West Coast $20xx Challenge?

I've recently relocated from FL to Wa and it has been as a whole a great more for me. The worst part of the relocation was having to sell my work in progress challenge car and miss out on this year's challenge.

Now with the $2016 minivan challenge on the way I am so anxious to compete. I've built fast minivans in the past and would love to show up this year with a killer dustbuster. I sat down, came up with a plan, and worked out a budget and realized that I could afford to build the van but simply cannot afford to physically get to the challenge. It would cost me more to transport the van to and from the event than it would to build it in the first place. Sadly, I'll be sitting this year out as well.

My question then is has there ever been talk of holding the challenge on the west coast, every other year? Perhaps at PIR or Kent Wa. Maybe get some different blood into the challenge?

Or am I just a whiner?

I threw this idea out a few years ago. The concensus was it would be to much trouble on the staff to organize it anywhere else. I think we could have a local hosting committe made up and put one on in various places around the country.

GRM did a west coast challenge and one car showed up.

This was also discussed recently after the last Challenge and the consensus was that the one event was so poorly run that the folks at GRM are severely gun-shy about doing any events that aren't under their control.

So the discussion turned to simply creating our own event along similar lines without official sanction and without any hope of Magazine coverage or trophies other than maybe someone handing you a beer afterward.

Hmmm, I wonder if I could talk my work into sponsoring a CLAP Challenge?

How about we throw a West Coast version a couple of months before the Florida event, and a portion of the entry fee goes to send the winner back East?

I nominate this site:

http://www.sfrscca.org/solo2/Sites/castle.html

I was thinking that in a way, we West Coasters already have a 200X challenge, and its called lemons racing; which was the product of fertile minds in Emeryville CA and first ran at Altamont Speedway, also known as the meeting place of the Rolling Stones and the Hels Angels.

As a Texan, the idea of a West Coast Challenge doesn't really help. The east and west coasts are both 20 hours from here, which means two solid days of driving/towing for the event. Not that i wouldn't do it again, but it's definitely a big reason why i haven't gone more than once. It increases the length of the event by ~60% for me.

I'm toying with organizing a "mini" challenge in the Portland area next year. We would likely piggyback off of an existing auto-x event, PIR Drag night, and maybe a cars and coffee event for the concourse.

bgkast wrote: I'm toying with organizing a "mini" challenge in the Portland area next year. We would likely piggyback off of an existing auto-x event, PIR Drag night, and maybe a cars and coffee event for the concourse.

That sounds like a really good way to do it.

bgkast wrote: I'm toying with organizing a "mini" challenge in the Portland area next year. We would likely piggyback off of an existing auto-x event, PIR Drag night, and maybe a cars and coffee event for the concourse.

Well I am always looking for excuses to visit my friends in Portland, and I do have a car just about ready to go...

Kreb wrote: I was thinking that in a way, we West Coasters already have a 200X challenge, and its called lemons racing; which was the product of fertile minds in Emeryville CA and first ran at Altamont Speedway, also known as the meeting place of the Rolling Stones and the Hels Angels.

Which was also an obvious attempt to jump on the success of the Grassroots Challenge.

If the West Coast wants a challenge, start with a cars and coffee and a drag strip night, see how many you can bring along then approach the staff with a proposal backed by numbers.

IMHO.

Their are a couple issues here: 1) when grm did it, the whole challenge car idea was still new.

2) the challenge idea has grown a lot out here and we now have lemons and chump, both of which they do in Washington.

3) the magazine needs better P.R. And exposure Out here in the northwest. I have to go to barns and noble to find it on a rack. They stopped carrying it at the airports, I just went through Portland and Seattle airports and looked.

4) how many members here have attended the 201x challenge? Or built a car? There are not many of us. Nearly everyone in this forum is from the east coast or mid west.

That's why we can't have nice things! Lol.

In reply to Trackmouse: The West Coast Challenge was not when the Challenge was new, it was $2011 IIRC.

Show the numbers then ask for GRM to spend a LOT of money and time. Some of us in the Midwest would support you if you get the locals into it.

Don't get me wrong I have always liked the idea, but the last time nothing happened beyond a huge time and money expenditure by the Magazine who are, after all, a business. So its up to you left coasters to show the support is there at the ground level.

Aussiesmg: I'm not appreciating your negativity. We all know what happened, and I'm partially culpable as someone who talked it up, yet failed to show. Nobody expects GRM to invest a bunch of time and money, especially now.

We are discussing options. The two that seem most likely are A: for something more local, like a Portland gathering to catch a bunch of people's imagination and grow into something big. And/or B: if someone like the Lemons organizers or NASA (Another born in Northern California organisation) decided to throw their not insignificant clout into it.

(Makes a bag of popcorn, sits on the couch waiting, watching, for drama to unfold)

If we do throw a west coast (or Texas, or Midwest) event, part of the deal should be $20 of each entry fee gets the participant a subscription to the mag.

You know, because the premise of the challenge is a good idea.

So, let's see...

The bloke from the lower half of the globe suggests a local gathering:

aussiesmg wrote: If the West Coast wants a challenge, start with a cars and coffee and a drag strip night, see how many you can bring along then approach the staff with a proposal backed by numbers.

...and then the adversary suggests a local gathering:

Kreb wrote: A: for something more local, like a Portland gathering to catch a bunch of people's imagination and grow into something big.

...but the Australian one is somehow being negative?

How's THAT working out for you??

Pretty sure he was offering constructive suggestions for you to get a foothold and catch the ear of the GRM staff again, since Nashco's previous private event was insufficient for so many.

Stefan (Not Bruce) wrote: So the discussion turned to simply creating our own event along similar lines without official sanction and without any hope of Magazine coverage or trophies other than maybe someone handing you a beer afterward.

I'm pretty sure the beer has a greater cash value than the plastic trophies.

Nobody said you can't have trophies. Tell you what- if 10 or more people show up I will buy the trophies.

And I doubt GRM would refuse to cover it in the magazine.

Git-R-Done.

In reply to Kreb:

I like your idea of part of the entry fee going to send the winner back East.

Why on earth would we use the meager proceeds of an event to benefit the winner of a different event? If there are any proceeds they should go to the winner of this event.

AClockworkGarage wrote: Why on earth would we use the meager proceeds of an event to benefit the winner of a different event? If there are any proceeds they should go to the winner of this event.

I think they are saying the proceeds of the west event go to the winner of the west event so that person can take their car to the Florida challenge.

I agree its a great idea.

Right.

The only participant of the former West Coast Challenge was a board member here known as Nashco. He and his car made it to the East event in Gainesville that year. It was one of the highlights, as far as I was concerned.

The West Coast event entry fees could help the winner defray costs to bring his car to the "Main Event" (at least until the West Coast event grows enough to be a "Main Event" unto itself).

My .02¢

1. I wish that we could have a NE or Mid-Atlantic regional challeng event. I know a lot of PA people make to the FL event regularly, but the combination of distance and date during the school year are making it impossible for me, and I wonder how many others as well.

2. As for a West coast challenge, I think that if the previous attempt were held in the PNW instead of Cali, the results would have been much better. I'm basing this assumption on the fact that there seems to be many more forum regulars from that area then the People's Republic of California. Also OR/WA seem to love older cars where as Cali, not so much.

3. I think that if an attempt were held in the PNW, it would have a better than fighting chance. Heck, even though I'm an East Coast guy, with enough advanced planning, a PNW challenge would be easier for me than the FL event because I have a lot of family in WA.

Robbie wrote:

AClockworkGarage wrote: Why on earth would we use the meager proceeds of an event to benefit the winner of a different event? If there are any proceeds they should go to the winner of this event.

I think they are saying the proceeds of the west event go to the winner of the west event so that person can take their car to the Florida challenge. I agree its a great idea.

He doesn't understand plain English very well, after when I gave him my ideas he called my comments negative. "Shrugs"