The September Round Has Been Canceled

• OMRRA is committed to operating profitable race events
• Not have enough racers & volunteers signed-up by today
• Concerns remain regarding wildfires and rain
• At least we didn’t have murder hornets

Hello OMRRA Members,

We are sad to report that the joint OMRRA / WMRRA September race event at Portland International Raceway has been canceled.

The OMRRA board met this morning to review the status of the three criteria from Thursday’s communication:

1. Revenue from race registrations
2. Commitment from volunteers
3. Air quality in Portland

In looking at these three criteria, the OMRRA Board of Directors determined the following on each topic:

1) The OMRRA board is committed to running race events that produce a positive income. With the low number of race registrations on Saturday at 10am, committing to run the September round would have resulted in a substantial financial loss, which is not sustainable for the future of racing in the Pacific Northwest.

2) OMRRA races only happen with the commitment of volunteers, both behind the scenes and on race day. As of Saturday at 10am, many of the key race day volunteer positions were unfilled, with a large enough disparity that the decision to move forward with the race event may have put the safety of racers and the efficiency of the races at risk.

3) The Air Quality Index in Portland has seen a significant improvement with the arrival of rain, so the risk of hazardous air quality was not a strong factor in the decision.

Additional Factors

In addition to the three criteria described above, there were additional factors that were considered in this difficult decision.

First, the number of licensed racers between OMRRA and WMRRA is well over 300. When only 80 racers sign up to race for a joint round, a strong signal is sent that the majority of racers cannot prioritize racing right now.

Similar to the response rate of racers, the response rate of volunteers has been low. This sends a strong signal that the PNW race volunteer community also cannot prioritize racing right now.

Additionally, a large number of Oregonians were displaced from their homes recently, with many areas still under evacuation notices. While unquantified, this has impacted the race community, and our asking of people to prioritize racing at this moment does not feel right.

COVID-19 is still a looming issue, and continues to impact our region. In July, the race event was a success, even with COVID-19 protocols in place. But, September brings additional hardship.

Rain is in the forecast. When it rains, we historically see a 20-40% reduction in the number of race registrations. The current level of registrations may have increased by the registration deadline on Wednesday, but probably not by much with the current forecast.

Finally, pushing as hard as we were to run this event did not feel like the right thing to do for the clubs. In July, we were met with a similarly difficult decision, but proceeded with the round because it felt like the right thing to do at the time – and it was successful. Right now, it does not feel like the right thing to do.

As much as it pains us to write this communication, we believe it’s the right course of action for many reasons. We now have a little more time during the off-season to put an extra shine on our bodywork and think about how good the races in 2021 are going to be.

Some Answers to Questions that Are Likely to Arise

Q: How will 2020 season championships be determined?
A: OMRRA racers will decide. Please watch your email for a ballot.

Q: Will my September registration fees be refunded?
A: Yes, in full. Please stay tuned for specific details on how these will be refunded.

Q: Is the OPRT track day still happening?
A: No. If you paid for the Friday track day, you’ll be refunded through OPRT.

Q: I bought a season pass for OPRT track days at PIR. Will I be refunded?
A: Yes. Please email [email protected] to arrange a credit or refund for your season pass.

Q: Will my gate pass be refunded?
A: No. The $80 gate pass covered all of the OMRRA and WMRRA events for 2020, of which there were 5 ($20 per event X 5 = $100 value).

Stay Fast,
The OMRRA Board of Directors

• More racers & volunteers need to commit to the September round 
• Our registration goal deadline is 10 AM on September 19th
• We will not race if the air quality does not improve in Portland
• WMRRA has canceled the October round at The Ridge
• 2020 will only have a championship if we race in September

Hello OMRRA Racers,

As you likely remember back in July, we had to clear a financial hurdle weeks in advance to the race weekend, before committing to the run the event.

For the September round, registration was opened without communication of a financial hurdle with the expectation that a combined OMRRA/WMRRA race would draw more than enough racers. This was of course before the recent events, with the fires and smoke in our area.

Needless to say, the fires in the Pacific Northwest have compounded an already difficult set of circumstances (particularly with the COVID-19 restrictions at PIR) for running the combined OMRRA / WMRRA race round scheduled for September 25th-27th.

Adding to that list, we have only 33% of the entries necessary to make the September round break-even financially for the club. This isn’t an abnormal number when we are 10 days away from a race weekend, but it is unacceptable for us to risk a round that doesn’t have strong attendance from both OMRRA and WMRRA.

The OMRRA Board of Directors is committed to running only profitable races for the club, as we are not monetarily in a position to run a race weekend at a financial loss.

We are also committed to running only races that will be safe for our competitors and volunteers. Therefore, several things will need to happen for us to have another racing event this year.

OMRRA Must Meet the Following Criteria to Run a September Round:

1) We must have and additional $25,000 in race registrations (approximately 70 more racers) by 10:00 AM on Saturday, September 19th.

2) We must have commitment from a minimum set of volunteers by this same time, in order to safely run the races.

3) Finally, the air quality index in Portland must fall to a safer level.

Here’s What You Can Do If You Want This Event to Take Place:

1) If you are a racer, then you need to sign-up now to race. Note that your race fees are fully-committed and non-refundable if the event takes place, but are refundable or credited-in-full if the event does not take place.

2) If you are a volunteer, email [email protected] with your availability and commitment.

3) If you want to support the round financially, you can donate via PayPal to [email protected] (there is a link on the main page of omrra.com as well).

WMRRA Has Canceled the October Round at The Ridge:

WMRRA has announced that it will no longer be hosting the scheduled joint round in October at the Ridge Motorsports Park.

This means that if we are indeed able to race in September at Portland International Raceway, then the weekend will be the 2020 season finale for both clubs.

2020 Championship Status:

Due to the cancelation of the October round, the ability of OMRRA to declare 2020 a championship season depends on whether or not we run our September round.

If the September races take place, then season awards will be given, as all the trophy classes will have had five races this season.

However, if the September races do not take place, then the 2020 season will not meet the necessary criteria in the OMRRA rulebook to be declared a championship, and thus the championships will have to be voided.

We obviously don’t want this to be the case, so please sign-up for the September round.

This month has been a rollercoaster of constantly changing hurdles and dynamic events that have made planning the September round incredibly challenging, and we appreciate all of the OMRRA members understanding as we adapt to the circumstances in front of us.

We really want to be on the race track with you this September, for one more weekend this year, so please register now and encourage your racing friends to do the same.

Thank you to everyone who voted for next year’s OMRRA Board of Director appointments. We’ll keep this short and sweet, the election results are below.

President:
Mark Wilson – 72 votes
Jason Doody – 1 vote
Cliff Griffin – 1 vote

Vice President:
Alex Taylor – 70 votes
Hannah Johnson – 1 vote
Bill Youngblood – 1 vote

Treasurer:
Taneka Burwell-Means – 71 votes
Keith DiBrino – 2 votes

Secretary:
Board to Appoint – 61 votes
Brandon Floyd – 3 votes
Indy Lucas – 1 vote
Jeff Brooks – 1 vote
Jason Doody – 1 vote
Justin Carr – 1 vote
Kris Porntharavongse – 1 vote
Kris Lee – 1 vote

Membership Rep:
Josh McKay – 73 votes

Members at Large:
Justin Carr – 69 votes
Patrick White – 63 votes
Alex Clarke – 1 vote
Rob Tatom – 1 vote
Kevin Pinkstaff – 1 vote
Hannah Johnson – 1 vote
Jason Doody – 1 vote

Congratulations to everyone who won their seat on the 2021 OMRRA Board of Directors.

• Registration for the September round is now open
• There are very, very few spots for pit crew members
• Check your email for the OMRRA Board election ballot
• Round #4 is confirmed for October 10th & 11th at The Ridge
• Check your race results from August for errors
• Sign up for the Friday OPRT track day
• Recycle your old OMRRA trophies
• Keep OMRRA Weird

Hello OMRRA Members,

We hope you had a successful time racing at the Ridge Motorsports Park last weekend with our friends at WMRRA. Now, it is our turn to host a joint round for the two clubs, as the September round at PIR is rapidly approaching us. Booyakasha!

Because we plan on seeing a large number of WMRRA racers, and also because of the ongoing restrictions in Portland because of the coronavirus outbreak, there are a number of items we need to share with you for this to be a successful weekend of racing for everyone.

Registration for the September Round at PIR Is Open

The third round of the OMRRA season is here, and we will be racing the regular course at Portland International Raceway on September 26th and 27th.

This is a double-points round. This is also a joint round with our friends at WMRRA, which should make for some good times, packed grids, and close racing.

Registration is now open (click here to register on Track Intel), and it will close on Wednesday, September 23rd, just before midnight.

Register now for the September round!

We Will Have Very, Very Limited Gate Entries for Pit Crew Members

Portland is still in Phase 1 of the COVID-19 restrictions. This means that by special permission, OMRRA is only allowed to race at Portland International Raceway with 250 event attendees.

This will be a considerable restriction for the club during the September round.

With this being a joint round with WMRRA, we are expecting a very large number of racers to be at PIR. Add to that number the approximately 75 volunteers and vendors that we need to facilitate the racing round, and it means that we will unfortunately have to limit severely the number of pit crew attendees at this round.

This is obviously not an ideal situation, but we want to ensure that as many racers can participate as possible in the September round.

As such, initially we will limit the number of pit crew attendees to just 30 people, and to ensure that only critical pit members are allowed into the track, we will be charging $100 per person (via Track Intel registration, limit one per racer) for the weekend.

We realize the hardship that this will put on some racers, and it is certainly not a restriction that the OMRRA Board wants to place on the race weekend, but we are operating under extreme conditions, and lucky to be racing at all in Portland.

We hope that racers will be good neighbors in the pits, and help each other during the weekend. We also look forward to the day that our entire OMRRA and WMRRA families can be together in the pits on a race weekend at PIR.

We Are Looking for Volunteers

In addition to the pit crew restrictions, we will once again be unable to have spectators at the September round, but there is a loophole to this, as we still need volunteers to work the corner stations.

These are the best seats in the house, and filling these spots will help us run a successful racing event.

If you have friends or family that want to watch you race this weekend, have them volunteer for a station. Contact: volunteer@omrra.com

OMRRA Board Election Ballots Have Been Sent

Nominations for the OMRRA Board of Directors have closed, and you should have received an election ballot in your email inbox (via Survey Monkey). Voting closes 11:45 PM on Monday, August 31st.

Of note, no one accepted a nomination for the Secretary position. Accordingly, voting members will have the choice of either writing in a candidate, or voting to allow the Board of Directors to appoint a new Secretary to the position.

If you did not receive a ballot, first confirm that you paid your membership fees for 2020, or that you were a regular volunteer during the 2019 season. If you you meet those voting qualifications, and didn’t receive an email ballot, then please email [email protected] to correct this issue.

We Are Racing in October at The Ridge with WMRRA

The final round of the 2020 OMRRA racing season has been confirmed by WMRRA for October 10th and 11th, at the Ridge Motorsports Park. As you have probably guessed, this will be another joint round with our friends at WMRRA.

There will be further communication about this round in a couple weeks, but get it on your calendar now, and begin making your necessary scheduling arrangements and bookings for the race weekend.

Race Results from August at The Ridge Are on Track Intel

The race results from the August round at the Ridge Motorsports Park are now on Track Intel. These results had to be manually entered into our system from WMRRA’s system, hence the delay.

Because these results were entered by hand, there is some chance for error, so we encourage all racers to check their results for accuracy.

If you find a discrepancy, first check that the result is different from what WMRRA posted to Speedhive, as these results are considered official, and to change them would require action by the WMRRA Race Referee, CJ Hobbs: [email protected]

If however, OMRRA has incorrectly imported the WMRRA results into our system, then you can email [email protected] to request a fix.

Drop Those Lap Times and Sign-Up for the Friday Track Day with OPRT

If you want to spin some laps before the September race weekend, thus ensuring that none of our trophies end up in the hands of WMRRA racers, then sign-up for the Friday OPRT track day.

Go ahead and sign up for the OPRT track here. All the fast kids are doing it.

Tired of All That Winning? Recycle Your OMRRA Trophies

Is your shelf struggling to hold all the trophies you have won over the years of racing with OMRRA? Turn those past victories into future ones and recycle your old trophies.

If you have any current-style trophies (wood base with the metal OMRRA logo) that you don’t want anymore, bring them to ASIT at the next racing round at PIR so they can be recycled.

We look forward to racing again with all of you this September. Now go sign-up already!

Stay Fast,
The OMRRA Board of Directors