COVID June 1

Well the pandemic has moved to phase 3 in our state.  This gives us more latitude to discern our future.  The message from our Gov has been to do it wisely and conservatively and I believe that is good advice.  We ALL want to race but NONE want to be sick.  We have run practice events the last couple of days and are quite happy that it has gone smoothly.  Phase 3 allows groups of 10.  There are multiple ways to interpret that and we have chosen the most conservative route of 10 people on property for now.

HOW DO WE GET BACK TO THE SPORT WE LOVE?  We spend time each day contemplating what is next.  Can we have multiple groups on property, with separation, and organize some fun?  Should we insist on grid being occupied only w/masks or helmets?  We know that group size is limited so how can we compete and how would we merge smaller groups?  Preregistration, to control crowd size, is working for practice but what guidelines do we want for the next step?  When will we move to phase 4?  Let us know your thoughts so we can design a plan and still stay within guidelines.

Events, other than practice, are cancelled for this week but I would sure like to post something more for next week.  We would certainly like to expand but we must try to avoid contagious practices and defying state guidelines.  Help us design a plan for fun.

OPENING for Practice

I am posting our weekly outlook a bit earlier than Mon this week.  The Gov stated at his press briefing last Mon that the ENTIRE state now met his metrics to move forward.  My guess is he will NOT release the next stage until the deadline of May 28.  Our state is VERY conservative compared to others in the Midwest.  BUT whether you like him or not, whether you voted for him or not, he IS the Gov at this time and making the rules.

I have created a new page on the website called COVID INFO which contains details of our plan.  One of the MAJOR points is RESERVATION ONLY as we will be watched for crowd size.  We will take your calls for reservations NOW.

We are not happy about cancelling our block party but wishing you positive things on your Memorial Day celebration.  First, we need to open and then see where this leads us as for racing.  On a positive note, we got the cracks filled on the racing surface so it should be a bit smoother now.   Stay tuned for changes

COVID May 18 details

Well the Gov has dictated a plan to Restore Illinois and, in my opinion, we have met the metrics for moving to phase 3.  We would like to open as much as anyone as this is a financial disaster for me.  As much as anybody would love to spend a day at the track, I am pretty sure no one would trade a day at the track for a COVID positive test.  We outlined a few concepts last week and are working on a program to open.  Meanwhile, after cutting brush and painting curbs, we are crack-filling now.

Tentatively, we expect to have limits on crowd size so we are thinking about two sessions per day.  Morning would be 10-2 and afternoon would be 3-7.  Reservations only, social distancing, masks, and no related COVID symptoms are likely to be part of the program.

We will need to cancel all events planned for this week including our Block party (bummer).  We are anxiously awaiting a nod from our governing officials.  Look for a future post with details soon.

COVID May 11 update

The state of Illinois has daily numbers updates and while the number of cases increases daily, due in part to the increased testing, the number of people in the hospitals, the number in ICU, and the number on ventilators has been almost steady, or declining, since April 19.  Deaths are increasing but they lag behind the cases numbers and are harder to analyze.

My point to the commerce dept was that outdoor recreation is currently allowed on golf courses and boating so why not us in at least some capacity.  Possibly more state officials understand golf better than they understand racing.  Autobahn has been allowed to open, on the car side, with limits of 10 on track at once.

I got a response from the commerce dept, but not a green light yet.  I am hoping our first step in re-opening comes soon and I would forecast we may follow a variation of these guidelines:

1. Reservations for practice (to maintain crowd size)
2. Social separation
3. Masks (when not wearing race gear)
4. VERY limited building access (single occupancy of bathrooms)

At this writing, we plan to cancel our Jr, Sr, & Friday Leagues for this week.  We have been at work repainting curbs and plan more maintenance this week.  We hope everyone celebrated Mothers Day.  Quite possibly the spirit was the same while the practice was different.

 

COVID May outlook

My weekly post on COVID is starting to seem like a broken record.

I have tried to communicate with the state to allow at least practice even if under some guidelines and at this point have gotten no response.

At this point we will cancel our FNL race on May 8 along with the start of Jr & Sr league due to start this week.

The bright spot is that I know of no cases among our race group at this time, and please enjoy your Mothers Day even if it is different this year.

COVID April 27 thoughts

While it looks like our hospital numbers are slowly reducing, the Gov has extended the stay at home order for now.  Until that changes, we remain closed to practice/rentals.

This means FNL race 5, scheduled for May 1 will be cancelled and Points race 2, scheduled for May 2 will be cancelled.

We have Jr & Sr leagues coming up soon and we are wondering what we will be allowed to do.  Things change daily and we will continue with weekly information posts for now.

COVID April 20 update

It seems COVID is still among us but has softened a bit.  I like NY Gov saying “we have contained the BEAST but have not killed it”.  We will continue with weekly updates as we are still seeing daily changes.

This week we will be cancelling FNL race 4 on 24Apr20.  At this point, we are not sure what direction the season of FNL will take but we are open to ideas if you have them.

We are answering the phone and trying to handle your requests.

COVID APRIL 13 thoughts

Our non-essential ban has not been lifted so we are still closed for the week.  This means FNL race 3, on Apr 17, will be cancelled.  Our Gov, over the weekend, did mention death rate per day was lowering so maybe that means we are recovering slowly.

On a humorous note, a NAMELESS person has suggested that when we return to racing that we enforce 10 ft separation (min) on the racetrack.  Translated — pass in the grass — and he has “volunteered” to start “on the pole”.  Van Eynde sure has lots of ideas doesn’t he?

COVID-19 UPDATE

The track continues to wait for the non-essential business ban to be lifted.  This situation changes often so we will continue with weekly updates.  We have no scheduled events this week.  Our last week race 1 would have been fine — a bit chilly but dry.  We would like to wish you a happy Easter and stay tuned for details on practice/rentals.

TRACK MAINTENANCE UPGRADE

At the Feb meeting, it was mentioned that trees were quite large along the back straight.  After checking Tom Musch’s dynamic panoramic photo from about 10 yrs ago, it was noticed that only long grass was on the bank and not even a sapling stuck out higher than the grass.  The dirt pile exists as a sound wall for the neighbors and the long grass enhances that.  We needed to remove the trees at ground level to avoid having stumps so we pulled the trees out and cut the roots.  This turned out to be more than a one-day project.