With any sport or experience, there are always some who have no problems spouting off their thoughts no matter how good or bad. More often we hear about the negatives and equally as often those who do the talking are not the ones who do anything to fix it. Some racers in the RC community spout off negatives without thinking about the consequences. Who their words effect. To those that do, have you ever thought about what the effects of your words are? We’ve seen an increase in negativity towards tracks and we’ve talked about it before here: That Track Sucks Public rants are often very harmful to a business, it can turn people away from going or even trying a venue. It hurts the business owner and they may struggle to keep their operation open. Was the experience that flared a rant really worth it? Really? This is a serious topic that needs to be discussed in the open.
Our friend and contributing kit builder/ test driver Kyle Rhodes did just that. Kyle is one of the Northeast’s most respected racers and is also, along with Lester Bastenbeck, one of the professionals behind Wolcott Hobby and Raceway who’s two facilities are among the best in New England. These guys work tirelessly to make their venue the best experience for racers, but for some, all that work is not enough and chatter behind track owners backs appears to be on the rise. Kyle, who is always PC, has had enough and went to Facebook to lay it all down.
We’ve copy and pasted his observations from Facebook so you can see what he has to say. Please note this is a true copy and paste and some colorful language is used. But Kyles views need to be read, thought about and feel free to discuss it in the comments below.
For the past several seasons I have been watching the RC Racing scene decline in the Northeast. Primarily in 1/8th scale. Raceturnouts continue to get smaller from race to race while the complaints increase. No one is ever satisfied. This region is the biggest joke out there. Its home to the most complainers, whiners, and laziest I have ever seen. Its truly sad to see what has happened. The last time I check this was 1/8th scale off road. Dirt, rocks, changing conditions; something that takes some effort to drive. The second the track is absolutely perfect you all start your bitching and moaning while you sit in your pit area or better yet pack up and run home. Did you forget the track conditions are the same for everyone? Learn how to set your car up, adjust your driving, try to actually better yourselves instead of making another bullshit excuse and blame it on the track. Oh thats right it hard to look in the mirror and realize you are the reason you lost today. So many think they are gods in this hobby and if there isn’t a large turnout its not worth their time. I’m sorry you are just to good to race. There is only a select few I have seen go out of there way to help with track changes and repairs. Personally the last few years its been Lester Bastenbeck and myself doing this at Wolcott by ourselves, and this season I did the last 2 changes myself. Track owners are disgusted in the racing community. Rohan Grant works his ass off to make his track race ready for every event. The Novarossi Challange was affected by weather and changing track conditions and people couldn’t handle it on practice day so they packed up tucked their tales between there legs and went home. Others manned up accepted the track and conditions for what they were and raced on. Kudos to them. The NY classic didn’t have enough to even race, KONE at Madness had a few heats, NESS this past weekend had just enough to race. While you expect the tracks to magically be perfect it takes time and effort. Why should the tracks bend over and work hard only to have little to no support on the weekend? None of you have a clue how much better todays tracks are even at there worst compared to how they use to be 10 years ago. As far as Wolcott Hobby people have the track will be closed next year. Guess what that ain’t happening. The track has been there for 16 years now. It will close and be gone when Lester says he’s done and I throw in the towel. Is that what you really want? One less track to race at. I’ve seen tracks come and go and as soon as its gone everyone wishes it was still there and wonder what happened. Well its simple look in the mirror. Where were you on race day? Did you support them and help try to make the facility any better? Keep complaining and see what happens to your local track. Thank you to the racers you came and RACED and helped this season especially the last few events. If this post offends you in anyway to bad, I could careless. I’m tired of sitting back and being “politically correct”. The truth hurts guys. If you have a problem with what I have said then delete me. #truthhurts #sorrynotsorry #crybabies
