Camaro5 FEST III Autocross Sponsored by Pedders USA

[Dr Jkel]

UHHHH HMMMMMM.

I was a dedicated VOLUNTEER So take my words with a grain of salt.

Before I start I will say that alot of the frustrations, opinions and ideas have already been discussed and changes are being made.

Was it sorta unorganized? Uh Yeah....Did the timer not work sometimes...Uh Yeah..... Were things perfect...Uh No.

I volunteereed to help because someone backed out last minute and MY FEST was spent
in the hot sun with no lunch...JUST FOR CAMARO 5 MEMBERS........ I am not complaining one bit but what I am saying is that we made some mistakes but we learned from them and we will get better.

We suggested some things to Pete that are being incoporated for future events and it will be much better.

Some of the responsibility was not our fault...and were unforeseen issues. We stayed Thursday NIGHT until the kicked us out working on the course, setting things up and trying our best.

I think I was more upset about the wait than the drivers Friday morning but we did get it going.

I honestly think that the suggestion we made and from listening to you guys will make the next Auto X better, nore organized...more runs and more fun...BUT you must do your part.

Even though I simply volunteered I felt bad because of some of the delays and will work extremely hard to fix those issues before the next time.. I am reading all these comments and taking notes.

Just remember though when we HAVE to have volunteers to work the corners...don't be shy.......Step right up........You would be very surprised at how many people said they would help but backed out....

Oh well I guess we could have called the whole thing off.LOL.

Someone stated earlier about people offering to help and not many did but there were a few who did. I know the ones from Atlanta who did because I know them...the others I did not get there names cause we were trying to get things going.

Unfortunately Auto X at Camaro Fests do not have dedicated personnel from the host track like the drag racing folks do and we have to organize, set up and run it ourselves.

I talked to almost every driver and even with the delays and such each told me they had a good time, that they enjoyed it and look forward to doing it again...so to me it was worth it from the V-6, SS and ZL1 crowds they all seemed to have a good time.

Norm and I discussed alot of things over the weekend along with Pete and you can put it in the BANK that the next Auto X that were are involved with at Camaro Fest will knock your socks off....Just remember you will have to do your part...registration, working the corners etc.....


Pete, Rob, Mike, Danny, Dan, Bruce, Joe, Melanie, Maria ( Norm's wife), Jordan ( My son), Norm and I spent many hours trying to make this a success and it will only get better with time.

Pete- Thanks for putting this on! Norm- Thanks for spending almost a year trying to organize, register and run this...In my opinion you did awesome...To all the other dedicated staff....You guys were a blast.

To all the drivers thanks for your patience and I really hope you enjoyed your time.

[Stingraye]

Ya I was upset about only getting 3 runs in too, but I know they were working hard and trying to get things going, and there was a lot of confusion. My first learner run was a 40.4, then I had my 38.0 then my final run was a 38.1, which was a better run but I goofed in 1 spot, which had I not I should have ran a mid 37 but didn't get another try after that. Oh well it was a lot of fun, hopefully next year we'll learn from the mistakes and maybe have a longer course too. :-) Thanks again to all the guys and gals that made it possible!

[Bad70supreme]

Have you done auto X before? You had some good times then... any suspension work? Hell you ran at the top of the pack, I checked my times and I had like the 15th fastest time in the hole pack, and 5th in the group... I pretty pleased with that! That was the funest thing I have ever done in my car, time for some suspension work

[Stingraye]

I've done 2 autox's before but that's it. Fully stock suspension and tires, just an alignment and a k&n Cai. I wasn't sure how my times stacked up against the rest of the group or vs other stock ss as I never saw any posted times. I was happy with how I did I just knew I could've still knocked a lil more off.

[garcmol]

I'm trying to get more up

Danny


Cones gettin' some love

[SilverIceman]

Visited the Autocross on Friday around 2:30, looked like a real test of patience for that. Obviously Pete and the volunteers put in some long days in some hot, humid weather trying to get everybody some runs. Probably not easy to do as a once a year improvised setup. Congrats to all them for trying so hard.


Really enjoyed the two laps with Danny.

[KILLER74Z28]

After the last session of the day Pete gave the mods a private track session. All I have to say is WHAT A BLAST!!!. This was the first time I had ever Autox so Rob took me for two hot laps in the Impala and then a slow lap instructing me where to do what at what time. First lap in my stock suspension SS 44.8. After all the coaching from Rob my last lap was 38.6. I'm definitely hooked for sure...

[Info@PeddersUSA.com]

me over her shoulder freaking out when she "cut and paste"

LMAO

or when the timers started deleting numbers when she had walked away, lol

[GTAHVIT]

The truth is, when you work as hard as we do to pull off an event like this, you aren't always going to be as nice as possible.

Everyone, participants, staff and volunteers need to try and do their best to accommodate each other. And work together so we can have the best experience.

If our attendees expect the Fest to be a fluid well oiled machine that works flawlessly, this is not the event for you.

it is a social event with some semi-formal "racing" staffed by volunteers who are new at this.

I've talked to some people who regularly attend national level SCCA AC event's... they run 50-80 cars over two days with staff that have 5+ years of experience running multiple events a year...

We've done this 3 times. Actually twice... Fest I was completely handled by the SCCA. Fest II was "supported" by the local SCCA and Fest III was completely supported by Pedders and Camaro5. The only constant between Fest II and III was Pete, Dan and Rob. I think nearly everyone else had never run an event like this before. The timing equip was new and only tested but never actually used in an event so the learning curve was steep. Add to that over half the participants had not preregistered, and wanted to register at the track. And we had over 150 cars.... 3 times as many as we had at Fest II...

Please factor all that in when you hand out your criticism. As a paying participant we want to hear your concerns. But please consider what they were trying to accomplish before you "throttle" our volunteers.

Keep in mind - They'd all rather be out there having fun. But they give that up to try their best to help the participants have the best experience possible.

[SilverIceman]

Sorry about those comments. Like I said, a long, hot day for all of you over there.

[GTAHVIT]

Originally Posted by SilverIceman

Sorry about those comments. Like I said, a long, hot day for all of you over there.

we will absolutely try and get better.

[Info@PeddersUSA.com]

it's all good, maybe next fest i can get through it with out getting my picture taken holding a European man bag.

[TLSTWIN]

Originally Posted by Stingraye

I've done 2 autox's before but that's it. Fully stock suspension and tires, just an alignment and a k&n Cai. I wasn't sure how my times stacked up against the rest of the group or vs other stock ss as I never saw any posted times. I was happy with how I did I just knew I could've still knocked a lil more off.

My best lap was the friday evening "after hours" with Pete as my co-pilot... 36.9. the rest of them were in the 37.8 to 40.2

[Smkymts]

Originally Posted by Mr Twisty

The auto-x was run by the members, for the members... did you happen to ask someone, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Two ways you can handle it........ complain............... or ask, "How can we make it better next year?"

I volunteered, and I showed up both days at 7:15. The gates were locked to all but vendors and when I said I wS C5 volunteer staff, they said I had to wait for c5 personal. There was NO tent or set destination for C5 personal so I had to hunt some done but no one knew anything but volunteers. I was told both days that no one was needed. He'll I volunteered 8 months ago when the call went out for help. I sent emails to 5 different C5 organizers. Still my assistance went un- used. This was my first Fest, I had some fun, I understand the size if this event takes a lot of organization and it was good, but it could have been a he'll of a lot better if we opened up to other members for help and used them. I mean I am retired and have the time to help. I built Tao separate multi-million dollar businesses, I think I could have handled anything asked if me. Dont know if I will be back. I had fun, even won my divisional race, but I left disappointed. Maybe I just built it up two much in my mind, but I do see room for improvement!