2018 Dog Days of Summer Series announcement [VIDEO]

0 Feb. 21, 2018, 8:50 a.m.

By Mike Garrison
LiveRC.com

Press Release from Dog Days of Summer Series:
www.facebook.com

What started out as an experiment in 2016 between two Pennsylvania local 1/10th scale tracks to see if a 1/10th scale race series would be viable turned out to be a big success.

The first year the 4 races in the series were spread out through the hot weekends of July and August which is where the name, Dog Days of Summer Race Series, originated from.

We expected maybe 35-40 entries at the first race since this region is predominately filled with 1/8th scale racing. To our surprise we were met by 68 entries ready to race and have a good time.

We averaged 55 entries at each of the races which told us that we were onto something.

What differentiated our series races from any local club or trophy race was that the emphasis on having fun.

The series is organized by a local racer, Shaun Duffy, who handles setting everything up with the Track Owners and acquiring event sponsors for door prizes. It is truly a race series by the racers, for the racers.

The following year I decided it was time to branch out to other 1/10th scale race tracks in the Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virgina region and offer top 5 awards at each race along with a top 5 series awards.

We also created a unique "Olympic Medal Style" awards format called the "Top Dogs Awards" which rewards those racers who make the most podiums during the series.

Including some of the other local 1/10th scale race tracks meant that we would have to start the race series earlier, much earlier, than the previous year. Realizing that the name Dog Days of Summer Race Series was not as relevant we decided that we would slowly adopt the shortened name of Dog Days Race Series which many refer to as "Dog Days".

We stepped up the promotions of the race series and word got out about this unique race series in the region. Word of mouth about the success of the previous year combined with the buzz of the expanded race series came together to form the perfect storm and in our first race of 2017 we topped 150+ entries and averaged 98 entries through the 5 race series.

The pits and drivers stand was filled with smiles and laughter and people were happy to win door prizes donated by our event sponsors.

For 2018 we're adding a "Furthest Traveled" award which will be given out at each race to the racer who traveled the furthest to get there.

We're also adding the 4wd stock Buggy class that has been growing at a rapid pace.

As an added bonus we're giving each racer a series t-shirt with their first series registration.

We've also added a "Loyal Bulldog" award to those racers who make it to all 5 races in the series.

The recurring theme here is that we're doing everything we can to make it an even better experience for the racers.

We're also making sure that we take care of the hosting race tracks by purchasing gift certificates which we turn around and give away as yet another door prize.

This year the Dog Days crew has expanded by adding Matt Bridges as Tech Inspector, Ray Walker and Jamie Groff as Track Officials, and Michael Staples as the race announcer.

2018 Dog Days of Summer Series Race Schedule