DC! 2012 Southeast National news

BarracodE
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BarracodE 11/8/2011 8:44am
11/8/2011 8:44am
MM is the best track in the country imo. Hookups and showers are a nice touch but the sand/clay mix, the layout and elevation make it worth every bit of the 11 hr drive for us here in Ohio. It feels like there's just as much parking up top as Redbud. Don't forget all the cleared land by the vintage track. I'm sure Tom could find some more parking given the opportunity. Close to the highway with two different exits that can be used.
Bill_Carroll
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Bill_Carroll 11/8/2011 9:29am
11/8/2011 9:29am
DC wrote:
The place outside of Atlanta is not a motocross track yet and may never be. Same goes for Tallahassee. And we are still looking in the...
The place outside of Atlanta is not a motocross track yet and may never be. Same goes for Tallahassee. And we are still looking in the Carolinas too. A lot of things go into this, including all of the parking for about 40 semis, and being close to civilization, and getting all of the permits and so on and so forth.

That said, there's lots of interesting places down there, but more to look at and sort through.

DC
MX Sports
Don't we give Atlanta a shipment of stolen property once a year already?
Screw Atlanta that place can burn down.

Whats wrong with revitalizing a track that is already there like Kenworthy's?
clem
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clem 11/8/2011 10:22am
11/8/2011 10:22am
I rode Monster Mountain a few years back, It was a very cool track. you would definitley be staying at least 25min away which isn't bad. Spectating is good, about on par with Swan MX in Tyler. I'd vote for it anyday over Freestone. Barber does have a killer facility, went there for the vintage fest this year. They could handle the traffic well and it wouldn't seem crowded. I think they had over 51,000 people at the vintage fest but we never felt crammed. It's like some have said, they need to decide if that's what they want to do because if they do it like the road race course it would def. be killer. I can't see why they wouldn't go for it, it's TV coverage for your facility, driving school and museum!
Yamaha92
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Yamaha92 11/8/2011 12:46pm
11/8/2011 12:46pm
DC wrote:
The place outside of Atlanta is not a motocross track yet and may never be. Same goes for Tallahassee. And we are still looking in the...
The place outside of Atlanta is not a motocross track yet and may never be. Same goes for Tallahassee. And we are still looking in the Carolinas too. A lot of things go into this, including all of the parking for about 40 semis, and being close to civilization, and getting all of the permits and so on and so forth.

That said, there's lots of interesting places down there, but more to look at and sort through.

DC
MX Sports
Bill_Carroll wrote:
Don't we give Atlanta a shipment of stolen property once a year already? Screw Atlanta that place can burn down. Whats wrong with revitalizing a track...
Don't we give Atlanta a shipment of stolen property once a year already?
Screw Atlanta that place can burn down.

Whats wrong with revitalizing a track that is already there like Kenworthy's?
Although it is a good idea to revitalize and oldy to bring in guys for historical, (I was there when I was a kid) kinda thing........Kenworthys had about 4 inches of elevatiion change and better dirt for making pots, bowls and plates than for putting knobbies through.

Good luck to all the tracks looking at this opportunity.

The Shop

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MXVet261
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MXVet261 11/8/2011 2:37pm
11/8/2011 2:37pm
I've raced or ridden at Red Bud, Spring Creek in Millville, High Point, Steel City, Kenworthy's, Baja, Gatorback, Glen Helen, Pala, Mammoth Mountain, Muddy Creek, plus a ton of other tracks and I will say that Monster Mountain is one of the best places I've ever been to. Put the National there!
Motomaniac45
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Motomaniac45 11/8/2011 8:48pm
11/8/2011 8:48pm Edited Date/Time 11/8/2011 8:49pm
kiwisonfire wrote:
@BtheD19 and @ jmclennan41, You guys both bring up a really good point that I overlooked about Auburn. I attended every home game last season and...
@BtheD19 and @ jmclennan41,

You guys both bring up a really good point that I overlooked about Auburn. I attended every home game last season and can vouch for the size of the crowds that that little tiny town can handle. Easily 100,000+. Someone brought up a good point earlier in this thread about Aonia and/or Durhamtown being able to use the students from Athens (UGA) as potential "new" spectators as Athens is only about 20 minutes away. If the national was to be held at Monster Mountain and the right combination of marketing and hype was portrayed to the students at Auburn, this could draw MASSIVE crowds. I'm sure both of you have been to Auburn Rodeo - those people will find any excuse to drink a beer!

Tom - if you don't already have a BYOB policy you should implement it. We have all been to Nationals, and although I'm a hardcore fan and am there for the racing, we can't overlook the fact that probably about HALF the people at a national are there to party. The difference in the "party scene" greatly depends on the alchohol policy/ and camping availability. Going from Milliville (which doesnt allow BYOCool to Budds Creek (which does allow BYOB and free camping) is like NIGHT and DAY difference.

My point? Bring the national to Monster Mountain, hire some student to advertise all over Auburn, add in some competitions for the spectators (like a 4 wheeler mud bog or 4x4 tug of war), allow the people to bring their own 30 packs of NATTY LIGHT (insert southern accent here) and watch your facility FILL UP Tom!
Trying to get an Auburn student party crowd is a great idea, but the national would likely be during the middle of the summer, when school is out of session. To college students that have probably not been to a national before, they arent going to drive to Tallassee, AL for a race.

*By the way, my profile pic is me jumping a step up at the Monster!
kiwisonfire
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kiwisonfire 11/8/2011 9:02pm
11/8/2011 9:02pm
Motomaniac, I agree with your point, but it's also crazy not to advertise the race locally, there are still a significant number of people who stay and work during the summer. This race doesn't even need to be advertised to motoheads around the southeast, but to get that last 25% of people local advertising is the key.
clmartin22
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clmartin22 11/9/2011 5:39am
11/9/2011 5:39am
Motomaniac45 wrote:
Trying to get an Auburn student party crowd is a great idea, but the national would likely be during the middle of the summer, when school...
Trying to get an Auburn student party crowd is a great idea, but the national would likely be during the middle of the summer, when school is out of session. To college students that have probably not been to a national before, they arent going to drive to Tallassee, AL for a race.

*By the way, my profile pic is me jumping a step up at the Monster!
Most everybody is going to summer school now anyhow. There will be plenty of people that would come regardless of the college students. It would definitely be a party. If you have ever been to Talladega you know what I mean but most of those people come for the party not the race.
kiwisonfire
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kiwisonfire 11/9/2011 2:27pm
11/9/2011 2:27pm
I think that the general consensus is Monster Mountain, now the question is, which national should they get rid of to add MM??
Tom at Monster 11/10/2011 4:38am
11/10/2011 4:38am Edited Date/Time 11/10/2011 4:40am
Re the potential population for a race at Monster Mountain, both Auburn and the University of Alabama are potential sources of fans, when you throw in Troy (about 90 minutes), Auburn - Montgomery, Troy - Montgomery, ASU, Tuskegee and UAB in Birmingham there is a HUGE pool of college students to market to. But there is another fan base we've over-looked. Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia is the home of the Army Rangers and the Army's Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC for those of us with military backgrounds). When I was in the Air Force (retired Senior Master Sergeant) I was always looking for the local tracks to ride. While stationed in Belgium, I practiced at Lommel on the weekends that we weren't going to GPs.

We already have a number of riders from Fort Benning and Montgomery's Maxwell Air Force Base and Gunter Annex. Maxwell - Gunter has over 7,000 active duty and DOD civilians. I would venture the population at Fort Benning is closer to 20,000 at any given time. Add to that all the motocross and off-road racing community from Louisiana to South Carolina and from Florida to Michigan (yes we get riders from Ohio and Michigan - we keep them separated if they're football fans, lol) and you have the potential, I think for the biggest national of the year - by far.

Monster Mountain was one of the most popular tracks east of Freestone long before we bought it. That long-standing fan/rider loyalty, I think, would translate into a lot of support for this race.

No matter where it is, the South's next national will be well attended. The potential for astronomical numbers at Monster Mountain is there.

As I said in a previous post, there are alot of great facilities in the south - some with great tracks and some with potential to build great tracks. We're proud to be part of the discussion and want to be part of the national series.

Our goal now is to show Davey what many of you have already seen - and commented on - that Monster Mountain has the potential to be one of the best ever national tracks. I have believed that since the first time I laid eyes on it. My son's first race on a 65 was at Monster - he was scared to death. There must have been over 100 65's in staging. He was sitting next to PJ Larsen (who was missing one of his front teeth at the time). My daughter won the Women's class in the Alabama State Championship series twice with wins at Monster and raced a support class at the Women's National they had at Monster.

Our family and all our friends have a world of great memories here - that's true for literally thousands of motocross families. There's alot of great history at this track - with alot more to be made.

There other day, my wife, son and I were watching re-runs of Inside the Outdoors and I thought, this time next year we could be watching reruns from Monster Mountain.... Wouldn't that be sweet. Don't know what I'd say to Erin Bates - she never accepted my friend request.....
Tom at Monster 11/10/2011 4:51am
11/10/2011 4:51am
Haven't been to Monster and want to make a judgment for yourself?

We are open this weekend for practice and all next week to accomodate training for those headed to the Mini-Os. Wanna see what a national would look like at Monster? Check it out next week. We're gonna do a full prep Sunday, then let it get rutted and rough during the week to get our Mini-Os bound riders ready. We'll be watering, spot-prepping, and fixing jump faces. It will look it does during our winter traininng sessions - it will be filled with some sweet ruts and breaking bumps. Ruts is racin'.

Cheers,

Tom B.
DC
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DC 11/10/2011 5:38am
11/10/2011 5:38am
Tom, thanks for the info and all. I look forward to seeing your place after Thanksgiving. We have a lot of options right now, and we want to make the right choice. Coming to see it first hand is a step in the right direction. Wish I had more time to have already been down.... It's been a much more complicated process than I anticipated because so many good tracks and facilities are racing their hands and want to be included for consideration.

DC
MX Sports
Tom at Monster 11/10/2011 5:56am
11/10/2011 5:56am
DC wrote:
Tom, thanks for the info and all. I look forward to seeing your place after Thanksgiving. We have a lot of options right now, and we...
Tom, thanks for the info and all. I look forward to seeing your place after Thanksgiving. We have a lot of options right now, and we want to make the right choice. Coming to see it first hand is a step in the right direction. Wish I had more time to have already been down.... It's been a much more complicated process than I anticipated because so many good tracks and facilities are racing their hands and want to be included for consideration.

DC
MX Sports
Thanks Davey. Couldn't agree more that there are many good tracks in the South and we're confident that whatever decision you make, it will be the right one. We're just proud to be among the facilities getting looked at. See you in a couple weeks.

Tom
DC
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DC 11/10/2011 6:07am
11/10/2011 6:07am
Just please don't lynch me if we can't get it down for 2012. Lots of other things going on that need some immediate attention, and this is a bigger decision and process than I can explain right here. It will happen down there soon, and maybe even twice, but time is not on my side right now....

DC
MX Sports
lumpy790
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lumpy790 11/10/2011 6:10am
11/10/2011 6:10am
DC wrote:
Tom, thanks for the info and all. I look forward to seeing your place after Thanksgiving. We have a lot of options right now, and we...
Tom, thanks for the info and all. I look forward to seeing your place after Thanksgiving. We have a lot of options right now, and we want to make the right choice. Coming to see it first hand is a step in the right direction. Wish I had more time to have already been down.... It's been a much more complicated process than I anticipated because so many good tracks and facilities are racing their hands and want to be included for consideration.

DC
MX Sports
With no final track decision can we assume there will not be a new location on next years schedule? Sad
DC
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DC 11/10/2011 7:17am
11/10/2011 7:17am Edited Date/Time 11/10/2011 7:21am
There is still lots to do and see, Lumpy. We're not rushing into this. The goal is next year; the reality may be different.

But I think Tom and I need to take this off-line now. Thanks for all of the input on the tracks down south.

And not sure who said Barber is out. I assure you guy they are fully engaged in the process and the discussions.


DC
MX Sports
nickdog454
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nickdog454 11/10/2011 7:27am
11/10/2011 7:27am
Monster Mountain has to be at the top of the list. The facility is just amazing. I have been going there during the winter since 2008 and there is no place like it. Ive ridden numerous national tracks as well as many tracks throughout the midwest and southeast and Monster is just as good as any of them. The hospitality of Monster Mountain is just unbelievable. Tom does such a great job with the track and is always trying to make a riders experience the best that it can be. I guess thats just classic southern hospitality. Plus, with a great layout and some of the best dirt around he doesn't have to try very hard to please the riders.
Drfletcher
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Drfletcher 11/10/2011 12:40pm
11/10/2011 12:40pm
I think its BS that the SE doesn't have a national. Yet you could throw a blanket on about 5 of them in the northeast. Get this thing done it will be the most heavily attended national ever!!!

Pit Row

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sixonezero 11/10/2011 2:15pm
11/10/2011 2:15pm
DC wrote:
I was at two places in Macon on Tuesday -- Paradise Park and the small track at the end of the drag strip where Vurb did...
I was at two places in Macon on Tuesday -- Paradise Park and the small track at the end of the drag strip where Vurb did their deal recently. On Wednesday I was out at Durhamtown. It's an interesting place to say the least but I think it's a bit off the beaten path for a pro national, though I would love to just go ride there for a couple of days. But there is another spot outside of Atlanta to the east that looks promising...

In a couple of weeks I am headed back down to Monster Mountain, as well as Barber (fifth time) and then down near Tallahassee. A lot of people are looking, gang, but the right track and the right facility and the right interest in having a motocross track of that size have yet to all come together.

Small bonus: Athens, GA, is my new favorite college town besides the one I live in!

DC
MX Sports
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