recommend they start with THSCC so that they will have a better first experience.

From the experience of a new novice, we are the best novice program around for HPDE!

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Thu Dec 19, 2013 11:14 am

JerryMaloney wrote:

I was at all three HPDEs with the club this year and had a very positive exerience there as well. I asked some questions from the folks paddocked around me and they instantly helped me figure out what I needed to do. I very quickly met Patrice who gave me some insight. The classroom session really helped prepare a total newbie. I had read the pre-course information which was also a great help. This year I have also attended several other HPDEs with different clubs and have found that ours is leaps and bounds above the others when it comes to classroom preperation and the green run group in general. Richard Anderson does a fantastic job in the class. I have actually told a few people that are thinking of coming out that I recommend they start with THSCC so that they will have a better first experience.

From the experience of a new novice, we are the best novice program around for HPDE!

Thanks Jerry! I'm one of our HPDE instructors as well as a member of the staff and we are very glad to hear you had a positive experience with our program. Lots of time and effort by a lot of people goes into these events so it's nice to hear we are doing something right.

We hope to see you out with us again in 2014!

Jason Tower · **Joined:** Wed Jun 11, 2008 3:31 pm **Posts:** 1173

JerryMaloney wrote:

RickyBeam wrote:

JerryMaloney wrote:

So as most of you know, I started this season as a brand new Novice...

So what was your take on your first few HPDE's with the club? If I'm remembering correctly, that was at CMP. (I was driving in Green group, to not inflict the novices on Kraig again... 3 groups, 3 drivers; somebody had to.) I didn't get any impression that anyone was lost in the first classroom sessions.

I was at all three HPDEs with the club this year and had a very positive exerience there as well. I asked some questions from the folks paddocked around me and they instantly helped me figure out what I needed to do. I very quickly met Patrice who gave me some insight. The classroom session really helped prepare a total newbie. I had read the pre-course information which was also a great help. This year I have also attended several other HPDEs with different clubs and have found that ours is leaps and bounds above the others when it comes to classroom preperation and the green run group in general. Richard Anderson does a fantastic job in the class. I have actually told a few people that are thinking of coming out that I recommend they start with THSCC so that they will have a better first experience.

From the experience of a new novice, we are the best novice program around for HPDE!

out of curiosity, which other clubs did you run with?

JamesMilko · **Posted:** Thu Dec 19, 2013 11:49 am

I think a big part of making HPDEs easier is the volume of information you get before the event. It might be worth looking into making some kind of novice guide that gets sent out to everyone registered to novice (and maybe the first time someone registers to a THSCC event even if they aren't novice) that gives information on the day, what to do, what to expect. Even a packet at registration might be helpful.

Also the day is so, so, so much more laid back at HPDEs than it is at autocross that you have a bunch more time for socializing. Lots of people arrive on Friday night so car prep is done before Saturday morning. Other people show up with their car on a trailer and car prep is washing the windshield and giving the tire pressures one last check. Then you have a defined schedule for the entire day so you know when you can just wander around aimlessly and not have to worry about keeping track of where the event is.

steve remchak · **Posted:** Thu Dec 19, 2013 12:08 pm

JamesMilko wrote:

I think a big part of making HPDEs easier is the volume of information you get before the event. It might be worth looking into making some kind of novice guide that gets sent out to everyone registered to novice (and maybe the first time someone registers to a THSCC event even if they aren't novice) that gives information on the day, what to do, what to expect. Even a packet at registration might be helpful.

Also the day is so, so, so much more laid back at HPDEs than it is at autocross that you have a bunch more time for socializing. Lots of people arrive on Friday night so car prep is done before Saturday morning. Other people show up with their car on a trailer and car prep is washing the windshield and giving the tire pressures one last check. Then you have a defined schedule for the entire day so you know when you can just wander around aimlessly and not have to worry about keeping track of where the event is.

So what you are saying then James is comparitively speaking.............. AutoX sux? :lol:

JerryMaloney · **Posted:** Thu Dec 19, 2013 6:44 pm

[/quote]
out of curiosity, which other clubs did you run with?[/quote]

I also ran with NASA, TrackDaze, Chin Motorsports, and Asphalt Ventures this year.

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Fri Dec 20, 2013 11:00 am

JamesMilko wrote:

I think a big part of making HPDEs easier is the volume of information you get before the event. It might be worth looking into making some kind of novice guide that gets sent out to everyone registered to novice (and maybe the first time someone registers to a THSCC event even if they aren't novice) that gives information on the day, what to do, what to expect. Even a packet at registration might be helpful.

I think that is a great idea. I read this yesterday and was thinking this morning that a great thing could be for us to produce a video and host it on YouTube. Basically it would be a novice guide to your first THSCC autocross. If I was doing it, I wouldn't try to cover every single detail, but I would hit the high points...

* Car prep prior to event (air in tires, check your oil, remove extra crap, etc.)
* Signing the waver
* Typical event layout (parking, grid, bus, course)
* Checking in it at the bus
* Car tech
* Novice meeting
* Drivers meeting
* Walking the course
* Work assignments
* How the grid works
* Riding with an experienced driver, and having them ride with you.
* Focus on being safe, having fun and not putting too much pressure on yourself.

It could be shot at an event and illustrate an entire day from start to finish. You could also directly address some of the things first timers notice (and generate negative perceptions) such as the hectic pace and potential standoffish nature of people who are focused on getting stuff done (changing tires, course walking while mentally focusing, etc.)

If you wanted, you could even go as far as illustrating how to be a good course worker (or in my opinion make that a separate video). The course working video could focus on stuff like...

* Understanding why you need to work.
* Be proactive and get familiar with the part of the course you are working (i.e. when a cone gets knocked out of it's box, actually knowing where to put it back).
* How to call in car numbers (watch the car approach, make a mental note of class and number "before" they hit a cone)
* Cone and DNF rules
* How to stay safe (watch/be aware of cars, don't sit down)
* Be prepared (hat, water, etc.)

I could see videos greatly helping the job of the work the novice coordinators do on site at the event. And of course the same thing can apply to rallycross and HDPE

Richard

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Fri Dec 20, 2013 11:25 am

Richard Casto wrote:

I read this yesterday and was thinking this morning that a great thing could be for us to produce a video and host it on YouTube. Basically it would be a novice guide to your first THSCC autocross.

Can some please do this using XTRANORMAL!? I'm LOL right now just thinking about a THSCC Autocross version of this classic! :lol:

JamesShort · **Posted:** Fri Dec 20, 2013 11:50 am

Loving the idea, we'll do it early this year.

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