Jon Lewis is Back/Leading Edge GP

[R. Pare]

Mind boggling that this guy keeps coming back, and coming back, and coming back...........

[Daryl DeArman]

Mind boggling that this guy keeps coming back, and coming back, and coming back...........

He seems to have found the secret sauce that SCCA has been searching for in recruiting new members.

[TimH]

No need to amortize cars you don't have.

[DanW]

No need to amortize cars you don't have.

Nor capital investment. Don't even have to worry about a line of credit.

[John Nesbitt]

Nor capital investment. Don't even have to worry about a line of credit.

Damn!! All that money I wasted buying racecars. Had I but known ....

[Lotus7]

you almost have to admire the tenacity of the man LOL

[Lotus7]

https://www.facebook.com/americanaut...396?__tn__=K-R

https://www.americanautosport.org/hello.html

[Eric Little]

https://www.facebook.com/americanaut...396?__tn__=K-R

https://www.americanautosport.org/hello.html

From the website:

"We want a family of 4 or a group of friends to be able to come and enjoy a full weekend of action-packed racing entertainment for under $100. Therefore, all Formula America events will have a low $35 admission price for the entire weekend, including open paddock access."


Ummmmmm...... has math changed recently or is the total cost for 4 people at $35 per person still calculated as 4 * 35 = $140 and is $140 still greater and $100?

Maybe a $100 worth of these will help with that fuzzy math.

Eric (math is hard) Little

[petawawarace]

Does he really keep pulling the wool over peoples eyes?
The pictures are all clearly photoshopped, full of BS and unrealistic estimates.
Its comical in one sense, but if even one poor sucker falls for this, its no longer funny.

[John Nesbitt]

But ... but ... but ..

"Over $10 million will be paid out during each season with some pretty nice cars being awarded to the Champions as well."

All that prize money, plus a Lambo (in my favorite color - Speed Yellow - of course). Where do I sign?

[Daryl DeArman]

From the website:

"We want a family of 4 or a group of friends to be able to come and enjoy a full weekend of action-packed racing entertainment for under $100. Therefore, all Formula America events will have a low $35 admission price for the entire weekend, including open paddock access."


Ummmmmm...... has math changed recently or is the total cost for 4 people at $35 per person still calculated as 4 * 35 = $140 and is $140 still greater and $100?

Maybe a $100 worth of these will help with that fuzzy math.

Eric (math is hard) Little

Children under 14 are free with a paid adult admission, and bring a non-perishable food item and the ticket is only $25.

I'm pretty confident he's doing the whole education and food bank donations thing to run this deal as a 501c3. Donating $1.93 to a school does technically meet his description of giving "up to $5M." All those costs associated with the actual racing part will be administrative/marketing costs. He's quite the piece.

[Bob Wright]

A 501c3 designation is not something that can be picked up at the corner store....

[Daryl DeArman]

A 501c3 designation is not something that can be picked up at the corner store....

Correct, but he has 27 months after beginning operations to obtain the status, though he can operate as a 501c3 while the application is pending. When's the last time this guy had any organization that existed from more than 27 months? They'll deny the application, go after the corporation for taxes due and the corporation will be non-existent by that time. I'm sure he has a plan. Maybe someday his plan will go the way of Scott Tucker's.

[John Nesbitt]

....

I'm pretty confident he's doing the whole education and food bank donations thing to run this deal as a 501c3. Donating $1.93 to a school does technically meet his description of giving "up to $5M." All those costs associated with the actual racing part will be administrative/marketing costs. He's quite the piece.

Correct, but he has 27 months after beginning operations to obtain the status, though he can operate as a 501c3 while the application is pending. When's the last time this guy had any organization that existed from more than 27 months? They'll deny the application, go after the corporation for taxes due and the corporation will be non-existent by that time. I'm sure he has a plan. Maybe someday his plan will go the way of Scott Tucker's.

So young, but so cynical.

[Eric Little]

Children under 14 are free with a paid adult admission, and bring a non-perishable food item and the ticket is only $25.

Not every family has children under the age of 14 so I guess that not every family should be able to see a weekend of racing for under $100? And technically, if the cost is $25 per with a non-perishable food item then the cost of tickets alone is equal to $100 and not below $100. Add to that the cost of the non-perishable food item and you are above $100 not below it or even on par with it.

Even without those details, seems bad form to have sentences back-to-back that give contradictory statements.

On the other hand, I guess it does say, "We want a family of 4 or a group of friends to be able to come and enjoy a full weekend of action-packed racing entertainment for under $100 ." So I guess if one family or one group of friends gets in for less than $100, mission accomplished. Does not seem like exactly what his PR intended though.

Eric (writing publicity pieces is hard) Little

[Daryl DeArman]

When you read this guys' announcements you have to look for all the words that can mean something other than what he hopes you think they mean.

He also wants you to think you are getting a good value coming out to the track to get some family entertainment for $100. That's why the circus has to travel. Nobody's coming back. I'm waiting for him to offer discount 4 packs of tickets for $50, with a no refund/no cancelation policy. Sell a few thousand for events that never happen. Or have some special seating area for his ticket holders when they realize, too late, they could have sat anywhere for a $10 gate fee.

[Lotus7]

I'm bemused that you guys are focusing in on the spectator gate fee in all this

[Eric Little]

Irony makes me happy.

[petawawarace]

Not every family has children under the age of 14 so I guess that not every family should be able to see a weekend of racing for under $100? And technically, if the cost is $25 per with a non-perishable food item then the cost of tickets alone is equal to $100 and not below $100. Add to that the cost of the non-perishable food item and you are above $100 not below it or even on par with it.

Even without those details, seems bad form to have sentences back-to-back that give contradictory statements.

On the other hand, I guess it does say, "We want a family of 4 or a group of friends to be able to come and enjoy a full weekend of action-packed racing entertainment for under $100 ." So I guess if one family or one group of friends gets in for less than $100, mission accomplished. Does not seem like exactly what his PR intended though.

Eric (writing publicity pieces is hard) Little

Lol that's literally a drop in his bucket of proverbial lies.

[Daryl DeArman]

I'm bemused that you guys are focusing in on the spectator gate fee in all this

duplicate

[Daryl DeArman]

I'm bemused that you guys are focusing in on the spectator gate fee in all this

Those types always have to be looking for the next victim opportunity. Burned too many bridges in the racing community, go after some spectator cash now.

[John Nesbitt]

At the risk of going down the rabbit hole of Mr. Lewis' promotional logic, I have a hard time fitting my head around this spectator deal.

Making the interstellar leap of faith that there is an actual business here, he is promoting a single-class series. The only feasible way to do this is to buy time segments from existing events (kind of like FRP). How, then, can he control the gate and spectator ticket prices?

I know, I know ... these are mere implementation details, and a trifle for a commercial genius.

Still, I do not plan on shorting my local food bank while I wait for the series to launch.

[Daryl DeArman]

At the risk of going down the rabbit hole of Mr. Lewis' promotional logic, I have a hard time fitting my head around this spectator deal.

Making the interstellar leap of faith that there is an actual business here, he is promoting a single-class series. The only feasible way to do this is to buy time segments from existing events (kind of like FRP). How, then, can he control the gate and spectator ticket prices?

I know, I know ... these are mere implementation details, and a trifle for a commercial genius.

Still, I do not plan on shorting my local food bank while I wait for the series to launch.

Don't underestimate the guy's ability to overpromise and underdeliver. I bet he's not counting on any repeat spectator business, and he's going to pre-sell them tickets/passes that he purchases from the track for $10/each for $25-35 each, then have them sit in a roped-off section of the same aluminum/wood bleachers everybody else gets to sit in for their $10 gate fee.

He's not looking for any sustainable business model, just another opportunity to grab a few bucks from a new bunch of folks.

Got to think like a crook to make this work.

[John Nesbitt]

Don't underestimate the guy's ability to overpromise and underdeliver. I bet he's not counting on any repeat spectator business, and he's going to pre-sell them tickets/passes that he purchases from the track for $10/each for $25-35 each, then have them sit in a roped-off section of the same aluminum/wood bleachers everybody else gets to sit in for their $10 gate fee.

He's not looking for any sustainable business model, just another opportunity to grab a few bucks from a new bunch of folks.

Got to think like a crook to make this work.

You're a criminal genius!

[TimH]

Making the interstellar leap of faith that there is an actual business here, he is promoting a single-class series. The only feasible way to do this is to buy time segments from existing events (kind of like FRP). How, then, can he control the gate and spectator ticket prices?

I recall he mentions somewhere on the website that there will be "support races." Riiight.

[Kazis31]

i would stop discussing this scum and let Karma go to work........

[Daryl DeArman]

The more it's discussed, the more likely some potential victim is to see it.

These types always on the prowl for the next scam and victim.

[dc]

Can't believe this guy is still at it. He pops his head up every 6-9 months just long enough to find a few marks and then he moves on. The litany of what he has left behind him is astounding at this point. Grifters be griftin'.

I leave this thread open to keep it coming up in Google searches. It annoys me every time I see an alert in my e-mail, but this is for the good of the community that people know what he has done in the past. I've already had 3 separate phone conversations over the years with lawyers of one form or another because of him. I feel bad for anyone that falls for his scams—driver or sponsor.

[BeerBudgetRacing]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/A1GP-powere...UAAOSwamRdZTuu

Buy it (from guess who) and lease it back (to guess who)!

The ad is like a shell game. "Race ready. The #3 car in black is the actual car. The others are just to show more of how it looks.
Car is actually a very dark blue "

Who will end up black and blue?

"For sale only with a 1-year lease back for promotional display.
We have 20 that will be used in a new series in America in 2020 that are not for sale.
This is the 21st car that we will use for promotional displays for the series."

[Jamesbe]

There is also an add on racecaradirect with similar wording for a race simulator. Logic makes no sense...

Sent from my SM-G955W using Tapatalk

[R. Pare]

Bet that he actually does not have any of the cars in his possession - if he did, the pictures would all be of the actual car, not those that he got off the internet.

Makes you wonder if he is claiming to own these cars:

https://us.motorsport.com/other-cars...eries/4321954/

[reidhazelton]

You guys better be careful. He'll make you a derogatory webpage and threaten to sue you on his Facebook page. He had a whole rant about me an another person and how he had consulted 'a high powered law firm' and was going to 'not taking it laying down' and 'start fighting back against those who've spread lies' about him. That was two years ago. I had sent him a PO box to make the cease and desist letter easier for me to get. Oddly, nothing showed up. Must be a slow mail year.

On another note, I just bought this car fresh off of Ferrari after the win at Spa over the weekend. Fresh everything. Perfect for track days. $20,000 and it's yours. Any takers?

[reidhazelton]

https://www.americanautosport.org/hello.html

If you win, you get a million bucks and a 488 Ferrari (also clip art). How can't that be true!?

[reidhazelton]

Can't believe this guy is still at it. He pops his head up every 6-9 months just long enough to find a few marks and then he moves on. The litany of what he has left behind him is astounding at this point. Grifters be griftin'.

I've already had 3 separate phone conversations over the years with lawyers of one form or another because of him.

To bad for Jon (or his clever alias "John") the truth is a defense to whatever bs claims of defamation or liable he's told to a lawyer. Pretty easy to prove that.

[E1pix]

My understanding is a defamation claim requires:
-- A pack of lies invented to defame
-- Actual loss of income from said lies

I don't believe you can be sued for telling the truth -- or at least not win a judgment.

Regardless, if there's one good thing about the web, calling out people like this is it. I sorta feel sorry for them in some ways, but will take being poor and sleeping well any day.

[steve zemke]

My understanding is a defamation claim requires:
-- A pack of lies invented to defame
-- Actual loss of income from said lies

I don't believe you can be sued for telling the truth -- or at least not win a judgment.

Regardless, if there's one good thing about the web, calling out people like this is it. I sorta feel sorry for them in some ways, but will take being poor and sleeping well any day.

You can be sued by anybody for anything if the suer can find a lawyer willing to file a claim. All they need to do is find a lawyer in need of billable hours. I know from personal experience. Cost me $20,000 for a lawyer to defend my position. It was way cheaper to settle than to go to court.