Talk-It-Up Tuesday with ROAR President Steve Mruk

 

 

This year has been a big year for a lot of companies and organizations in the industry. One of these organizations who have undergone a lot of changes, and been handed a plateful of things to do, is the United States sanctioning body, ROAR. We have sat down with the new ROAR President, Mr. Steve Mruk, for this week's edition of "Talk-It-Up Tuesday" to discuss the changes, the events, and the future of ROAR.
 

 

LiveRC: Welcome Steve to "Talk-It-Up Tuesday!" Let's start off by talking about you and your racing. When and how did you get started in R/C car racing?

Steve: Mike I would like to say thanks to you and LiveRC for having me. Back in the mid to late 80's I received a Tamiya Blackfoot as a present and well let say from then on I was hooked. I later started racing the gold tub RC 10 then moved to the Losi JRX2, I also had the help of some local racers back then namely Todd Lewis and Shawn Glacier with out there help I am not sure I would have stayed racing. Our weather here in the winter gets a bit cold so my local hobby shop then started racing carpet oval and of course I had to get one so I started with a Bolink car then moved to the Associated 10L. After our local shop closed up there where no other indoor oval tracks so I changed to the Corally sp12 and later raced at the Cleveland Indoor Championships. That's was probably one on the best races I ever attended.

LiveRC: What made you want to take over the role of ROAR President?

Steve: Back in the early 90's when I raced off road the ROAR regional championships where a must attend event and where a lot of fun, However when I got back into racing back in 2008-2009 there where hardly any ROAR regional races and the ones we did have the attendance was low. By being elected President I feel that I can bring some credit and prestige back to ROAR and make someone else's memories as good as mine where racing at ROAR events.

LiveRC: How has the position treated you so far?

Steve: Like any job in life it has its challenges but I would have to say its treated me pretty well so far I have had the chance to talk with a few of the Industry Icons that I only dreamed of talking to back in the day and listening to there thoughts and ideas on ways we can improve the organization for our members.
 
 
LiveRC: You have been working hard to make not only ROAR as an organization, but also ROAR events better for the racers. What are some changes, and things you have been working on?

Steve: A few of the changes we have done so far are to purchase a few Ez Up style tents with the ROAR logo. These tents will be used at our ROAR National events as well as a few regional events. We are also working on some training videos for technical inspection so our members will know what to expect at regional and national events. Currently we are looking at revamping the web site to make it easier to navigate and find the information our members are looking for. Some of our affiliates may have noticed, or will very shortly in the future, some of our questionnaires on ways to improve ROAR.

LiveRC: R/C racing is one of the few motorsports that you can win a national title in one day of racing. Has there ever been consideration to making a nationwide series to crown a national champion instead?

Steve: Good question, There has been some talk about it but there is a lot of planning involved in doing something like this so we have to do our research and make sure we cover the bases. So the short answer is its just been talked about. Here in Region 2 we are on our second year of doing a series race to crown our off road regional champion and its working out well so far. It was tried for the first time with on road as well this year and there are a few tweaks to make to the program. Hopefully we can implement this in a few other regions.

LiveRC: What advice do you have for ROAR Regional directors, and ROAR racers to help grow their regional events and following?

Steve: I would first off say thanks to our regional directors for volunteering there time, Without them we would not get the feedback from the local racing scene which I think is needed to help with future decisions ROAR may make. If any off our regional directors needs anything please contact me, This also applies to our members as well. I would urge the members to contact there directors with any concerns or ideas however if they want they may also contact any member of the executive committee as well. I am always open to ways in which we can improve our ROAR.

LiveRC: Rumors of ROAR expanding a little by joining the oval racing scene have been circulating. Are these rumors true?

Steve: Well I have reached out to the various oval groups getting there feedback and input on rules and such. I wouldn't say ROAR is ready to host a Oval National just yet but I think if we can all work together that benefits the manufactures and our members and who knows what the futures holds. So to answer your question I guess we can say there not rumors anymore.

LiveRC: What is your personal favorite form of R/C car racing?

Steve: Well currently I race Nitro off road and a little 4x4 short course but I like all forms of R/C Racing.


LiveRC: From what you have seen so far, who do you feel will be crowned the IFMAR World Champion in each class?

Steve: Wow that's a tough one, I think anything is possible at the upcoming worlds, and the ROAR Bloc has a great team of drivers so I think we will see one of our own crowned World Champion.
 

LiveRC: Best thing about being ROAR President?

Steve: The best part of the ROAR President position I think is volunteering my time to the R/C community, Its my way of paying it forward as I have great memories of ROAR regional races growing up here in Region 2, and I hope that we can provide the same great memories to those now racing at our regional events.

LiveRC: Thank you so much for joining us today Steve, we wish you the best in the coming months with the remaining ROAR events! Is there anything you would like to add?

Steve: I would like to thank LiveRC for having me and hope we can do it again. I would like to let our members know that our door is always open and feel free to drop us an email letting us know how we are doing. I also want to wish our Worlds Teams the best of luck. I also want to thank our host tracks of this years national events as well as all those that attended. Just a reminder that all bids for our 2014 Nationals are due Aug 31,2014. 

 

 

  

 

 

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