Tony's VIP Suites @ Classic

[Scottg22]

Anyone from NESR go up to Tonys VIP Suite last saturday for the Classic? Was curious how it was and what everyone thought of it.

[Palm Bomb]

I heard it was awesome and the only blind spot was the apex of the bowl.

[mzdagrl]

I heard it was awesome and the only blind spot was the apex of the bowl.

Sounds about right.


Having seen a few races from that vantage point, it is an awesome view. I hope those of you who made it up there enjoyed it, and continue to get seats like this (and bring friends).

[noxin]

Me and my girlfriend went up and had a great time. There were less than the maximum capacity in the box which was nice. The AC was awesome The view was good, except for the entry and apex of six and turn8/9 area. Drinks were cold, food was hot.

The only bummer is that there's no way to "upgrade" the ticket to get infield access.
It's something I'd absolutely do again, maybe once or twice a season.

[rolker]

I headed up there after participating in race #2 (GTL) and it was a great spot to unwind and cool off after being on the track. Already having infield access, I was planning to wander in and out of the suite the rest of the afternoon, but instead I ended up just staying in there for the rest of the day.

pros:

• Great view of most of the track (Especially 1-1A!)
• Air conditioned
• Quiet, allowing chatting with buddies without yelling
• Cold beer and snacks

cons:

• Isolated from the infield atmosphere (this somewhat conflicts with the quiet part listed above)
• Bike numbers where difficult to see, so it was hard to distinguish between bikes except for the few with the more unique paint schemes

To help figure out who was on track, I would lookup the grid sheets on my Android phone, but once the race started, I had to pick one of the simultaneous races to follow with the live timing. It would have been nice to have a display showing the live timing of everyone on track. I'm thinking of something similar to how the LRRS results used to be published showing everyone on track in the order they are running overall, yet having a column showing the position in their respective race.

The announcements were piped in, but Tony did a great job adding to the commentary by pointing out where on the track the action was happening and answering the basic questions people had. I believe most of them where watching their first LRRS races, so I'm sure that having an old "pro" like Tony explaining to them some of the basics like the different classes and skill levels helped a lot.

For the $10 TTD member's price, it was a nice upgrade to my infield pass. I don't think I would have paid $20 over the $25 I had already paid to get on the track. Of course, other than Tony and Rene, I'm not sure if anyone else in there had infield access, so $20 seems reasonable for general spectators. Maybe a $35 infield-skybox combo could be offered?

I wouldn't want to always be watching the races from up there, but the skybox does provide a nice alternative with a great view in addition to the usual T3, T1A and T6 bleachers.

[TTD]

I think the concept of doing this is great, but it needs fine tuning.

I was going to write Tom about this also.

I have not seen the track from the center of the front straight... are there boxes there too? That might be a better spot as we could not see Turns 11 and 12 from where we were.

In the future, if doing the box in the Turn 1 area, I believe using the boxes closest to Turn 2 would be best, as you'd likely be able to see the bottom of the bowl also?

Putting aside which box for a moment...

According to the track, the cost of the food/booze alone was $20 per person. So the track wasn't really making anything. I am not sure if this will be the price in the future?

However, adding an easy way to upgrade to infield is important.

Also, adding an easy way for racers to stop by the suite is important. It's great for a spectator to watch a race one minute... then have that racer sitting there talking about it the next.

Open the gate next to the elevator so people can drive their pit bike or car right next to the elevator. Otherwise, it adds a lot of time to people that want to quickly go back and forth from the infield as they have to walk quite a ways to their transportation.

The suite had like 65 seats... it should not be limited to 30. Make it a 60 person limit as most times people will be coming and going so you don't want the box to feel empty, as it did a couple of times.

The food was just OK. I told Tom about this already and he is working on that.

Bottom line is that this is something that can be tweaked to be a really nice option. After being up in the suite and able to watch the whole track... you get spoiled.

[CBR929RE]

• Bike numbers where difficult to see, so it was hard to distinguish between bikes except for the few with the more unique paint schemes

all you needed to know was 64 or 1 was in front. that's 75% of the races right there.

[OreoGaborio]

Also, adding an easy way for racers to stop by the suite is important. It's great for a spectator to watch a race one minute... then have that racer sitting there talking about it the next.

I woulda loved to have popped my head in just for a race or two. I think racers having the ability to drop in to say hi to everyone might help sell even more of those spots.

Perhaps giving a limited number of different colored wrist bands (5 or so?) for the organizer of the box to hand out to a couple of racers so they can spend some time up there might be an option?

[rolker]

I woulda loved to have popped my head in just for a race or two. I think racers having the ability to drop in to say hi to everyone might help sell even more of those spots.

Perhaps giving a limited number of different colored wrist bands (5 or so?) for the organizer of the box to hand out to a couple of racers so they can spend some time up there might be an option?

Wait, so maybe AM#763 should have gotten paid to make his "special appearance" at the skybox?

[OreoGaborio]

"Paid"? No...
"Let in for free to go and briefly schmooze and say hi to the spectators"? Sure.

[rolker]

Hey, can't blame me for trying, right?

[TTD]

I think a bigger group will be the main thing. Maybe a combined NESR/BORN/PENGUIN/TTD/BOMO, etc thing.

Having 50 plus people (not counting the racers) would be great. Do it on a Saturday so you could also watch the dirt tracking race on the mini oval, maybe?

Then head into the infield for a group BBQ, some drinks, etc. (just don't get on a pit bike after drinking... it's dangerous!)

[Rada]

I'll make plans now for next year. Work got in the way this year.
I can rally a few guys from work to come along.

[mzdagrl]

(just don't get on a pit bike after drinking... it's dangerous!)