The Backyard – Don’t Flay Your Local Race Director, Please

Greetings all- Happy Friday and welcome to The Backyard!

Outdoor racing season is upon much of the US, with many of the cold winter climate regions having just kicked off or about to kick off their Spring/Summer seasons.

It’s a time for excitement as many racers are knocking the dust off their racing vehicles, finalizing new builds, and getting the spare part inventory built up for what will hopefully be a fun and successful season.

This is also the time of year when folks on message boards seem to be at peak temperature when discussing their “opinions” on what should or shouldn’t be allowed in regards to class rules. It seems like some people can be quiet all year, and then when it’s about time for the first event to go down, some lose their crap when it comes to rules.

I was a race director for around a decade, and I have to say- not doing it anymore feels particularly wonderful. Racers of all types, and I say this a racer myself, are babies. We all are to varying degrees- just admit it!

It’s very much a sliding scale though. It’s one thing to be miffed about a rule change and try and voice your opinion the right way, in person or over the phone. Or, if it must be done online, via a private message or something. Lighting up someone on a message board publicly is the absolute quickest way to make a mess of almost any situation.

And speaking for myself here as a former race director, nothing drove me crazier than being run up the flagpole online. That kind of thing is what ultimately burned me out from helping to run races, and it also soured me pretty badly on r/c in general.

Thankfully, after a few months of recharging, I got my hobby mojo back….but NOT the race/event director thing. That is better left to people who aren’t me.

So this is a long winded PSA- as you are preparing to race this season, whether it’s buggies, cars, or boats….don’t be a jerk to the folks who are running the races. Yeah, there may be some stuff you don’t necessarily agree with, and it’s fine to let them know, even….but just be smart about it. Running r/c races can be a thankless job, so be kind!

That’s it for me this week! Until next time, keep it on all 4’s.