IT HAS BEEN AN AMAZING RIDE!
As they say in life.... all good things must come to an end and sadly that statement rings true today for the family of racers who have enjoyed the IIC and IOCC events over the past decade. When I first had the idea of a major event in Las Vegas it was in 2003 at the Nitro Worlds in Ohio. I bounced the idea off of Josh Cyrul, Ralph Burch and a few others and from there it began. 2005 was the first IIC at the Stardust Hotel. It was magical! To this day one of the proudest moments in my career as an event organizer. When the curtain opened that first day at the IIC and everyone saw the massive 40’ banner we had on the stage, the racers all stood up and applauded. I will never forget that moment for it was that day, that we changed our industry! We changed the way major events would forever be presented. It was the attention to detail we brought to the IIC that everyone enjoyed. Our sponsors loved the presentation and they now felt they were a major part of the event, not just some banners hung on the wall.
Throughout the years, so many great memories have been made, champions crowned but most importantly friendships have been made. Sadly, these days Vegas is more popular than ever and a small event like ours just cannot compete for space and price against all the big companies wanting space in Vegas.
I always wondered how would I feel when I finally would have to stop producing the IIC and IOCC. Would I feel sad, disappointed, a sense of failure but honestly, I don’t feel any of those, I feel an incredible amount of pride. Pride in what we gave racers from around the World and how we changed the industry.
As we say goodbye to these events, I cannot help but remember some of the people who made this all possible. First my Mom and Step Dad who have since moved on in life. They helped so much in all the logistics each year and came to Vegas with us to sell T shirts and watch their sons put this all together. To my Dad and Step Mom, they also helped so much in the early years with all the logistics and driving the trailer all the way from Milwaukee each year. To my brother Boomer, The IIC brought us so much closer together working on this project that to this day, we are closer than we ever were because of the IIC. Jack Riemer from JACO Products, it was Jack who believed in us and made the dream a reality. Without his support, it would have never come to be and for that I am sincerely grateful. Mike,Monte,Lori, Kraig, Walt, Jodi, Dusty, Scott, Charlie, Paul, Drew, Doug, Brandon, Cory, Patrick, Gus, Garrett, Pat & Dwayne, DA 702 Gang and so many others for their tireless support to bring these events to life. To Shane Archer, Emily and all from Amp Draw Hobbies, they have supported the events for the begining and I thank them. More thanks goes to my family for their support as well as Jamie Tennies, Kenny Dibb and the dozens of guys from our Trackside family. They all supported this crazy Idea I had to produce an event in Vegas and gave so much to help make it a reality and I am so grateful to all of them. To the hundreds of sponsors throughout the years, you believed in us and supported our events and we thank you for all your support. My last thanks goes out to the thousands of racers who took part in our events in Vegas. We hope it was a one of kind experience that you will always remember, cherish, celebrate and laugh about as we had so many great memories made at the IIC and IOCC. Thank you all. It was a great ride!
Forever Grateful,
Scotty
“With endings comes new beginnings”