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That was so damn painful. What the hell was Bud even trying to say? There wasn't a complete coherent thought or sentence by Bud.
The Glen Helen land is worth way more to developers than to use as a track and Bud has the big bucks already so doesn't need a national. When he had enough and sells it will go the way of Saddleback and then you all will be really screwed in SoCal. 😒
Bud doesn't actually own the dirt that Glen Helen is on. The County does.
At least that's what I've always heard, maybe that's wrong. 🤷♀️
Yep, the video explains that they have a lease extension through 2037, I think. Could be off by a couple years, though.
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This is all explained in the DC podcast, and then corroborated by Lori in the Glen Helen podcast.
Pretty clear neither the AMA, or DMG wanted to work with 12 different track owners. Why would they, they would be locked in to those tracks forever and have way too many cooks in the kitchen.
The Glen Helen track itself isn't part of his wealth. He has (or at least had, not sure if he's sold them yet) lots of businesses that are not related to moto and would probably piss off most conservative fans. Not relevant to the issue of GH vs DC, though.
He got rich giving Abortions right?
He also owns Hospitality Dental as well and is a dentist.
i hear his tooth caps are the whitest in the world
When a lawyer says to you this is gonna take a lot of time, and to leave a check for a couple hundred thousand to get started. Then they say to you we’ll let you know when we’ve went thru the money, and we’ll need some more. You’d think twice whether it’s worth it.
I wonder why Bud and the NPG just did not make a more attractive bid when they were bidding. It sounds like they( DC/MX sports and NGP ) were talking about the bids they were putting in. He/NPG had to know what MX sports was offering. So why not make a better offer?
I am assuming that they had everybody who wanted to bid. Write up a proposal and make an offer money wise as well as some sort of plan for how they would run the races , etc. From what I remember seeing online about the deal back then, there was a deadline that everybody had .
After the bid process and DMG took over, they could do whatever they wanted to do as far as picking who they worked with. Bud and the NPG could have also tried to work other angles that they accuse Davey of. From everything that is public , DMG reached out to MX Sports. From the outside looking in I would rather pick MX sports to work with over Bud. But then on the other hand, sometimes the people who seem like Dicks are the most honest. I don't think that applies in this case though, it seems like a grudge to me.
I do hope that Bud and MX Sports are able to put the BS aside and make something work. But only if it is very close to the same deal other tracks get. Glen Helen is an amazing track to watch the best guys in the world ride on. But Its not good enough that it should get a special deal. Perhaps there are all areas that each track gets a better deal than the others in. And it evens out. I don't know. But From the sounds of it, they all have a deal that is very similar to each other.
um, no.
The county of San Bernadino owns the land Glen Helen is on and Feldcamp has a lease to operate the off road park. The county owns the youth prison down the road, as well as the Glen Helen pavillion, which is a concert center, and then there is a sheriff / fire department training dealio behind Glen Helen. The county owns all of it.
Davy's sister was acting as the Lawyer for the NPG at the time. So I can understand why Bud feels something sketchy happened. But everybody knew what was going on as far as her being his sister and MX sports also putting in a bid so its not like anything was being hidden. And the NPG should have had somebody else do the deal if they felt that way.
It seems like Bud has been the only one to speak out in a bad way about what happened. And the rest of the tracks are still working with DC. I imagine that there are at least a couple that could have lost a national and still done OK if they felt the need to do so.
They all knew MX Sports was putting in a bid also? I missed that, I thought that was Bud's biggest issue from that whole deal. I also didn't pick up that publicly MX Sports existed before that time?
They all knew MX Sports was putting in a bid also? I missed that, I thought that was Bud's biggest issue from that whole deal. I also didn't pick up that publicly MX Sports existed before that time?
Bud needs to get over the fact that he wasnt chosen by DMG to run a national/series. Whether DC/MXS was chosen to run the series through unethical means who knows?? Bud thinks it's all dodgy but won't make it clear when asked? So I'm guessing he doesn't ACTUALLY know, it's just a feeling/emotion/his ego? Is he right or wrong? Don't know, he can't give us a clear answer. He's so caught up on how the bid went down so now he's using the tickets as the linchpin? Like what?
If I was DMG I wouldn't want to deal with a person like that either. Let alone 11 other potential irrational track owners? And you wouldn't put the whole series in the hands of a irrational person like that. You need a rational/calm organisation who can operate a WHOLE SERIES. And as of now its MXS. Coombs said it pretty clearly on Gypsy when talking about the whole GH ordeal. He's running a series and series takes priority over GH.
Bud is the problem.
MXS didn’t put a bid in for the series, that part seems to be agreed upon. It is a little strange (and possibly conflict of interest) that they didn’t go to DMG as the NPG group to run the MX series for them instead it was MXS only that would run the series for them 🤔
If Bud ran moto you just know we'd still be using the term 'Lites'
Pit Row
Something I recall..
DMG made it clear that they absolutely DID NOT want to work with a promoter group. I was somewhat in the middle of the “2 worlds” back then…NASCAR (customer base) & Moto (another customer base and something I’ve loved since I was a kid).
From where I’m sitting and with what I remember…Davey saved our series from the Devil: Luongo.
But, I digress. I apologize for muddying these waters with my memories. Besides, you can’t trust me. I consider Davey a friend and a love riding and racing at The Glen…I’m a fan of both…so, obviously…I can’t be trusted…especially since “I don’t hate no-one”! 🤣
MX Sports has been running the GNCC's and Lorretta Lynn's for years before they started running the Nationals. According to their company Bio they have been in the biz for over 35 years as of 2020. And it must have been on Davey's interview that they talked about the NPG knowing ahead of time if it was not talked about on Bud's.
LINK TO MX sports COMPANY bio info used https://mxsports.com/company-bio
Davy talked about the bidding and said how they told everybody in the NPG that they( MX Sports) were also going to bid as a backup. Hoping that if the NPG's bid was not accepted that they had a second chance with MX sports placing a bid. I do not remember Bud or Lori saying that was not true in their interview.
I remember the first time I drove out to the Highpoint National. Passing by the Racer-X Office and seeing a sign for a company that was not Racer-X
Racer Productions . That was when I searched and found out that the guys behind Racer-X mag were into racing way deeper than I knew. I'm not sure of the exact company structure.
But MX Sports DID put in a bid when there was a bidding process.
It was AMA Pro racing that was the company that was the owner at the time and taking the bids. DMG won and bought all of the rights for Road, MX and flat track. Then gave MX Sports the chance to lease the rights to the MX series.
There was NOT a bidding process after DMG purchased the rights. DMG owns the rights and decided what to do.
People should just listen to both podcasts. I know its 6 or 7 hours to listen to both. But it really could clear a lot up.
This is a pretty accurate viewpoint of how it went down.
Every member of the NPG knew of, and approved (or did not speak up during the bidding process) that both MX Sports and the NPG were putting in bids. This is a fact. There was no back room last minute proposals. And it is has been said multiple times, DMG won the bid. Both MX Sports and the NPG were losers in the process.
As for some further background, it was largely believed within "the industry" that the outdoor nationals under NPG management were losing relevance in 2007/2008. Supercross had really gained some serious traction and the outdoor nationals appeared (in comparison) as outdated and failing to embrace many aspects of modern sporting events. Many stakeholders had concerns about the aging facilities and that certain track owners were resistant to change or invest in facilities (Note that this was also before many of the generational changes at the tracks happened, such Gene Richy leaving to Amy and Tim, Ward Robinson to Greg and Jill, Washougal from Ralph to Ryan and his family).
With that in mind, the AMA leadership at the time who was in charge of the RFP, a guy named Dennis Rhee (along with Rob Dingman) was verbally favoring the Youthstream bid. Youthstream were very polished Euro organization and were offering good money, and wanted a USA toe hold badly since MXGP had zero presence here, and since the USA is the largest dirt bike market in the world. Plus they had just promoted and delivered the largest outdoor race in America, the 2007 Des Nations.
So when the final bids came into the AMA, the NPG's came in already in a weaker position. And this was given that the series was already on thinnish ice with the OEM's, and under the existing NPG custodianship. It is also worth repeating that the NPG also had no formal business structure - it was set up to aid and support the tracks with best practice ideas, but was not set up to make commercial, for profit decisions, such as sell series sponsorship, negotiate TV packages, nor do things like make a series wide website, or create and define a unified series ticketing platform (all tracks sold their own tickets back them, some of them were cash only even in 2007!). There was no dedicated NPG office, there was not a single full time staff member, it was nothing but ~11 track owners, who sat in a room 1-2 times a year to talk about how they can improve and protect their events. So if they won, they would have to quickly put in place a ton of organizational protocols and hire a bunch of people. And this would have been a business that would have owned by 11 families - decision making would have been complicated, to say the least. The winning bidder had 8 months to get everything off the ground before the start of the 2009 series...and in an economy that was quickly turning the wrong direction.
It is also worth pointing out that Bud Feldcamp did not attend all of the NPG meetings - Lori usually did. Bud would usually only attend if they were held in So Cal and closer to his home. While I dont know his exact attendance over the years, it was maybe 50% or so. And it is not as though he even played a strong leadership role in that organization, he showed up when he wanted to, did his own thing and sometimes left the meetings early. Thus, Bud's grudge on this whole matter seems strange - its not as though he was pushing to be a leader at the NPG, or to run the new organization in the chance they won it. And, in all of this discussion and podcasts, Bud has said very little or nothing about the overall health of the series, he just seems to care about what happens at his track.
Not saying MX Sports is perfect - but had Youthstream (or the NPG) landed the series, there is no question that outdoor MX in the USA would look very, very different today. I doubt we would still have a RedBud or Washougal or Millville, and who knows if the OEM's would have stuck around with the big budgets. AMA Road Racing is a great example of what mistaken / misguided leadership can do to a racing series. That series took a massive blow when Edmonson ran off the OEM's in 2009-2012, and then he got run off himself. And now Wayne Rainey and his crew are doing a great job, but still struggling to make the series 1/2 of what it was in say, 2003 (who remembers 65,000 fans at Mid Ohio - I do!). So regardless of how Bud feels, the overall series is in a much, much better and healthier place.
And, (in my personal opinion) Glen Helen - that place is pretty run down and tired. Sure they have a great hill at the place, thats cool, but the rest of the place is just kinda beat. And way more so then virtually every other national track. There is an awful lot of peeling paint, broken fence lines, broken side walks, run down bathrooms, etc. And what do they do to invest in improving rider safety?
As an example, here is the photo of the finish line pipe in the first 450 moto that Bud wanted the riders to ride through at that 2018 national. This was the day of the big race. It is a piece of broken concrete that looks like it was last painted in 2001, and it is placed at one of the most prominent / prestigious point on the track (finish line). Or how about the VIP viewing area - there is a banged up broken section of concrete jersey barrier that is buried just in front of the area, and the cobblestone in the VIP area is loose and unkempt with broken pieces floating around.
Would the RedBud or Unadilla owners, or any of other promoters, allow this look to happen at the most prominent spot on the track? I doubt it. If Bud really wanted to make a difference, he could easily lead by example and have the nicest facility out there - and not just a nice uphill and downhill. By all means he has the financial resources to spruce the place up a bit and become a leader in safety innovation, etc. But the reality is that the Glen Helen of 2024 looks alot like the Glen Helen of 1999...not much has changed out there.
RedBud, Unadilla are what, 50+ years of hosting national races? Millville and Washougal are since when, 1983? All these races still work and as best as I can tell, none of those promoters are sour that the NPG didn't get rights to the series. Bud needs to get over it, do some painting and carpentry work, and make the 2024 vet world championships the best it can be.
Lori confirmed in the Glen Helen Podcast that DC called her and explained MXS making a back up bid.
I remember reading somewhere that Bud's net worth is north of $100m, he's not walking into Jacoby & Meyers for representation, he has lawyers on retainer.
I didnt hear NPG mentioned once during his interview. Got a timestamp?
Jacoby & Meyers, haven’t heard that name in a long time. Didn’t they used to advertise on tv like 20-30 years ago. Low budget hacks is what people used to call them. You were really scraping the bottom of the barrel if you called them.
Gypsy read a note from DC towards the beginning, then Lori confirmed DC did call her to explain that MXS was putting in a back up bid. MXNick explained it in more detail a few posts up.
I won't quote MXNick's long post above, but those were exactly my thoughts at my first OTHG race at GH: what a dump. It is a huge facility and it was clear to me (I'm a senior facilities manager at hyperscale data centers, 20+ years) that no-one had been spending much OPEX on maintenance. Broken concrete all over, few working power outlets, water pipes leaking, fences and paint in disrepair. It's not easy nor cheap to run any large-scale environment, and it takes a ton of self-discipline, attention to detail, and frankly, $$$$$$, to do it right. GH needs to step up their maintenance ands safety game in a big way. OSHA would shut me down if I ran my sites like that.
It’s hard for me to understand how anyone can watch this and not think Bud and his crew are the problem. I just finished it today and literally no accountability from glen Helen. Did DC screw you? Maybe so but it’s very well known now that he is the only one still butt hurt how the deal turned out and most of the original group is doing great. I say now cause I’m sure at the time others were as well.
I do completely understand why Bud felt betrayed when MX Sports won the rights. That seemed a bit shady to me.
But beyond that he just sounded like a bitter old man that refuses to accept that another business party may choose not to do business with him. (Just as he chooses not to do business with them at this point)
And the way he kept saying “it’s just not right that one company has so much power”…..well EVERY single other major Motorsport (or stick and ball sport for that matter) is run that way.
Imagine if F1 was run by a rabble of promoters? It was run like that until the late 70s and then it “modernized” and prospered.
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