Price gouging and shortages have taken the fun away

jsf74

Member
This year is already shaping up to be a wash. Bigger teams are hoarding all the new burris tires and rims and it seems those that do make out people are asking astronomical prices for. Really taking the fun out of the sport knowing when tires are the most important thing its what we cant get. Showing up to be a field filler is not fun in my book.
 
Just bought a brand new animal for state series racing…. Just hung the kart on the wall because I can’t get any tire that MIGHT be competitive…. Bought a brand new truck to go racing last year, so far only used it for that 6 times lol go karting definitely isn’t what it was when I started in 2005….

Last year I had 5 sets (record amount of sets I ever had at one time lol) of second rate (19/20s) tires and my results showed, I worked my butt of to battle for last every show.

I still feel tires need to be sold at the track only, especially with the extreme shortages. Limit purchases, give everyone a shot. Everyone is on the same playing field, if you can figure it out and make it work (cut prep whatever else) at the track on race day have at it just don’t be late for your race
 
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Yes I’m feeling the same way. I placed an order from a few companies that showed items in stock on their website from 2 different places. One called and advised they were out of stock and refunded me my money. I can respect that. The other just keeps giving me the run around and didn’t want me to cancel my order for a refund. Stopped answering or returning my calls even. I txted him to to refund my money which he replied he would but have not seen my money yet. I’m giving him till the end of the week before I go dispute the charges on my CC.
 
Everything is so expensive now with karting and I normally just buy takeoffs that have 15 laps on one side and so I run them 2 times and sell them for cheap. I haven't faced any shortage of tires yet but I am lucky that I am on maxxis and running takeoffs. This is racing and yes it is expensive but 5 gallons of gas to run generator all day is like 20+ bucks and then diesel is 5.10 down here and then methanol is over 5 bucks but we wont use but 10 bucks. I change oil at track and that is 2-3 times a night and that cost about 10 bucks. The fee at the gate is like 20 bucks per class then 15 bucks per crew member. If I buy a gallon of every prep I need it is well over 300 bucks and I get a little over a year with that. I have a bad feeling that this is just the start and we better hang onto our hats for the next few years because it will get way worse. Honestly we could sit here and complain forever but it isn't gonna stop me from doing what I love which is kart racing. We can complain about fuel prices but what are we gonna do...tow trailer with bicycle?! You know what I mean. It is just bad and gonna get worse so I don't even know what to do.
 
Local saturday night shows are what built this hobby we all enjoy and it will be what carries this hobby through what I think is coming.

You can go pay all those $65 & $90 entry fee races all you want with a $25 gate fee on top of that........that is not what built this or what will carry it.

Start tracking your entire race day expenses. From the time you hook to the trailer until the time you get back home. Simple math never lies. Be smart.

Race within your means and where you can be competitive.
 
I'll also add if it's not fun. Take a break. I didn't even go to any track for 8 weeks. Worked on our program & equipment. Was what we needed and refreshing. Went back ran better than we had in a year.
 
Local saturday night shows are what built this hobby we all enjoy and it will be what carries this hobby through what I think is coming.

You can go pay all those $65 & $90 entry fee races all you want with a $25 gate fee on top of that........that is not what built this or what will carry it.

Start tracking your entire race day expenses. From the time you hook to the trailer until the time you get back home. Simple math never lies. Be smart.

Race within your means and where you can be competitive.
Yep, Local racing is about all I do now. At 50 yrs old I'm done with the Big Show stuff(not like I raced big time anyway). I race for Fun and despite what I had seen on Goofy Fbook, some seem to think racing for fun is like a joke. I dont mind finishing 2nd, 3rd etc, but one "comment" was that happily finishing 2nd etc means your just a happy loser. Racing for fun I can finish last and still have had fun..
 
We race at a local friday night track. To combat the tire shortage all the guys in our stock appearing class have decided to run treads this year. We're all tired of chasing tires and more importantly the track conditions with such tires. But like I said we're trying it out hope it provides some good racing.
 
This year is already shaping up to be a wash. Bigger teams are hoarding all the new burris tires and rims and it seems those that do make out people are asking astronomical prices for. Really taking the fun out of the sport knowing when tires are the most important thing its what we cant get. Showing up to be a field filler is not fun in my book.
Easy fix, if it is a real problem, is an open tire rule. period
 
I like this post because it’s exactly what I’m thinking. We bash the companies for the shortages but no one talks about who’s fueling it. National level racers or even your local top dog with all the money are the ones who are buying literally every tire and wheel available purely out of “because I can”. They know what they need and are going above and beyond their means to pad their inventories. It’s literally the paper towel and toilet paper scenario. And then they have the audacity to be the first ones complaining about the shortage. If they choose to sell off stuff they jack the prices up to make a profit. There’s also big dealers who shall remain unnamed who are obviously aware of the situation that will let you pay for 10K worth of tires on their website knowing full and well that those tires don’t exist and then give you the run around about why you haven’t received them. I have to give a shout-out to palmetto because they refuse to sell and take money for products that are out of stock (they disable buying of items that are OOS) and will help you by adding you to their mailing list and notify once items are in. It’s killing the sport and the same big guys who make the most noise about shortages are the ones propagating the issue more than anyone else. These guys are trash and will do anything to stiff everyone around them simply because they can.
 
If Burris is creating the problem and can't supply tires on an equal basis to everyone.

THROW THE BUMS OUT !
Burris and Maxxis have deals with the tracks. Racers are not going to be able to persuade the tracks on this. Also it's gonna upset all the tire cutters by killing their bread and butter. not to mention the hot shot racers investment in multiple date code mystery sauce super special killer tires into the most unused sets just taking up space. i.ve talked to some of the best tire specialists who've told me they have hundreds and hundreds of sets of tires. they are not looking to throw the bums out.
 
Local saturday night shows are what built this hobby we all enjoy and it will be what carries this hobby through what I think is coming.

You can go pay all those $65 & $90 entry fee races all you want with a $25 gate fee on top of that........that is not what built this or what will carry it.

Start tracking your entire race day expenses. From the time you hook to the trailer until the time you get back home. Simple math never lies. Be smart.

Race within your means and where you can be competitive.
Great post here.
 
the problem is the cost of living is going up but not what your getting paid. still
a Briggs flathead back in the day was around $300 for the motor + blue printing =$550-$600
today a $129 motor + blueprinting = $1350. I remember paying $15-20 to get into a track back in the mid 90s and there was NO PAYBACK. the tracks seem to be keeping the price the same
I take my kids to 5 guys and we end up paying $50-60 for dag gum cheeseburgers.
houses here have doubled in price over the past two years Tuition For the University has gone up 20% yet my pay has only increased 5%?!? go figure.
 
Great post here.
While that may be true in your neck of the woods but not around here. If you don’t have proper burris tires you are a field filler. Extremely competitive at all the tracks we go to and if we can’t at least show up knowing you have a chance to win to me there’s no sense in going. I don’t show up to run 2nd we are there to win and with the way things are right now that’s just not possible. Maybe that’s selfish but thats my thoughts.
 
While that may be true in your neck of the woods but not around here. If you don’t have proper burris tires you are a field filler. Extremely competitive at all the tracks we go to and if we can’t at least show up knowing you have a chance to win to me there’s no sense in going. I don’t show up to run 2nd we are there to win and with the way things are right now that’s just not possible. Maybe that’s selfish but thats my thoughts.
It is still America and choices are available. Numbers matter. Take a stand as a group.

Demand open tire or take the summer off with your family. When the tracks only have 3-4 karts per class open tire will be real enticing to them.
 
I'm a one person operation and know several other racers like me. We race Burris SS33A's and fortunately for us this is the tire that Burris is focused on making along with the outlaw kart lines. If you're looking for SS11's or 55's it sounds like it will be a long road. Within the past week I've seen no less than 15 sets of brand new 33's for sale by individuals. My local kart shop had 33's and wheels last week. Palmetto had wheels for at least a couple of weeks. Sure I had to pay a few bucks more per item over last years price but nothing that I felt was out of line with the cost of everything else I purchase.

When you see "teams" that maintain their equipment (bearings, chain, clutch, engine, etc) finish ahead of the guy who races every week but hasn't cleaned their kart in a month nobody bats an eye. If the back runner complains that it's not fair they don't have the same equipment as the front runner they'll be told to put in the work and maintain their kart. A similar message applies to procuring wheels and potentially tires if you're on 33's. You have to put in the work to find what you're needing.

Slick27 is on point when saying to have fun and race within your means.
 
I'm a one person operation and know several other racers like me. We race Burris SS33A's and fortunately for us this is the tire that Burris is focused on making along with the outlaw kart lines. If you're looking for SS11's or 55's it sounds like it will be a long road. Within the past week I've seen no less than 15 sets of brand new 33's for sale by individuals. My local kart shop had 33's and wheels last week. Palmetto had wheels for at least a couple of weeks. Sure I had to pay a few bucks more per item over last years price but nothing that I felt was out of line with the cost of everything else I purchase.

When you see "teams" that maintain their equipment (bearings, chain, clutch, engine, etc) finish ahead of the guy who races every week but hasn't cleaned their kart in a month nobody bats an eye. If the back runner complains that it's not fair they don't have the same equipment as the front runner they'll be told to put in the work and maintain their kart. A similar message applies to procuring wheels and potentially tires if you're on 33's. You have to put in the work to find what you're needing.

Slick27 is on point when saying to have fun and race within your means.
Its not at all about money its 100% principal! We are front runners and i about guarantee our equipment is as nice and definitely cleaner than most. We see it on here every day people asking $300 for mychron 4’s and $600 plus for rims and tires its ridiculous. No way our sport can sustain these numbers and have a future with new people coming in.
 
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