Topic: Show Your Work! (Spreadsheets, Checklists, etc.)

Yes, this is another thing that I'm working on for HQ: Having ready-to-fill budget spreadsheets, pre-race checklists, and race weekend checklists. This is going to be pretty generic stuff (i.e. No "Make sure sludge adequately covers B18C1 stamp on engine"), but I'd like to see a lot of examples of how ya'll have built working versions of this stuff.

So.

If you have planning documents that work, feel free to send me a forum mail, email (see below), or even a link if you're fine with it being PUBLIC AND LETTING ALL YOUR SECRETS OUT. I promise not to hold your cheaty internal budgets against you (much) as a Supreme Court Justice (WHATEVER HAPPENED TO CHECKS AND BALANCES MAN!?).

Thanks and sorry for inundating the board with official crap.

Eric

Eric Rood
Everything Bagel, 24 Hours of Lemons
eric@24hoursoflemons.com

Re: Show Your Work! (Spreadsheets, Checklists, etc.)

Want my static/ dynamic compression ratio Excel calculator spreadsheet for a 460 Ford?  Comes preloaded with info for like 20 camshafts!

Tunachuckers: 15 Years of Effluency
'08 - '10: 1966 Volvo 122, "Charlie"
'10 - '18: 1975 Ford LTD Landau --> 2018 - current: Converted into 1950 "Plymford"
'22 - current: 1967 Volvo 122, "Charlie ]["

Re: Show Your Work! (Spreadsheets, Checklists, etc.)

mechimike wrote:

Comes preloaded with info for like 20 camshafts!

20 cams? Well how many valves does it have?

https://media1.tenor.com/images/32db267284e4e7f7c4a89244d7f1d665/tenor.gif

Eric Rood
Everything Bagel, 24 Hours of Lemons
eric@24hoursoflemons.com

Re: Show Your Work! (Spreadsheets, Checklists, etc.)

Emailed you our race cost spreadsheet. That's about the only official thing we have, our checklist is mainly looking around the shop saying "nah we won't need that."

Re: Show Your Work! (Spreadsheets, Checklists, etc.)

ross2004 wrote:

Emailed you our race cost spreadsheet. That's about the only official thing we have, our checklist is mainly looking around the shop saying "nah we won't need that."

That works. Kind of. Maybe. Enough.

Thanks!

Eric Rood
Everything Bagel, 24 Hours of Lemons
eric@24hoursoflemons.com

Re: Show Your Work! (Spreadsheets, Checklists, etc.)

So Lemons is moved forging documents to the 21th century. Bravo!!

Byte Marks Racing - "You knew the job was dangerous when you took it Fred."
1992 Nissan 240SX DM Edition (Drift Master)

Re: Show Your Work! (Spreadsheets, Checklists, etc.)

So we shouldn't just break into tears while saying I don't know, any time you ask us a question.

Racing 4 Nickels - 1989 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera
2011 SHOWROOM-SCHLOCK SHOOTOUT  IOE Winner
2012 The Chubba Cheddar Enduro Class C winner
Facebook Page

Re: Show Your Work! (Spreadsheets, Checklists, etc.)

I have stopped keeping a lot of the loading spreadsheets since I got the enclosed trailer.  I restock all the consumables a week or so after the prior race.  Food, beverages, live animals are all different each race so I just write it on the whiteboard.

I do have a standard price sheet for the race that tracks per driver...that was if any of the consumables are purchased by them, it deducts what they owe me.  It also gives me something to show a driver when they complain (has not happened in a long time) about the price for a race.

9 (edited by RobL 2018-04-24 12:31 PM)

Re: Show Your Work! (Spreadsheets, Checklists, etc.)

Here is our budget for NJMP this year. 

We add all our cost to the Detail spreadsheet.  Then we update the data on the summary sheet (just a couple of pivot tables) and it gives a nice summary of the costs associated with this race.  There is a last bought cost column that I use to get estimates for the next race together quicker.  I also use the date bought column to keep track of purchases so I can a) go back and see if I still need to buy anything and b) reconcile costs after the race.  Payments need to be negative. 

http://gofile.me/6ulKe/C7lX7JjDZ

--Rob Leone Schumacher Taxi Service
We won the IOE at Southern Discomfort.
We got screwed at The Real Hoopties of New Jersey  and we took cars down with us.
We got the curse at Capitol Offense but they wouldn't let us destroy the car.

10 (edited by gus 2018-04-24 12:14 PM)

Re: Show Your Work! (Spreadsheets, Checklists, etc.)

Here's a curated and (somewhat) anonymized version of our cost tracking spreadsheet: click me

It's pretty basic but has everything we need to track who spends what. Usually after each race we pay each other what the sheet says then mark everything as "settled". AnD payments are added as negative and go directly into the pocket of any team member, usually the one owed the most.

One trick to making this work easily is to find teammates who aren't cheapskates, or are at least the all the same idea of what things should cost. That way we avoid having to discuss/approve/argue every little purchase for the car.

Re: Show Your Work! (Spreadsheets, Checklists, etc.)

^^ The "Bob owes Fred, Fred owes Joe, etc" aspect of this shouldn't be overlooked.  I had never encountered this problem before and took me a bit of thinking to work out how to write the formulas for that.  I later learned that it's called circular debt and I have Lemons to thank for forcing me to learn that concept.  College didn't prepare me for this.

1990 RX7 "Mazdarita"  1964 Sunbeam Imp (IOE 2013 Sears Pointless) 2002 Jaguar x-type (Winner C-Class 2021 Sears Pointless)
Gone bye-bye
1994 Jaguar XJ12 (Winner C-Class 2013 Sears Pointless)  1980 Rover SD1 (I Got Screwed 2014 Return of Lemonites)

Re: Show Your Work! (Spreadsheets, Checklists, etc.)

Well yall asked for it.

This is our master sheet set which covers build, race expenses, and crap we need to buy.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ … =339071581

You'll note BS ledger is split off since judges don't care about stuff you didn't actually use but bought, and who paid what.


Out team Master pack list:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ … sp=sharing

And my Personal check list:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/12Ft … sp=sharing

Mistake By The Lake Racing (MBTL)
88 Thunderbird "THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!", Ex Astris, Rubigo / Semper Fracti
A&D: 2014 Sebrings at Sebring (NSF), 2014 NJMP2 Jurassic Park (SpeedyCop), 2012 Summit Point J30 (PiNuts)
2018 Route Sucky-Suck Rally Miata, 2019 World Tour Of Texas 64 Newport

Re: Show Your Work! (Spreadsheets, Checklists, etc.)

BoB wrote:

So we shouldn't just break into tears while saying I don't know, any time you ask us a question.

By scrupulously avoiding any semblance of recordkeeping I can just keep telling myself that I must have spent several... um... hundreds, I guess? of dollars on all this over the years. No need to shed tears, as that amount doesn't seem so bad.

1982 MG Metro 1300: IOE 2015 Pacific Northworst GP, Longest Distance 2010 Cd'L Box Wine Country Classic
1980 KV Mini 1: Worst of Show and Fright Pig Supremo 2009 Concours d'Lemons
1978 H Special: Second-Round Elimination 2010 Lemons Pinewood Derby at Sears Pointless
1967 SAAB 96: IOE 2012 Pacific Northworst GP, Organizer's Choice 2022 Hell on Wheels California Rally

Re: Show Your Work! (Spreadsheets, Checklists, etc.)

cheseroo wrote:

^^ The "Bob owes Fred, Fred owes Joe, etc" aspect of this shouldn't be overlooked.  I had never encountered this problem before and took me a bit of thinking to work out how to write the formulas for that.  I later learned that it's called circular debt and I have Lemons to thank for forcing me to learn that concept.  College didn't prepare me for this.

We, too, struggled with this.  I have never heard that term before, though.  You're right, it took some doing to come up with an eqn for it- especially when you sometimes have people who are at the race and eat (so they're on the food budget) but don't drive (so they're not on the car expenses).

Tunachuckers: 15 Years of Effluency
'08 - '10: 1966 Volvo 122, "Charlie"
'10 - '18: 1975 Ford LTD Landau --> 2018 - current: Converted into 1950 "Plymford"
'22 - current: 1967 Volvo 122, "Charlie ]["

Re: Show Your Work! (Spreadsheets, Checklists, etc.)

Our team's accounting system is super simple and we've been using it for 10 years.  We use Google Sheets.

We have a "Main Sheet" which holds all expenses related to the car itself.  Next we have an "Event Sheet" for each individual race.  The Main sheet has columns for what expense was paid, and by whom.  All these expenses are divided by four (4).  Between the four owners, we are usually within $100 of each other as far as who's "up" or "down" on the main sheet.  If one person is too far up, we will "settle up" by sending money back and forth via PayPal.  The Event sheet is similar, but only expenses associated with that particular race are entered.  Stuff like hotel cost, towing fuel, tires, brakes, race fuel, etc.  Following the event, within a week or so, we all settle up and make sure we are all back to a zero balance.

Captain
Team Super Westerfield Bros.
'93 Acura Integra - No VTEC Yo!

Re: Show Your Work! (Spreadsheets, Checklists, etc.)

Is this a bigger deal when doing a build? Because the two races I've captained with a "seasoned" car didn't require anything more than a napkins worth of calculation:

Collect full dues from 2 drivers at time of accepted entry. Collect full dues minus cost of towing from 3rd driver who has the Dodge 2500 Cummins. As captain and accountant, pay for tires and gas and pre-race servicing etc, which came to within $16 of the figure I charged the first two drivers. The guy who hauled ended up owing me $7.

The only really crucial figure is knowing how much to charge per driver. Figuring in cost-sharing for support crew/meals, etc., is important, but we've done it where everyone brings a cooler full of what they want to eat/drink and nothing needs to be "split up"- like I care about the cost of a package of hot dogs, anyway, compared to what we have to pay to get on track...

Tradewinds Tribesmen Racing (The road goes on forever…)
#289 1984 Corvette Z51 #124 1984 944 #110 2002 Passat
Gone but not forgotten, #427-Hong Kong Cavaliers Benz S500
IOE (Humber!) Hell on Wheels (Jaguar)

Re: Show Your Work! (Spreadsheets, Checklists, etc.)

People track money? At this point my whole team is family. My dad and I split costs each race and my two siblings throw money our way as they're able. If we tracked down to the dollar owed per each we'd kill each other.

20+ Time Loser FutilityMotorsport
Abandoned E36 Build
2008 Saab 9-5Aero Wagon
Retired - 1989 Dodge Daytona Shelby 2011-2015 "Lifetime Award for Lack of Achievement" IOE, 3X I got screwed, Organizer's Choice

Re: Show Your Work! (Spreadsheets, Checklists, etc.)

VKZ24 wrote:

Our team's accounting system is super simple and we've been using it for 10 years.  We use Google Sheets.

We have a "Main Sheet" which holds all expenses related to the car itself.  Next we have an "Event Sheet" for each individual race.  The Main sheet has columns for what expense was paid, and by whom.  All these expenses are divided by four (4).  Between the four owners, we are usually within $100 of each other as far as who's "up" or "down" on the main sheet.  If one person is too far up, we will "settle up" by sending money back and forth via PayPal.  The Event sheet is similar, but only expenses associated with that particular race are entered.  Stuff like hotel cost, towing fuel, tires, brakes, race fuel, etc.  Following the event, within a week or so, we all settle up and make sure we are all back to a zero balance.


This is pretty much the exact same way we do it.  We haven't been at it for nearly as long, but it works well for us also.  I took it one step further when setting up our Google sheets and made a summary sheet to show a quick summary of who is up or down and we have two sheets for tracking long-term costs, one for consumables (tires, fluids, apparently head gaskets...etc) and one for the car itself (repairs, spare parts purchases, safety equipment, theme paint...etc).  This was mostly so we could track what we're spending money on, but not necessary at all to the overall goal of ensuring the team finances are evenly split and fairly tracked.

Captain, For Parts Only (Team FPO)
#111 VW Golf - Currently Orange with tiger stripes (Calvin and Hobbes theme)

Re: Show Your Work! (Spreadsheets, Checklists, etc.)

This is the kind of thing that is going to make generating a generic spreadsheet basically impossible, but there's utility in it so I'm still gonna try.

This is basically Bistromatics:

Douglas Adams wrote:

"Numbers written on restaurant checks within the confines of restaurants do not follow the same mathematical laws as numbers written on any other pieces of paper in any other parts of the Universe."

Just substitute "Lemons budget" for "restaurant checks" and "racing" for "restaurants."

Eric Rood
Everything Bagel, 24 Hours of Lemons
eric@24hoursoflemons.com

20 (edited by Guildenstern 2018-04-25 12:41 PM)

Re: Show Your Work! (Spreadsheets, Checklists, etc.)

So does that mean we can race at impossible speeds and not get a billion penalty laps for using an Infinite Improbability drive?

And yea, thing is everyone thinks numbers diffrent so what works for one person won't work for another.

Was the goal a general budget sheet? because that's easy enough to whip up. You just have to aggregate down what goes where and how.

And Tabs are your friend.

Mistake By The Lake Racing (MBTL)
88 Thunderbird "THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!", Ex Astris, Rubigo / Semper Fracti
A&D: 2014 Sebrings at Sebring (NSF), 2014 NJMP2 Jurassic Park (SpeedyCop), 2012 Summit Point J30 (PiNuts)
2018 Route Sucky-Suck Rally Miata, 2019 World Tour Of Texas 64 Newport

Re: Show Your Work! (Spreadsheets, Checklists, etc.)

Only if you have a towel, Jo Janta Peril Sensitive Glasses, and the Guide. 

p.s. - Remeber, to fly, all one has to do is throw themselves at the ground and miss

Skip "Mongo" L.
Team DadBod

Re: Show Your Work! (Spreadsheets, Checklists, etc.)

TheEngineer wrote:

People track money? At this point my whole team is family. My dad and I split costs each race and my two siblings throw money our way as they're able. If we tracked down to the dollar owed per each we'd kill each other.

I do it mostly to ensure that I get final design say when team members try to lazy out of doing things wink

Mistake By The Lake Racing (MBTL)
88 Thunderbird "THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!", Ex Astris, Rubigo / Semper Fracti
A&D: 2014 Sebrings at Sebring (NSF), 2014 NJMP2 Jurassic Park (SpeedyCop), 2012 Summit Point J30 (PiNuts)
2018 Route Sucky-Suck Rally Miata, 2019 World Tour Of Texas 64 Newport

Re: Show Your Work! (Spreadsheets, Checklists, etc.)

FWIW I just run a single owner system. I charge my drivers a portion of the total race cost based on the division of race hours to be driven. If the number of hours driven changes due to breakdowns I try to keep the same ratio between the drivers. Any change to this due to strategy must be agreed upon by all drivers. The total cost of the race includes food, TnT, entry fees, consumables, and towing expenses. About the only thing the drivers are expected to pay for is personal travel, lodging, and safety gear. If any driver contributes to these items such as buying gas, I fully reimburse them. I have returned portions of the initial fee in the event of a major loss of track time due to breakdown that resulted in major gas/tire savings.

I like this method because it makes it pretty simple for the drivers and there is minimal settling up to be done. However, this works well for me as a one man team with basically a team of arive and drives. YMMV with actual teams.

Owner of the Knights Templar Neon
A&D of middling proportions