Economics & Racing Beyond Our Means

[gmonde]

you know its funny every one seams to know a person or a friend who is way over there head (spends or think they can spend a ton of money on there love of the hobby ,when in reality they cant afford to pay attention) i have a freind of mine who is building an altered,nice piece he builds chassis on the side,very talented builder,knows what he's doing,but thats where it ends,he has to have top of the line stuff,carbon fiber this ,billet aluminum that, he was proud to show me a set of rear brakes that cost $1200.00 cool parts but its a shame that the car he is building will never see the track,if he would of did some cutting back on the high price stuff mite have a car ready to go,,,moral of the story

dont go top fuel racing on a slot car budget gmonde

[Nitro Joe Jackson]

I know what your all saying, back when i was doing alot of announcing i always looked at what kind of jobs some racers have and then looked at their rigs and thought to myself, man they have good bankers, i see so many borrowed up to there neck in $$$$ that they will never see the sunny side again.

How some do it is beyond me.

[Rich Biebel]

I've been a budget racer since the beginning and that was in the '60's. I consider myself to be extremely lucky...I have been a nat'l record holder...raced many cars and classes. Won races from a nat'l event to a division event and some bracket races. I sold my stocker in order to go back to local racing. I put togetjer a dragster and spent a lot of money...todays prices are very high for everything. I just returned form a day/nite at my local track, It's less than a 1/2 hour from home, Made 6 runs to get my license back for S/C and ET. My car is paid for. My trailer is paid for. My tow tuck is 12 years old and works fine....and is paid for. I had lots of fun with my old friends and I have many. I enjoy myself wherever I go racing and I don't need to win a Wally ( I have them already) every time I race. Race within your budget and stick to it. Once upon a time I thought a person could come out ahead in racing......that is not true except maybe for a very tiny minorty of racers...racing and staying in the black on the ledger is not happening......have fun race within your budget.....that's what I do and have always done......Wallys get dusty and mine sit right next to my bowling trophys......and my Dale Earnhardt and NY Yankees collection of stuff.......they are all good to me and some cost way to much money to get.......the drag racing stuff is at the top of the "spent too much money to get" list......

[Gary Smith]

Time to spill some beans. I did my acts of "credit stupidity" with my first race car, and learned a valuable lesson, thankfully, when there was opportunity to turn it around. Lately I can't get out of my head the stories told by mine and my wife's grandparents about the great depression and how they saved every resouce they could to survive.

Originally Posted by Jeff Lee

Last I heard, the oil company's were operating on the same profit margins as any other successful business in the USA, around 8% - 10%. If you want to lower the gross profits of the oil companies, stop buying petroleum based products.

Originally Posted by Steve Polhill

And yet i just heard this morning that one of the big oil companies made a record 44 BILLION DOLLARS LAST YEAR!!! Yes thats right $44 BILLION with a "B" and just gave the CEO a raise to 22 million a year.. I wonder when we will get to the point where enough is just enough and they just can't get anymore blood from this stone..

Jeff, I've heard different numbers, depending on who says it, and what side of the money table they're sitting on. Steve, I'll vouch for your info.

I had the unfortunate experience to live in Fairfield County CT. between 1981 - 1985. I say this with conviction since it was the most miserable 5 years of my life, having to survive on the outside of the most vulgar of high society hippocrites in this country. The town I lived in was home to Raleigh Warner, then chairman of Mobil, and his slimy-marry-into-wealth son in law Percy Pyne. Raleigh was a cold blooded businessman, understanding the future of oil and how it would drive this country to incomprehensive dependency. He didn't care about humanity, only how much wealth it would generate for himself, and his legacy. Percy cashed out (the last I checked) and became a "real estate barron" in NYC. These kind of people have so much capital behind them they can afford to buy the media and shield the truth from our unsuspecting nation.

This truth is becoming increasingly difficult to shelter almost daily each time those numbers on gas station signs increase by ludicrous increments. What's more vulgar is listening to many of those so-called "expert" Wall Street mouthpieces (CNBC, CNN, Bloomberg) try to sidestep this truth, explaining how "oil will not have an impact on our economy, and will continue to be stable"??????????? WTF does that mean? How stupid do these idiots think American consumers really are? When pockets are empty, game over...period. Only now add in the housing and subprime "bubble" markets, although a separate crisis', but ultimately the price gouging from oil business actually burst the bubble. Otherwise we'd be watching rapid double digit inflation take off like a rocket, making the Carter era look like child's play.

Enter hurricaine season 2004. I saw this train coming after we were hit by two storms then another in 2005, witnessing "For Sale" signs pop up on lawns in droves. Nonetheless until we as a nation change our habits on how we spend, what we listen to or watch, and understand who and what we're voting for, I fear the big storm is yet to hit, and the death of drag racing will be the least of our worries. But I pray I'm wrong.

[Rich Biebel]

Gary if you want an economics lesson....Maybe you watched the recent PBS show...John Adams......Yes, it was a very differnet time but take a look at how France's rulers were dealt with...If enough people say enough already from the super rich and the beaurocrats..."heads can roll" they did in France in the French Revolution.....The one thing that makes America great...we dump the leaders every 8 years or less in elections instead of chopping off their heads.......

[Dick Butler]

Good discussion. No one on this thread has mentioned the Cash in a Flash corner loan stores and their evil.Another example of something flying under the radar of the government and taking advantage of the less informed. As regards government and its responsibility seems most in government support more worrying about getting elected than doing what is BEST for the country. Unfortunately many voters are going for something for nothing policies. If it takes a tax to pay for it the result is anything but cheap the loss of money in doing it the government way is extreme...waste or inefficiency.
Our racing will take the "hit" for many reasons and fuel prices to our businesses, sponsors, food stores and heating costs will be the cause. It wont need to be the towing costs. Personal overhead is going higher in many ways. At least the cost of health care is further off the front page today.

[cambria]

Some of us are still lucky enough to be able to race,but I personally am having a hard time justifying spending the money on inflated fuel prices.More than a dollar a gallon more just does not compute for me whether I have the money or not.On the other Hand I want to support the tracks and sanctioning bodies but I am afraid we are going to see a lot more local track racing for the average racer.
In this vein Ralph Galuzzi took over Lancaster Speedway(now Dunn Tire Raceway) and raised the pots to 1000.00 to win attracting more of those racers who normally went to all the divisionals but aren't now because of the cost.I heard there were only 22 stockers and a little more than a dozen Super Stockers at MIR,and poor sportsman turn outs at NHRA tracks as well. Looks like it is back to the home town stuff for a lot of people.

[gmonde]

just add a few things,i dont know what all of you in on this disscusion do for work or own for bussineses but,the company that i work for is a family owned transportation bus charter/international dealership and is a good place to work but a challenging job and expectations are high,we have a monthly budget goal for every month(like other companys) but in order to meet these goals all of the stars,suns,moons,have to be in perfect alingment to make this happen,there bussines partner (the bank)looks at this month to month, now here is the fun part,as i am brought in the the monthly interigation room with the first comment starting out as"our numbers suck this month",well you didnt have to tell me that i know the numbers suck"we cant run like this"and looking at the budget numbers its not a wonder why they dont meet monthly budget,over head is way over its no wonder we cant meet these numbers ,these numbers are based on the best economic times when you quoted a engine rebuild(in chassis rebuild) for $10,000,00 the normal responce was "i need it just do it" it was easy ,but now its more like ,"i send the wrecker over to get it " but how bad is it really ,the owner has more toys than you can shake a stick at,the owners kid who graduated high school gets a new hummer,(we will see that in the shop all smashed up i am sure) this company runs over a 1,000 pieces of equiptment and i am well aware of the cost of running a transportation bussiness is not cheap and of coarse fuel impacting bussines cost so are we crying wolf or is this the real deal just another day in paradise gmonde

[Gary Smith]

Originally Posted by Dick Butler

Good discussion. No one on this thread has mentioned the Cash in a Flash corner loan stores and their evil.Another example of something flying under the radar of the government and taking advantage of the less informed. As regards government and its responsibility seems most in government support more worrying about getting elected than doing what is BEST for the country. Unfortunately many voters are going for something for nothing policies. If it takes a tax to pay for it the result is anything but cheap the loss of money in doing it the government way is extreme...waste or inefficiency.
Our racing will take the "hit" for many reasons and fuel prices to our businesses, sponsors, food stores and heating costs will be the cause. It wont need to be the towing costs. Personal overhead is going higher in many ways. At least the cost of health care is further off the front page today.

Excellent point(s) Dick. I still value the simple, survival methods of my Southern roots (my dad's side of family) and the resourceful lessons that got me through some lean times. I could never comprehend the many complexities of accounting, but understood the importance of saving money, only stepping out of bounds a couple of instances. I can't help but have cynical thoughts in this present day of complex technology and legal jargon that separates the haves & have-nots it has created a great divide between the two. The results allow the highly educated "haves" to prey upon old fashioned hard working "have-nots" through influential thinking which ultimately separates them from their hard earned money. Only now we're seeing results in epidemic proportions.

Where I live there's great contrast in population between Northeastern "city slickers" and Southern "country folk". So it's no surprise to see many of these "cash-in-a-flash" sometimes next door to pawn shops. Our state (Florida) is also experiencing a health care system meltdown, possibly a result of similar circumstances. I mentioned (I think) a few years back about our local Yellow Pages having like 10 pages of doctors but over 30 for trial and injury lawyers, perhaps explaining why lawyers who prey upon the uninformed in greedy, tribal-ritualistic like ways. The influential push of instant gratification in today's society is like a drug habit to many, forcing good hearted honest people into bad fiscal prioritization. Sadly, I still hear stories like this amongst racers; those who've bought the best of everything, but can't feed their families, mortgaged the house sometimes 3 times over for that pusher-diesel coach, and forgo health insurance (and don't realize the devastation until it's too late).

Again, I don't want to sound off against anyone and really want this to be a non-agenda thread. But I know I'm not alone in my way of thinking or setting about this dream called Stock Eliminator. I have struggled against the odds trying to enter into this sport for MANY years, yearning for that elusive "Wally", a desire to set a record, and the respect of my peers, still waiting here in my 40s, and wondering if I'll ever get there. I?ve made many personal sacrifices that have allowed for small, simple, albeit progressive goals. But only because I didn't want to end up in the streets with my family to accomplish this dream.

[savoyracer]

Originally Posted by Julie Jordan

Chuck ~ Good post. From behind my desk (I'm a CPA) I see so many people who live way beyond their means. It's been going on for years and now it's catching up to these people. They've run out of the ability to refinance their homes to pay off credit cards, car loans, etc. and they have little to no savings. Yet, they still spend. It amazes me to no end. I had a couple come in the other day...in their early 30's, two kids. Last year they decided she should be a stay-at-home Mom so she quit her job. She withdrew her 401(k) funds and they put in a pool. He works in the construction industry so hasn't been working full-time for most of this year. Now they owe income tax (and early withdrawal penalty), have no money and are crying the blues. I don't know what they were thinking when they made the decisions they did!!

So many people are used to spending on credit, it somehow doesn't feel like they are spending real money. They buy now and worry about how they are going to pay for it later. Or they don't realize how much extra they pay when it's "only" costing them a $100 per month payment. It sure is different from how I was raised. My Dad only financed business equipment purchases and paid it off as soon as possible. If he couldn't pay cash for racecar stuff, trips, extras, it didn't happen. They drove used cars, my Mom cooked dinner virtually every night, they saved to put up for their retirement. Thankfully, I had a good example to follow. I think one of the most important things we can teach our children is fiscal responsibility.

As for my racing? I have an open trailer I tow with, my car could use a paint job, I don't have the trick parts and I only race 4-5 times a year. I have a son in law school and a daughter working towards her nursing degree. They are my priority. I won't jeopordize my family's finances for a racecar.

Perhaps a "home Economics" course in High School. Make it mandatory for the last two years. could take the place of any required French or Spanish language courses. WOW what a radical idea!