Talk It Up Tuesday: Dave Leikam

It's Tuesday, so we sat down and had a talk with Dave Leikam from RaceTime Entertainment to talk about planning events during this time and even a bit about his haunted house.

How have you been since the first official event back from COVID-19?
Dave Leikam: Well, I'm finally recovered from pnb and now I'm getting ready for the wicked weekend in August. I couldn't have been more happy with the way the PNB ran this year, especially with all the Covid safety requirements.

How was it working with the local community and government for Psycho?
DL: I have a very good working relationship with the Walter State Expo Center and the facility director early on gave me a list of requirements that I needed to meet in order for them to allow us to do the pnb. Of course that list changed week-to-week and we had the make some last-minute changes before the event but outside of that it was a pretty seamless process.

What was the reasoning behind moving Wicked to a dedicated track?
DL: The Chicopee Woods Agricultural Center is a county ran facility and with that being said they just felt it was too early to open back up since being shutdown in March. We would have been the first event back from the Covid shutdown and with the Wicked being one of the largest events they have every year, it just wasn't possible with them already running a skeleton crew at the facility.

Will it go back to an arena next year?
DL: Absolutely! Dates are already booked. I love arena racing!

Are you guys excited to be taking over the Southern Nationals this year, and what changes are you making?
DL: I'm pretty excited about it. I'm flying out shortly after the wicked weekend to check out the arena and meet with the facility director. For the most part the event is going to stay the same, I'm just going to be adding a few more classes and kick up the production level a little but the general feel of the event will stay the same...just with a little RaceTime flair added to it.

Do you plan to go back to your normal schedule next year or do you like these new event dates?
DL: I will definitely be going back to the original dates and locations of last year. All of these changes in 2020 was strictly due to the covid-19 issue.

Is it looking like you will be able to host your haunted house this year?
DL: It's looking really good for the haunted house this year. We have developed several Covid safety plans for the operation of the haunt and we have spent a lot of money making it bigger and better for this year.

How much different is it planning for the haunted house than for a big rc race?
DL: There are a few things that are the same like sanitizing stations and practicing social distancing but when it comes to the haunted house and the amount of people that we have coming through our doors every season, it's a much bigger task to manage. For the haunt season we will probably be going to timed virtual ticketing and sending text messages to customers when their time slot is ready. We also have to worry about our cast members, makeup artist, wardrobe personnel, management and security when it comes to PPE. The scare tactics will need to change also since we can't really get into customers personal space this year so I have added more sound and pheumatic scares to the show. Its going to be a lot of work but in the end it will be worth it.