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Help Keep Davis Alive (2027 and beyond)

pat244ti said:
Track day was traditionally on Monday. I definitely feel like it could be more popular to do it on Saturday before the show but also likely much more expensive/harder to secure because weekend
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If I recall this is why it was done on Monday, Saturday is always booked and would cost substantially.

Autocross is fun for a minute, and might be fun for this crowd to do one again. I could see this in combination with a BBQ somewhere as being possible, securing the space is a lot easier than other options. Sac Raceway is dead, so drag racing isn't a viable move.

The accidents associated with group drives are a concern. This was not the first year that had an incident, and won't be the last when conditions can be as unpredictable the drivers running out of talent. It happens to the best of us, but it can be a big liability for the organizer if it's officially associated with the show or club.

I see a lot of sponsorship opportunities that could promote the show and work towards financial solvency.

I think the best solution at this point is to look at the business model for the show, and use that to start from a fresh perspective, using the knowledge of all who wish to participate in coming up with a viable pathway to success for the show and other events. Everyone has good ideas on how to add value to the event, but we also can not lose focus on the core event, the Davis show. This year it looked like it was run well, lots of volunteer staff parking cars and everyone seemed to be efficient enough. That was nice to see, I'm grateful for those who had the time to put into this event to make it happen.

I don't want to be public-facing on any of this, but I know how to prop up businesses and non-profits from inception to success, and see this as an opportunity for the event to exist as it's own entity. In my concept, the club would still be a stakeholder, but the show and associated events get run like a non-profit, 100% volunteer board and staff, with the money going directly to support future events with a percentage going to a charity.

I talked about this 20 years ago with Lee, but GGVCOA was not interested at the time since he was stepping down. Then what came after was all bad until our current crew took it over and saved it from being lost forever. The current crew has done an amazing job keeping this event alive for us all to enjoy, there is a solid starting point from which to grow.


I think a group call for a planning session would get everyone better in the know, and documentation of policy and procedure can come from there. My idea includes the ability for leadership to step down or away, with backup in place, to always ensure the show will go on.


And for those who know me, yeah, I can be a prick, but when it comes to business such as this the personal opinions get set aside and business gets done. I've got the time, energy and skills to do my part, everyone else here has skills and knowledge to offer, so maybe we all have a call and get things moving. While it's a year off right now, for the shows I work on presently a year out is already about 6 months behind in planning.
 
As far as the track day part goes we’ll never know if Saturday is off the table until we really dig into it. I think if a weekend was to happen it could be smart to work/team up or piggyback off another organization.

I also think having the 3 usual run groups most of the day for lapping, and ending the day with a race for the cars prepped to do so would be sweet and possibly successful with the right planning
 
Hey all, thanks for the interest. I'm still recovering from Davis last weekend and I'll get back to everyone after a little while.

If you're interested, we generally plan Davis with a series of con calls we have once a month. I have some new volunteers interested and we'd love if you could join the debrief call for 2026 to see how we do things.

DM me your email address and you can be a fly on the wall for the debrief call, then jump in with your ideas for 2027 on the first 2027 planning call (mid-May).

We are generally open to new ideas as long as the people who bring them up are willing to put in the work and find the volunteers to make them happen. That is usually the kicker, we don't have extra people to help add new events right now. You'd have to recruit your own volunteers to make new or additional events happen.

2027 is going to be a big year and a good opportunity to add new things. We'll have a formal announcement about it soon, although we did announce it at the end of Davis this year for those that were there. :-)

Finally, as far as financials go, the Davis show is actually doing well on that front. Sac VCOA is a non-profit and our vast list of sponsors really help us out. We have an excellent treasurer who helps us run a tight ship.

We just need people. There are a million small things that go in to Davis and about 995,000 of them are done by 2-3 people right now. Those people will not be working on Davis past 2027, 2027 is their/our last year!

Thanks y'all. ❤️
 
Being one of the long-term planning crew for the event, let me touch on the autocross and track day situation, just for awareness.
The track days were liked by those that could afford them, however the cost to rent the track for a day made the cost for attendee's far too expensive, so attendance dropped. When you start crossing the $300-400 price range, just because of the cost of the facility, it becomes no longer viable.
The autox was a stop-gap that Mark and I were planning out, however that became impossible due to site location and volunteer support. We ran out of facilities to host the event, region-wide. Any decent parking lot, or flat spot of asphalt, the owners started giving a hard no when they heard what the ask was for. We lost the EVOC course after the Porsche club f'd that up for everyone, though SCCA still has fingers in the right punch bowl so they can get it when nobody else can. Even when we had full insurance coverage for the event, land owners refused to allow it. At that point, we gave up on the autox, and that's when the drive began. Hard to believe we've had that going for over a decade already. The drive has also allowed for a tribute event for a couple long-time supporters of the event, when they passed away.

Of the drives I've led, we had no incidents, other than some mechanical failures, thankfully. That said, it's always a risk.

Please don't take this as me saying we can't do it, can't change it, but rather this is the process that got us where we are. With some fresh blood in the mix, there's no telling where the show can go! Dave, I really appreciate you taking a solid stake in the drive, really glad it's stayed a part of the event since I've not really been able to do what I'd like to for it. It was so weird not going this year to be honest. lol
 
gsellstr said:
Being one of the long-term planning crew for the event, let me touch on the autocross and track day situation, just for awareness.
The track days were liked by those that could afford them, however the cost to rent the track for a day made the cost for attendee's far too expensive, so attendance dropped. When you start crossing the $300-400 price range, just because of the cost of the facility, it becomes no longer viable.
The autox was a stop-gap that Mark and I were planning out, however that became impossible due to site location and volunteer support. We ran out of facilities to host the event, region-wide. Any decent parking lot, or flat spot of asphalt, the owners started giving a hard no when they heard what the ask was for. We lost the EVOC course after the Porsche club f'd that up for everyone, though SCCA still has fingers in the right punch bowl so they can get it when nobody else can. Even when we had full insurance coverage for the event, land owners refused to allow it. At that point, we gave up on the autox, and that's when the drive began. Hard to believe we've had that going for over a decade already. The drive has also allowed for a tribute event for a couple long-time supporters of the event, when they passed away.

Of the drives I've led, we had no incidents, other than some mechanical failures, thankfully. That said, it's always a risk.

Please don't take this as me saying we can't do it, can't change it, but rather this is the process that got us where we are. With some fresh blood in the mix, there's no telling where the show can go! Dave, I really appreciate you taking a solid stake in the drive, really glad it's stayed a part of the event since I've not really been able to do what I'd like to for it. It was so weird not going this year to be honest. lol
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No problem. The drive is by far my favorite part of Davis and I don't want to see it, or Davis, go anywhere.
 
All this talk about previous people running it and how things could be improved etc is all fucking theory and Monday quarterbacks that didn’t even watch the game

The show and Saturday are fucking great

Jo is asking for warm bodies and empty hands, but some people are acting like the organization is a disaster and it's falling apart and everything's going wrong... they just need hands

Thank you Davis team for making this work, so much fun for $20 and even free if you don’t bring a car

Volunteer and help is what’s needed
 
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Jack said:
All this talk about previous people running it and how things could be improved etc is all fucking theory and Monday quarterbacks that didn’t even watch the game

The show and Saturday are fucking great

Jo is asking for warm bodies and empty hands, but some people are acting like the organization is a disaster and it's falling apart and everything's going wrong... they just need hands

Thank you Davis team for making this work, so much fun for $20 and even free if you don’t bring a car

Volunteer and help is what’s needed
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After volunteering for the last year or so and joining the calls, I have seen that there are well established systems and procedures for everything involved. Whenever I had a question there was an answer. Whenever I brought up a concern someone was already on it and half way through addressing it.

Davis is a well oiled machine. The big challenge seems to be as you said, bodies. Folks are needed to step into the already established roles, not reinvent the wheel.

I think the one outstanding question that comes to mind is around the swarm of 2/7/9 series cars driven by younger folks who show up day of and not registered prior. How do we engage them and turn them into regulars?
 
spock345 said:
After volunteering for the last year or so and joining the calls, I have seen that there are well established systems and procedures for everything involved. Whenever I had a question there was an answer. Whenever I brought up a concern someone was already on it and half way through addressing it.

Davis is a well oiled machine. The big challenge seems to be as you said, bodies. Folks are needed to step into the already established roles, not reinvent the wheel.

I think the one outstanding question that comes to mind is around the swarm of 2/7/9 series cars driven by younger folks who show up day of and not registered prior. How do we engage them and turn them into regulars?
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They’re showing up already and it’s great no matter how fucking weird they are
 
spock345 said:
Davis is a well oiled machine. The big challenge seems to be as you said, bodies. Folks are needed to step into the already established roles, not reinvent the wheel.
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Appreciate the high praise, I don't know about well-oiled machine, but we do seem to have a system that works well.

"Folks are needed to step in to the already esrablished roles" I think really sums it up perfectly and are the words my brain couldn't find.

No inventing required. :-)

Thanks y'all.
 
I just wish Davis and IPD could get together and decide to have Davis after the IPD Garage Sale. The IPD Garage Sale is a huge commitment for me and my crew, so there's no way I will ever make it to Davis unless:

A. IPD goes out of business and can no longer host their Garage Sale
B. IPD decides to move it to a different day (fat chance, it's been the 3rd Saturday of May for the past 20+ years)
C. Davis organizers move their event to a later time of the year
D. I invent a cloning device so I can attend both events
 
swedishiron.com said:
I just wish Davis and IPD could get together and decide to have Davis after the IPD Garage Sale. The IPD Garage Sale is a huge commitment for me and my crew, so there's no way I will ever make it to Davis unless:

A. IPD goes out of business and can no longer host their Garage Sale
B. IPD decides to move it to a different day (fat chance, it's been the 3rd Saturday of May for the past 20+ years)
C. Davis organizers move their event to a later time of the year
D. I invent a cloning device so I can attend both events
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How long has Davis been on the same weekend or same month?
 
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