Originally Posted by
Racer Ex
I figured CDR's answer was going to be what it was, and he should be applauded for stepping up in this regard. Volunteers, god love em, but especially regarding corner marshals I've seen promoters trot out untrained/clueless/passive people to work blind/high traffic areas and watched really bad stuff happen as a result.
We had "volunteers" working corners at motorcycle races but they were a trained, core group that had two way radio contact with the race director. They'd get travel money and lunch, which sounds like what CDR's doing.
Not a huge outlay for a huge step up in quality. Certainly as much of a value added as a blue shirt.
The people who are paid employees aren't really marshaling, that I'm aware of. I might be wrong. A few pages back I believe CDR indicated the series lost money. And he's got an expensive trailer invested in this. Turning a profit certainly helps the sustainability of racing in a region. There are several promoters that I'm aware of that are making money, and they're putting on good races, and their race offerings are growing. It might not be the best model in the eyes of everyone but for racers it keeps races on the calendar and for those willing to deal with the aggravation of dealing with towns, cops, permits, racers, they get to make some money. I don't want to see his races go away, and I really don't like to hear it's not making money for him.