Well, I guess that I might as well explain things. I really hadn't planned on mentioning too much about it for quite a while, but I might as well now that Randy really set the stage for it with his spot-on post. I guess I started it, after all. I may wind up reposting at least part of this later, for those who will miss it this time...

The first one ("Milan Mania") had about 25 cars or so and was organized by Paula Bousley and Steve Hauswirth. It was VERY fun. At this event, I was only a participant. Heh...I won the B.R.I.T.E award...the Best RookIe Time in the Eliminations. I still have the certificate tucked away safely, and I display the trophy at my bar in my basement. If you have ever been to one of my parties, it is on the shelf to the left of the mirror as you are looking at it. Even though the event lasted 4 hours and was very small, it was FUN, people got to meet for the first time. It was there that I first met Chris Frezza (and the rest of that is history ).

When I started doing this, it was actually "Milan Mania II", of which I was helping to make it happen because Steve had a new family and couldn't make the event, so I stepped in to help Paula. Again, it was only 25 or so cars, but was just as fun.

I dug up a nice old picture of that event:
http://migmevent.com/milan/milan2-1.jpg
I can still make out some faces of people I haven't seen in years but I haven't forgotten about by any stretch.

Then when the next year came around, I was the only one of the previous event coordinators who was able to do it, so I took it upon myself to quickly organize it. I moved it to Stanton (for a number of reasons) so I couldn't call it Milan Mania III any more. I originally meant to call it Mid-Michigan Mania III...wait...hmmm... "M3"! Short and sweet. And from there it went. M3 was a little bigger, maybe 30 cars. I had lots of fun organizing it. I got some sponsors to help keep the costs down and spent a lot of time making phone calls to get some freebies to give away. I somehow managed to make it so everyone got something. At the end of the event, everyone who was there attended the awards and when I asked if I should do another one and everyone shouted "YES!". I kinda surprised myself that it went so well.

M4 was a neat one. I got the Camaro Legends Tour (R.I.P.) to show up along with some GM execs, attendance was bigger and once again everyone had fun. I announced my plans to get married that event and introduced Valerie to everyone.

M5 was just a natural progression. Getting better and bigger each year. What a damn good time for all.

M6 was very successful. I wound up walking away with a little more money than I felt was fair for my time and efforts. When I would tell people about previous events, the first question was always "are there cash payouts?". I figured that I should start giving the extra money out to the event winners, in addition to the trophy and the handshake.

So, M7 was the first year that I announced that I was giving out cash to the winners. This seemed to make everyone happy...as long as they won. The awards are my favorite part, I absolutely love announcing the winners and congratulating them with some cash and a cool trophy. Plus I started doing raffles to give out some decent prizes. But at M7 I noticed that less people stayed for the awards, and I saw a lot of people leaving early when they got knocked out of the eliminations. I didn't understand why exactly.

M8 almost didn't happen. Chris and I were asked MANY times to do one BIG 2-day CamaroZ28.Com event, so we decided to give it a shot in place of M8 and if it went well, it would always happen instead of the M Event. Well, it went okay...but we had about half the attendance of the previous M Event. Bad weather one day (but GREAT weather the next) and the fact that it was summer time and everyone already had summer plans probably killed the attendance. It was a success as far as people having a good time, but it wound up costing Chris and I a lot of time and trouble when all was said and done. Some people actually criticized us for the bad weather. So, due to popular demand, I happily made quick plans to do M8. However, at M8 things did not cooperate well, either. For the first time at an M Event, the weather made things very rough to race. Even though the track and event staff busted their asses to prep the track for safety, we had to combine the Bracket Classes together. Again, I overheard a couple of complaints about this. Even though we did the best we could, and I honestly felt kinda bad, because for the first time I heard that someone didn't enjoy an M Event like before. I guess a couple out of more than 100 isn't bad, but it left me with a bit of bad feelings with me, even though there was simply nothing I could do. Again, I noticed that many people didn't stick around for the awards like before...to congratulate each other, to make after-event plans, to bench race and enjoy seeing each other again. It just didn't happen and I again wondered why.

Which brings us to M9. Again, the weather didn't cooperate and there were a few mishaps that basically disabled one lane of the track. Unfortunately, due to time as well as safety constraints, I had to make a quick judgment call to either severely cut the eliminations or end the event right there on the spot. By the time I had to make this decision, a good percentage of the attendees had left. I made the best (and really the only) decision I could, and I later found out that this didn't sit well with some people. So once again, I kinda personally felt like I had disappointed people, even though there was really nothing that I could do but make things as best as I could given the options and the circumstances.

So as I drove home from M9, I realized that I didn't feel quite right about the event. I used to drive away from the event happy with how things went. Exhausted, but satisfied knowing that everyone had fun. Not this time. I couldn't figure out why at first, and I kept asking my wife (who has been helping me with the event since M5, along with many other people) why I didn't feel right about things.

Then it kinda hit me.

Maybe I am wrong, but from my personal point of view, when I started giving out cash awards, it marked a noticeable change. From my personal point of view, it used to be an event that was designed for people to meet up again as friends. The racing was always meant to be secondary and was only an excuse for people to see each other again and I always tried to keep things in that frame. From my personal point of view, it seemed to have changed from that a bit, leaning more toward the prize at the end of the event instead of the event being the prize itself. I started to wonder if the reason why people left early and didn't stay for the awards was because they got knocked out of the eliminations early and had no reason to stay. No chance of cash, no reason to stay. Maybe I am wrong.

I organized the event every year because I got a huge charge out of seeing a bunch of people have fun. I did it not for any other reason...not fame, not recognition, but pretty much for personal accomplishment. I wanted to see how much the event could grow and be proud of it. Well, I did see, and how it became was inevitable.

It is just how things are, it was certainly nobody's fault. It didn't change for the bad, it just changed. The event grew into the identity that it is, naturally. I suppose I should have just lowered the entry cost instead of starting to give out cash awards, but even that might not have done well since every other event out there had the cash element to it. Besides, it might not have made any difference.

Now some of this is kinda hard to put into words on the screen. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy doing the event and I know that 99% of the people who show up have a damn good time and that is the reason (among others) why I am still doing M10.

But I added everything up and realized that I did my part, saw countless people have a wonderful time...for nearly 10 years. I have never done anything in my life for that long. I have never lived in one place, held the same job or had a relationship for that long. It was technically the pre-birth of the web site you are looking at right now. It was the place that I announced my marriage to everyone...including my own parents...for the very first time. I have made so many new friends doing this event. Even though many have come and gone, I don't think I have forgotten many, if any at all.

On the surface, you probably wouldn't realize that this one-day event means a great deal to me personally. It really does.

What it seems to come down to for me is this: 10 years ago, the world was a different place, and we were all different people then. You cannot expect anything to stay the same for 10 years, and the M Events are not immune to this change factor. I recently realized that I sorta missed the way the event was originally, but there was no way I could get it to be the same way. I am fully aware that the event was not the only thing that changed...like everything else, I did too. Again, it didn't change for the bad, it just changed. There is no need for me to fight the changes, some fights you just cannot expect to win. Instead, I am gonna roll with the changes. I decided that it is soon going to be time for the event to change hands, at least to a degree. Honestly, I can't do the event forever. That would be kinda selfish, I think.

So M10 will be the last M Event with me being in the driver's seat (no pun intended). I want to do it one more time to make it a nice round number, and I really hope that I end my experience heading things up with a bang, or at least do the very best that I can...just like I have always done.

I can't give it up completely, after 10 years it is almost habit. Val and I will certainly still help out to a certain degree but I really want someone else to take over the main part of running the event, and hopefully they will get the same enjoyment out of it that I did. That way, not only can I get the satisfaction of seeing someone enjoy the same thing that I once did, but for the first time in many years...I will get to actually participate with my own car at M11!

So let's continue to look forward to M10! Same time, next year!

 

I just want to say that for me it wouldn't matter if there was cash waiting (as Jason probably noticed Chris and I grabbed the trophy and had to be reminded that there was money too). Wouldn't matter if the car broke the day before, I'd still be there. This event has always been about the people. Heck I started the tradition of getting together at the Country Kitchen so Frez, Jason, Dave D, Patman, and anybody else that wanted to could get together and visit without the pressure of prepping a car to race. That was hummmm M3 or 4.
Turn it back into a club type trophy event and I'll still be there with the big grin on my face that's there right now thinking back to previous M events.

 

I wanna pipe up here too. I cant say I have been there from the first event, but I started showing up at M7. I can honestly say I had no idea there even was a payout for the events when I decided to go. I simply wanted to meet some of the guys who were helping me learn about my new car. I wanted to say thanks. I had no idea that I would make such good friends, and retain those friends for years afterwards. Hell, I even came to M8 with my car on the trailer with no intentions of being able to race. Car was broke, but I wanted to hang out with friends and have a good time. For me personally it was never about money, or even winning a trophy for that matter. It was always about the people. I will associate the M events with friends for as long as I am able to go to them.

What about this, what if you were to make it a charity event. Eliminate the need for the payouts. We all had a friend who attended the M events if he was able to physically. What about starting the event as a charity event for cancer research. It doesnt even have to be Cancer research, there are a plethora of great charitys out there that actually do good in this world. I know personally it would make me feel good to try and give some happiness back to the world in appreication for the events and what they mean to me. I mean lets be honest, the payouts arent gonna let you retire. At best they may fill your gas tank, and take you out to dinner with your crew afterwards. But if you combined those payouts and kicked in the profits from the gate after expenses, you would have a nice chunk of change to bestow on the lucky charity. Hell, if you did something like the Make A Wish Foundation you might even be able to pass along your love of racing to a special child who doesnt have the option to do what we do all summer.

Thats just my .02, take it for what its worth. But at 8am, it is the best solution I could think of

And as for Jason racing, I dig that idea alot. I think he has done enough to be able to enjoy his own event. I am calling him out now I cant wait to line up with him

Sorry, this post isnt really following any order either. But I have another thing to add. Jason spoke of alot of people leaving early because they didnt have anything to hold them there. Yet I still see the core group of people that I have seen there every year. Personally I believe most of the early leavers are the newer additions who dont realize how much fun this particular group of people actually are. Hell, the first year I didnt even go to the hotel afterwards. I just didnt realize there was more fun to be had. I didnt really know anyone, and it took that first year to learn that. Now me and the ice machine are on a first name basis.

Ok I am done
Q

 

I was one of the people that left early. I can assure you I did not leave early because I didn't win anything, heck I only ran during TNT. I left early because it was almost 11pm and I had a 2 1/2 hour drive home and was extremely tired already.

This was my second year racing at an M event and 3rd event, I probably won't race at them anymore because I have more fun talking to people and watching the racing.

 

Thats what the lunch before and the party afterwards is for

 

Nah...I can't say that anyone leaving early is wrong. Totally understandable. No needs to justify it. If they wanna go, they wanna go. Heh...what am I gonna do? Lock the gates and say "No! You cannot leave until I give everyone their presents! Now get over here by the little white tent and shut up and wait!"

The whole point behind that was it was just an indication to me that the event had changed more than I had realized, and it will be time for someone else to take the helm and have some fun with it. I think it was going to happen regardless. Like I said, I can't do it for the rest of my life. Can you picture me at M35?

I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea...I am in NO WAY complaining, bitching, griping, having a pity party, pointing fingers, singling anyone out, etc.

 

I know your not complaining, you looked a little stressed trying to figure out what to do after the track was oiled down.

I just wanted to point out that some people might not have left because of the payouts, at least that was my reasoning for leaving early.

 

I agree no money I race for the fun of it. Not to mention that will get rid of the guys only there for money.

 

But what will we do without Debler walking around saying "Hi there, nice to see you, are you having fun, great! OK I gotta go talk to these people now!"

 

It wont be bad, now we actually get to see how rusty his racing skills are. Personally I think we will actually see MORE of him now then before. Plus he wont be hardwired to that damn radio

 

Next time, if it's a night event, ask and I'm sure someone will help find a spot for you for the evening so that you can drive home in the morning. I know of at least one spare bed in the Amerihost that went empty that night

 

ill tell you guys what. no matter what. NEXT YEAR ILL BE THERE. with the bird or with the truck .even though its adodge. ill go to wathc or ill go to show. you dont see to many carbed 4th gens, nor get to run one. so i would be honored to attend next year witht he car completed, and ready to pop its M cherry.(so to say) and the only reason i ever raced in my life was for the fun of it. sure money is nice. but when im out to have fun with a bunch of guys there to do the same, i could care less about money. heck if i blew the rear in my car, i could care less. as long as i knew i had fun. thast all i care about. reason why no matter what youll see me there, To have fun. plus ill drag a few poeple along with me, because by then the restrictions on my license go bye bye no mor green paper license lol. and back to passengers under 21. and driving before 7am and after 11pm. but neway YOULL SEE me there, and for sure ill have the truck. or the bird. Or Both. which im sure a few would love to see. so in closing. i would just like to say, i regret not making it to the m9 but with my 700 a month insurance payment, it was nearly impossible for me to afford to go as even a spectator, but im already saving for next year.who knows by then i might be running some juice. whos looking at 10s. i know i will be. ill be happy to run 12's hell ill baby it and do 16, just because i know ill have fun doing it. the racing is the bonus to the event. the main reason i want to go to the event. is to meet people that share the same interest's as me, and taht are there for the same reason i am. "To Have Fun". so here i go blabbing on. but neway all in all. Next Year Is Going to be a blast. btw There will be some good things that come out of next years event. just like everyyear. things change. but the change will be for the better.

 

I'd like to take the time to Tell Jason Thanks for doing this at all. Your time is appreciated. I look forward to the m-10 event already even though it's a year away. I hope the person taking over realizes they have big shoes to fill.

 

Ive also had fun at these events, I started going last year Camaro event and M8, but this was my first year to race. I lost in the first round but I stayed till the end and even went back to the pits after the awards and helped another member switch his wheels. Just want to say that I hope to see the event continue on pay-outs or no payouts. Im there for the people and the fun