Racers Domain Interviews Flashpoint Admin Joe Lomas
Interview With Flashpoint Administrator Joe Lomas
February 10, 2002 with Racers Domain's Glenn Scott
GS: Hi Joe. Thanks for taking the time to chat with us about Flashpoint.
JL: No problem Glenn, it's an honor to actually get an interview with Racers Domain. I always have nothing but the utmost respect for you guys.
GS: How long has Flashpoint been around?
JL: Flashpoint has been around since Sept of 1999.
GS: How did it all get started Joe?
JL: Well, back then I was running on TEN and joined an N2 offline league called Thunderhawks Motorsports. Cliff Warren was the man in charge. I was their first online driver to sign up on their team and they used to race in many offline leagues. Some did join online leagues afterwards and got pretty frustrated over the lack of organization and support from some of the offline and online league. That's when Cliff approached me and said he was thinking of starting a league, and since I loved racing online, if I wanted to start running the online portion. Well... you knew what happened right after that. That's when TEN pulled the plug and Nascar 3 came out. That's when I decided to admin the N3 offline leagues and online a few months after that.
When I first started, it was pretty hectic; because I didn't know web design back then and Cliff taught me how to use Frontpage and how to download and upload files. I can't thank him enough; because it was with this patience and guidance that helped me get Flashpoint to where it is today, as well as the huge job change I did from being an Insurance Adjuster to Web Developer for the company I work for now.
GS: Have you been the administrator since the beginning?
JL: Yes, I was initially, the N3 director and Cliff is the CEO of Flashpoint. As our league grew into the hundreds and Cliff's job has him with very little time for Flashpoint, we both agreed that we would be CO-owners of Flashpoint and he is the CEO and I'm the COO "Chief Operations Officer" of Flashpoint.
GS: Who are your co-administrators if you have any?
JL: Cliff and I are partners of Flashpoint Racing Series.
- OSCAR Series: I'm personally handling OSCAR series and my CRS's (Chief Race Stewards) for Firebrand Series is Mike Payton, Outlaw Series is Christopher Losh, Sportsman thru Freedom Cup is Barry Kroft.
- Pro Series: The Director is Colin Hurd and Assistant Directors are Tom O'Hara and Chris Blalock. They take care of the Stock, Semi Pro, and Pro divisions.
- Pro Fixed Series: The Director is Luke Sink and Assistant Directors are Scott Gilroy and Sean Montgomery. They take are of the Stock, Semi Pro, and Pro divisions.
- Arcade Series: The Director is Steve Bramer and he is handling the Monday and Saturday divisions.
GS: We've heard a lot about OSCAR's return with Flashpoint. How did that come about?
JL: Ken Hower had approached me last Sept of 2001 about running OSCAR. I explained to Ken the only way I would do that, is if OSCAR was part of Flashpoint; because I had spend over 2 years to get Flashpoint where it is today, and it was too hard for me to give that up. Also, Flashpoint Racing Series is not just one league, but many leagues in which a driver can run in different series.
GS: How many divisions and drivers are you guys running these days?
JL: Currently, we have well over 750 to 800 members running in 4 different Series. Many of those members are running in 2 to 4 of our series. Also, we have 8 servers with OC3 connections and upload speeds of 25 to 35mbps. Once N2002 comes out, we should have 12 servers running. All of our servers have RaceReaper rankings installed, so we also have contest for drivers running in Flashpoint.
We have overall rankings and monthly rankings and give out prizes to the top ranked driver of the month for each month. This is in addition to their divisional races. In additional to the divisional races, we have 3 servers set up for open practice, so when drivers are not racing in their divisional race, they can get extra practice the other 6 nights of the week.
OSCAR Series currently has 650 members in 1 Freedom Cup, 4 Sportsman, 7 Outlaw, and 11 Firebrand divisions. After the initial 12 week season, we are going to move the top 50 drivers in Sportsman into the 2 vacant Copperhead Grand National divisions. Pro Series, currently has 75 members in Stock, Semi Pro, and Pro divisions. At end of each 12 week season, we move the top 5 drivers from Semi Pro into Pro, and the drivers ranked 21 thru 25 drop down from Pro to Semi Pro, and the same for Stock and Semi Pro. Pro Fixed Series, currently has 75 members in Stock, Semi Pro, and Pro divisions.
At end of each 12 week season, we move the top 5 drivers from Semi Pro into Pro, and the drivers ranked 21 thru 25 drop down from Pro to Semi Pro, and the same for Stock and Semi Pro. Arcade Series, currently has 60 members and run in the Monday and Saturday divisions. All of the series above run the same schedule Monday thru Sunday, so drivers can race in more than 1 series and race the same track.
GS: Do you have someone you turn to when an issue arises?
JL: In each of the Series, we have committee members that help out on reviewing replays and complaints. I have Steve Bramer of Arcade Series, Scott Gilroy of Pro Fixed Series, and Colin Hurd of Pro Series that helps maintain the pages of their series. I usually make small changes to ensure that the entire pages have the same look and feel. Only exception is OSCAR Series for now, until I get more familiar with CSS; because there is so many pages.
GS: What do you feel Flashpoint has that separates it from other leagues?
JL: What separates us from most leagues is the motto that we live by on the front page of our site...
"This league came into being because of a belief that I had that every driver should be treated with fairness and respect. Too often, leagues forget that the only reason that they exist is because of the drivers. And so it is in an effort to show that there are those out there that recognize this fact, we as a team have created this place for us and other drivers to compete in an environment of good sportsmanship, friendship, and most importantly, in an atmosphere in which it is known that the DRIVERS COME FIRST!"
GS: Are you charging fees to maintain the league?
JL: We do not charge for our league, but request that drivers help out with donations. When running a league of over 750 to 800 members it can be costly.
GS: What does the future hold for Flashpoint?
JL: The future is endless for Flashpoint Racing Series. My ultimate goal is to bring the 4 Series that we have now and continue to increase divisions. With OSCAR for example, I'm currently working to get it setup, so we can have membership into that Series alone into the thousands. My goal is to have 1 Series the largest ever in order to make Freedom Cup, the toughest division to get into. The same goes for the Pro and Pro Fixed Series, by having 5 to 10 divisions, and only 1 Pro in each division. I also want to increase the Arcade divisions, so many new drivers coming into the sim community will have place they can race and not worry about setups and practicing as much.
GS: Are you currently taking new applications for new drivers?
JL: We are always accepting new applications, but we it really depends on which series they join. Most of our divisions are full now and we are having drivers on a waiting list. Some have been on the list for over 2 to 3 months and just got them signed up.
GS: Where can people find out more about Flashpoint?
JL: The URL to our site is http://flashpointracing.com
GS: Sounds like Flashpoint has got a lot going for it.
JL: Thank you so much for getting involved. No problem, it's my pleasure, and as I said, it was a great honor to actually have this interview.
Thanks again Joe,
RDC Webmaster
(This article originally appeared at RacersDomain)