Call for Time Trial Instructors

Call for driving instructors...

If you are an experienced driver interested in passing on your knowledge and skills to new track-rats in the making, please lets us know.
Provide your email contact info and I'll send a short instructor guide for your review; then we can discuss getting you into an instructor's seat. This is for Time Trials only.

Bonus: free track time!
For every three days of instruction you give, we'll credit you with one Time Trials registration fee.

See you at the track,

Greg Tucker
timetrialinstructor@emraracing.org

One addition to this post:

3 credits can be applied to Time Trial OR Race event.

Racers are encouraged to use their experience and be rewarded
with free race events.

Tom Masciopinto
EMRA Chairman

it might be a good idea if we could apply the credit for a discount on entry fee on the same day. that's how all other clubs does it. other clubs also offer free track day on the day of instructing. i realize that EMRA can't afford to offer free track day for instructors, but it would be great if we could apply the discount on the same day. just a thought.

TOMJIGSAW wrote:One addition to this post:

3 credits can be applied to Time Trial OR Race event.

Racers are encouraged to use their experience and be rewarded
with free race events.

Tom Masciopinto
EMRA Chairman

Trackdaze charges $50 to Instructors for two days and also gives 4 twenty minute sessions per day to instructors.
NASA charges $100 for two days to Instructors and also gives 4 twenty minute sessions per day to instructors.
SCCA doesn't charge instructors at all and gives 4 twenty minute sessions

Instructors are asked to risk their lives in a car with a person they never met before. No one wants to do it unless there's good incentive. Just another worthless opinion

EMRA is a not-for-profit organization founded on volunteerism.

All of the groups used in this post as examples are for-profit businesses.

EMRA charges the least in entry fees to its members.

EMRA only charges $40 to students in need of an instructor.
EMRA also gives a $100 discount to new members.

EMRA gives a "credit" of approximately $65 to $80 to instructors.
Do the math. We are already losing money with the old system.

To match the payments to instructors that is being suggested
would mean we would have to increase fees across the board to EVERYONE.
Raise your hand if you want to pay MORE for track time...javascript:emoticonp('')

Every one of the people posting on this post has had an instructor
provided by EMRA and its instructor system. Hopefully, you can pass
on what was taught to you to others with the same spirit it was done for you.

If we continue down this slippery slope, some day I may get paid to be the chairman!
No one wants that!

Tom Masciopinto

TOMJIGSAW wrote:EMRA is a not-for-profit organization founded on volunteerism.

All of the groups used in this post as examples are for-profit businesses.

EMRA charges the least in entry fees to its members.

EMRA only charges $40 to students in need of an instructor.
EMRA also gives a $100 discount to new members.

EMRA gives a "credit" of approximately $65 to $80 to instructors.
Do the math. We are already losing money with the old system.

To match the payments to instructors that is being suggested
would mean we would have to increase fees across the board to EVERYONE.
Raise your hand if you want to pay MORE for track time...javascript:emoticonp('')

Every one of the people posting on this post has had an instructor
provided by EMRA and its instructor system. Hopefully, you can pass
on what was taught to you to others with the same spirit it was done for you.

If we continue down this slippery slope, some day I may get paid to be the chairman!
No one wants that!

Tom Masciopinto

Obviously your way isn't working if your losing $$$ with the old way. Maybe you need to try something new.

Instructors are asked to risk their lives in a car with a person they never met before. No one wants to do it unless there's good incentive. Just another worthless opinion [/quote]

As per your "worthless opinion". Would an extra $50 make it worthwhile "to risk your life in a car with a person you've never met before?" How much is your life worth? $50-$100???
The fees charged by EMRA are almost always cheaper than those of the other organisations I've raced/TT'ed with. This months' LRP event with NASA at LRP for HPDE2,3,4. is $285, HPDE1 is $310. EMRAs' was $250. NASAs' entry fee at NJMP is usually $250. EMRA charges $195. I could go on but I hope you get the point. Support your club. They may be all you have to run with.

Trackdaze charges $50 to Instructors for two days and also gives 4 twenty minute sessions per day to instructors.
NASA charges $100 for two days to Instructors and also gives 4 twenty minute sessions per day to instructors.
SCCA doesn't charge instructors at all and gives 4 twenty minute sessions

Instructors are asked to risk their lives in a car with a person they never met before. No one wants to do it unless there's good incentive. Just another worthless opinion [/quote]

A good instructor would have his/her student learn their car, the track, corner entry/exit, car awareness, flag recognition, etc., allow them to gradually increase their speed/times through the first 3 sessions, and try to post a fast time in the last session when they have lost the extra weight from the passenger seat.

TOMJIGSAW wrote:EMRA is a not-for-profit organization founded on volunteerism.

All of the groups used in this post as examples are for-profit businesses.

EMRA charges the least in entry fees to its members.

EMRA only charges $40 to students in need of an instructor.
EMRA also gives a $100 discount to new members.

EMRA gives a "credit" of approximately $65 to $80 to instructors.
Do the math. We are already losing money with the old system.

To match the payments to instructors that is being suggested
would mean we would have to increase fees across the board to EVERYONE.
Raise your hand if you want to pay MORE for track time...javascript:emoticonp('')

Every one of the people posting on this post has had an instructor
provided by EMRA and its instructor system. Hopefully, you can pass
on what was taught to you to others with the same spirit it was done for you.

If we continue down this slippery slope, some day I may get paid to be the chairman!
No one wants that!

Tom Masciopinto

i was only suggesting that the $65-$80 discount could be used towards registration fee on the same day.

there isn't much money to be made in hpde and grassroots racing, so most of them still rely on volunteers. i think the only ones that are making any money is NASA or SCCA.

NASA and SCCA charge more but they are Nationally recognized, so it's easier to get sponsorship and earn contingency money. it's not much but every little bit helps, the less i have to spend on the car the more seat time i get they also have open passing for HPDE4 and TimeTrials, so track insurance is more expensive.

i've run with EMRA for 3 years or so, so obviously i don't think EMRA is bad. but i see more people going from EMRA to other clubs and not so much from other clubs to EMRA. i've also run with all the clubs and i see the attraction there.

See you guys at Beaver Run

quikgt wrote:

Instructors are asked to risk their lives in a car with a person they never met before. No one wants to do it unless there's good incentive. Just another worthless opinion

As per your "worthless opinion". Would an extra $50 make it worthwhile "to risk your life in a car with a person you've never met before?" How much is your life worth? $50-$100???
The fees charged by EMRA are almost always cheaper than those of the other organisations I've raced/TT'ed with. This months' LRP event with NASA at LRP for HPDE2,3,4. is $285, HPDE1 is $310. EMRAs' was $250. NASAs' entry fee at NJMP is usually $250. EMRA charges $195. I could go on but I hope you get the point. Support your club. They may be all you have to run with.

PCA and BMW club are usually pretty cheap also. $180 for NJMP on MAY 13 for PCA.

$50-$100 is not a much for one event, but it's something after 20 events. i do 25+ track days a year. half of them i instruct at so it's free. i wouldn't be able to do that much events if i had to pay for them all

NASA charge more for Time Trials, but i can win 4 Hoosier tires in a two day weekend, that's more than what i spent on the whole weekend.

Thai has a good point about instructor credits going towards a discount on a track day. Maybe EMRA could implement a policy where an instructor having a single credit could count towards 1/3 of the track fee for that day, instead of waiting for the full 3 credits.

civicminded wrote:Thai has a good point about instructor credits going towards a discount on a track day. Maybe EMRA could implement a policy where an instructor having a single credit could count towards 1/3 of the track fee for that day, instead of waiting for the full 3 credits.

yep, that's all i wanted to say.
EMRA is not loosing any more money this way. i think the current way is used to keep instructor coming back, but most who instruct for EMRA already regularly attend EMRA events.

How is this for a suggestion ? For a 2 day EMRA event... Work ONE day as a Flagger or some other official for no compensation (money) and help the club out with their needed worker requirements for the weekend and in turn recieve a Credit (1 day of work) for that weekend. Then Instruct the next day and recieve another Credit...then use the 2 credits to pay for your ONE DAY on track..the SAME weekend. This way EMRA will be able to KNOW how many workers they will have on hand for a weekend (that cost only lunch for EMRA)and they will know in advance how many instructors there will be. This way nobody has to worry about moneys, the people who work will learn what is involved with running a typical event which can't hurt..all involved are helping out the club and it will cost the club a sandwich instead of having to pay money to somebody for being a flagger (for example). Pete T.

Peter. EMRAs' policy now is that you have to accrue 3 credits in order to receive 1 free race/TT event. Your proposal is much better.

Your suggestion of lowering the requirement for a free track day
will be brought to the attention of the board.

FYI corner workers can either get paid or get track credit
as you suggested. Your suggestion lowers the requirement
from 3 credits to 2 and allows someone to use the credit
before being completely earned. (of course it sounds better)

FYI the mandatory worker requirement (for free - gasp)
was removed from EMRA rules last year.

It appears that a few people want to remove any volunteerism
from EMRA and be paid for everything and anything they do.

As a current volunteer - Chairman, Registrar, Trophy Chairman,
Sometimes Instructor - I truly feel that we need MORE volunteers
and less paid workers/instructors. Less volunteers & more paid
people means higher entrant fees. You can't have one without the other.
I also feel that free track time is a benefit, not a right.
But that's coming from an old-timer that remembers when ALL
workers at EMRA events were volunteers. At the end of events
we passed a hat around to the drivers - pulled workers names
out of a hat to win $20. Were those the good old days?
As I said before, all drivers were REQUIRED to work one day.
Then, for-profit race businesses started paying people to work
and that started a whole new revolution. The thought was why
volunteer when I can get paid? So EMRA had to start paying.
Then since we were paying corner workers, how about some credit
for instructors? What about the other volunteers? Snowball.
Then our entrant fees went up - and even though we are the least
expensive way to get track time - people complain that we charge too much!

Be that as it may, it is my duty to present this to the EMRA board
for discussion & decision.
Next meeting May 17th.


Tom Masciopinto
EMRA Chairman






Tom Masciopinto

TOMJIGSAW wrote: allows someone to use the credit
before being completely earned. (of course it sounds better)

i don't really see this as being a problem as all other clubs that i've been to does it this way. if you register to instruct that day, your registration fee is discounted for that day. do you really think people are going register to instruct to get a discount and then skip out on instructing for that day. you can also put in the rule that if someone doesn't instruct for FULL day, then they'll have to pay back the difference.

TOMJIGSAW wrote:
But that's coming from an old-timer that remembers when ALL workers at EMRA events were volunteers. At the end of events we passed a hat around to the drivers - pulled workers names
out of a hat to win $20. Were those the good old days?
Tom Masciopinto

$20 might have gotten you a full tank of gas back then. now it might get you 3 gallons of gas. <sarcastic>