[This column was originally published as part of a series written by John P. M. Dillon for another publication, and is reprinted here with permission, because of its relevance to the Runoffs -- rpw]
[The issues wiith respect to Buttonwillow in this article have long since been resolved; the article appears here because of the Runoffs, and not because of Buttonwillow -- rpw]
For the last two months I've written about the Runoffs and whether or not the venue should change periodically. The drivers have generally agreed that they'd like to see it move around between sites every three years. I also shared some alternatives to the present format offered by some drivers.
This month I'll wrap it up and go on to a topic more immediate to this readership's western orientation.
Since my last column, I've received a copy of __SportsCar__, the SCCA magazine. Marge Binks, Chairman of the Board of Directors, stated in her column that the board has accepted the bid from Mid-Ohio for another three years of Runoffs at that facility.
I personally love Mid-Ohio. It's a gorgeous course, challenging yet fairly forgiving, and well suited to weeding out the also-rans from the national champions. It's the kind of track that rewards the pilot who can listen to his car and respond accordingly. Mastering Mid-Ohio requires finesse at the wheel and talent in the cockpit, not just beans under the hood. Indeed, there was one driver who said "Mid-Ohio is a real driver's course--that's why we should move the Runoffs back to Road Atlanta."
Despite all the positive qualities of Mid-Ohio, however, we need to be careful to avoid getting into the Runoffs Rut and get stuck at one facility for another quarter century.
As someone who presently lives in California, I'm biased in favoring a more local track that could host an event of the magnitude we've already described. Unfortunately, quality tracks capable of meeting all the criteria we've put forth are in extremely short supply. Both Laguna Seca and Sears Point are gorgeous tracks and would likely meet the weather criterion, but neither has sufficient paddock space and infrastructure to handle the crowds.
In southern California, Willow Springs would be the only candidate, but its facilities, especially its communications system, is unequal to the task. Further, it provides few amenities for large crowds; the "House of Charmin" would be overflowing in half a day!
However, as you've read elsewhere in this magazine, there's a new race track now in operation, which just happens to lie between California's two major population centers. Its name is Buttonwillow Raceway Park (BuRP), and it's a track that already has the makings of a legend.
First off, let's be clear; the Buttonwillow course has only just opened, so there are a lot things that need to develop over the next three years. It's current design is that of a club racing facility. This means that it's admirably set up for club racers, but the spectator facilities, most notably grandstands, are largely absent. Further, other features are still lacking and will no doubt be added in the near future, including access roads for emergency vehicles, structures for timing and scoring, the press, and race control, landscaping, and so on.
Given that Mid-Ohio has secured another three year contract, Buttonwillow has, however, the potential of being the next site for the Runoffs. Here's why: the weather is more favorable in October than in most parts of the country. The track is long enough (3 miles) to support the biggest fields the SCCA can muster. There are multiple configurations, so one pattern could be reserved strictly for the Runoffs--no club races there all year--thus minimizing the home track advantage. There are a reasonable amount of hotel rooms and restaurants within a 30 minute range, though the number isn't yet huge.
For competitors, the track is extremely accessible. Tow vehicles can stay on interstate highways the whole way, as opposed to the lovely but twisty back roads that take you to Road Atlanta and Mid-Ohio. There is a decent base of workers in the area, from the San Francisco Region in the north, the Cal Club and San Diego Regions in the south, and even a few from the Las Vegas Region to the east and Hawaii Region to the west. This core, along with the throngs of volunteers from across the country, would make manning the course a snap.
Having said all that, there are things that Cal Club, who owns 60% of Cal Club Properties, had best remember if they are to host successful club races over the next few years. In short:
__Don't throw away your old friends in hopes of making new ones.__
The initial Buttonwillow event has been described as a "soft" opening by Cal Club Properties, and officially listed as a non-SCCA event. It was apparently no coincidence, however, that this event was scheduled in direct conflict with the final SPRCS race of the season, held at Holtville and hosted by the San Diego Region. SPaRCS is the "Southern Pacific Regional Championship Series," a series that encourages drivers from the entire SoPac division to compete for a divisional- level title. Cal Club is the largest region of the SoPac division.
The timing of this soft opening could not have been worse, and on the surface the choice of dates looks like a spiteful response to an earlier divisional disagreement that Cal Club "lost."
In September or October, when it became clear that Buttonwillow would be ready for racing soon, Cal Club approached the other regions about moving its annual enduro from Willow Springs to Buttonwillow, __and__ changing the event to a regional points race. (All the racing regions in a division must agree to a schedule change for it to happen.)
Ignore for the moment that the track hadn't been certified by the SCCA (the paperwork hadn't even been submitted!) and the lead times for certification are long--the other regions expressed concern about what it would do to entries at the Holtville race. Given two events spaced only a week apart, which would __rried that most drivers would opt for new and smooth over fun and funky. Since the December race is the one that carries the San Diego financially for the season, they feared a serious loss of revenue.
When Cal Club couldn't get its way and host an inaugural Buttonwillow regional over Thanksgiving weekend, it appears that Cal Club Properties stepped up and said "Fine; San Diego's worried about conflicts? We'll schedule an event on top of their weekend!"
The Buttonwillow opening, though a non-Cal Club event, was announced at the Cal Club board meeting; was managed by a member of the Cal Club board; used Cal Club emergency equipment including tow trucks and fire trucks; and had the board ask for Cal Club workers for support. True, the board said, "If you plan on going to Holtville, don't change your plans," but they still actively solicited workers for this non-club event.
There are several issues here. 1) A year ago Cal Club and the other SoPac loudly complained about "rogue workers" going off to support non-SCCA races that sometimes conflicted with SCCA races. (See my Stand column in the #### issue of MotoRacing.) It got to the point where some workers were made unwelcome, despite the fact that these same workers supported most of the events in the division, and in fact have some of the highest percentage of participation anywhere. By asking for Cal Club volunteers, the board placed themselves in the hypocritical position of encouraging workers to support a conflicting event, after objecting vociferously less than a year before about such conflicts.
2) Though this was carefully worded as a non-Cal Club event, nonetheless Cal Club loaned the use of all its equipment, including flags and rolling stock, to CCP for the Buttonwillow opening. Considering this to be a precedent, I asked the Cal Club board to borrow one tow truck and one fire truck for a Porsche club race the following weekend. A couple of board members didn't see a problem, but others were less enamored of the idea. Said one, "we're not in the equipment rental business." When I pointed out they were giving use of the equipment to Buttonwillow for a non-SCCA race, I was told "that's a different story--we own 60% of the track."
Eventually I was told "the entire board has to decide," so I received a promise from Andy Porterfield, Regional Executive, that he'd query the board and get back to me prior to my PCA event. I never heard another word.
3) Since there was a divisional points championship to be decided at Holtville, the Buttonwillow event cheated many drivers out of a chance to attend the inaugural BuRP sessions. Those drivers had no choice but to race with SDR if they wished to secure a championship.
Nor were only the drivers cheated; plenty of workers, including the author, wished they could head to Buttonwillow. Many of us had contributed to the track fund, had been involved in the flag station design, had supported the July open house, and even "marketed" the track to other organizations via phone and internet. We would have dearly loved to be present for the opening, soft or otherwise, but we are committed to our club--the SCCA as a whole--and thus chose to help out the racers who were supporting the San Diego Region.
4) Speaking of cash donations, other workers wondered why they didn't receive an invitation to the opening despite their contributions. Was their money not good enough since they didn't drive a race car?
Granted, Cal Club Properties has an obligation to its creditors to start paying off the track loan as quickly as possible. However, Cal Club, through CCP, must almost remember to be good neighbors as well as good business partners. As we'll see in a moment, this could actually improve the finanacial situation for CCP.
This inaugural event could have been delayed __just one week__ and the divisional conflict would have been significantly reduced. Instead of running against the concluding divisional championship races of the season, they would have raced against a drivers school and one-day regional at Firebird near Phoenix.
Joanne Jensen, RE for the Arizona Region, indicated that her region would still object to that conflict, but she also admitted that the number of entries impacted would have been significantly reduced. Far fewer California drivers would tow to Arizona for a one-day race than would tow to Holtville to clinch a title, thus leaving them free to go to the BuRP introduction.
This would have helped Buttonwillow too--they would have enjoyed more entries, thus bringing in more income, and they would have had more workers on hand to provide additional safety.
The San Diego Region has helped Cal Club with their racing program for many years. Look out at the corners and you'll see that a quarter of the flaggers are SDR members; look in the tower and try to find a Cal Club steward--only a couple of active names come to mind. What about the emergency crew? Most of them are SDR supporters. Even the scoring team is frequently spotted at Holtville.
Clearly, with the support that SDR provides to Cal Club, Cal Club should try to nurture that relationship instead of taking on an adversarial role. True, Cal Club will likely add to its membership with new friends from the Bakersfield area, but isn't it prudent to save your old friends while adding new ones? Can Cal Club afford to lose more supporters in the interim before new members come on line?
Having stated my case, and recognizing that the opening is now history, what can and should be done? First, a public apology to the San Diego Region and the SoPac division would be a start. Second, care must be taken to avoid such heavy-handed conflicts in the future. And third, Cal Club should become more understanding of the divisional nature of our club and be willing to support the division instead of opposing it.
I'm not asking the CSCC board to bow down and kow tow to the divisional structure; I __am__ asking for the region to work in a spirit of cooperation instead of a spirit of "we're the biggest and we used to dominate the division in the Riverside days." Riverside is closed, folks, and even though Buttonwillow has the potential to be a better facility than Riverside ever was, the complexion of racing has changed and the board had best recognize it. Let's work __with__ our neighbors. As my friend Van Williams once wrote: "Does the politics make the cars go any faster?"
__In conclusion, I've got to stress that I firmly believe in Buttonwillow.__ As stated early on, this track has the makings of legends, and can be Cal Club's salvation. In a few short years it will have sufficient stature and infrastructure that it would serve as an ideal host for the Runoffs. I hope Cal Club and the rest of the division can work together to bring this noble goal to fruition.
This report is Copyright 1995 John P. M. Dillon, and is used with permission. All rights reserved.
Runoffs News and Results / Richard Welty / Krusty Motorsports / rwelty@krusty-motorsports.com