2008 nasaproracing.com event registration system FAQ, please look here to hopefully fix your pre-reg problems Options

[getfast]

Hey folks, I have gotten a bunch of emails and phonecalls about problems with the nasaproracing.com website from people who are trying to register for upcoming events. It works just fine for myself and thousands of other NASA participants on a daily basis, and there are no problems with it according to NASA's national staff, so it could just be a small problem on your end. No offense intended and no problem whatsoever; I know many of us are looking at this from many different ages and types of computers / operating systems / browsers, but I'm posting this little FAQ/walk-through here to hopefully solve related problems once and for all.

So the nasaproracing.com event registration system is a pretty straightforward online shopping cart setup. If you have ever ordered anything online, this is a very similar idea. That is, you will need to login to complete any transaction whether money is involved or not, and you will need to keep submitting screens of info until you see a registration confirmation (which you will also receive on email shortly thereafter.) Luckily our system is easier to use than ebay, amazon, etc. But it's the same idea; think of a NASA event registration like a product that doesn't involve shipping, for instance concert tickets to be fetched at the venue's will-call window before the performance, and it makes more sense.

During the 2008/2009 seasons we will be trying to phase out all paper registrations for individual events to save time for everyone involved. Down the road - i.e. hopefully for 2009 - on site event registrations may be done through laptops with aircards accessing the exact same reg pages you can see from home, not by pen and paper, so everything is uniform (it's a lot easier for us to work with a complete registration database than a part electronic, part paper one. This also fits into our autocross efficiency plan for paperless scoring and results 30 seconds after the last car is in, not several days later.) So I would suggest that you please try to figure out how to make this system work for yourself soon, whether from home or from work or from your neighbor's computer or from one of our computers AT an event, because this is what we will be going to as our ONLY registration method in the near future. The amount of time we will save as a result - and be able to put toward making events bigger/better/more fun instead - would amaze you. I know I spend at least a few hours a week helping people register, then processing entries and results for several hours after each event, which is fine because it's part of the job of course, but it's also time I could be spending out finding new participants to keep our program growing...

So first things first, YES the site is SECURE and is absolutely safe to put a card number across. I have put my own personal debit card number across it many times with no worries. See here for a screen capture that describes the security type:

http://www.get-fast.net/nasacross/nasaproracing_secure.jpg

Particularly though, you need to make sure you see "https://" in the url before you login and register for an event. So if you see an event reg link like this:

http://www.nasaproracing.com/nasa_event/show/?event_id=760

You need to manually put the "s" in there and reload, so it looks like this before you login/register:

https://www.nasaproracing.com/nasa_event/show/?event_id=760

Everything on nasaproracing.com is viewable and usable both ways, but the event reg page links don't always get put out there with the "https" up front, so if you don't see it, just put it in there yourself and reload. Keep in mind I'm as much to blame for this as anyone, because I often link the unsecured versions on forums and in emails without thinking about it. So I apologize for that, and I'm trying to change it for the future.

Now as for login problems. If you would like to login before registering for an event, or to change your profile, start here:

https://www.nasaproracing.com/login.html

If you are a new participant and you are not a NASA member, you will need to create an account here - it's free:

https://www.nasaproracing.com/NASANewUser?r...l=%2Flogin.html

(You will have the opportunity to buy a membership, if you so desire, once you are logged in, and/or whenever you sign up for an event - although it's only optional for autocrosses / circuitcrosses / kart enduros, it's required for HPDE / TT / roadracing. It's 44 bucks for 365 days and includes a subscription to _Grassroots Motorsports_ magazine as well as discounts on all kinds of stuff. I have personally saved at least $300 on rental cars and hotel rooms so far in 2008 just by using the NASA member discounts.)

If you can't remember your user login email or password, use this form to email the webmaster:

https://www.nasaproracing.com/webmaster_contact.html

If you can remember your user login email but not your password, use this form to have your password emailed to you:

https://www.nasaproracing.com/nasanewuser/f...l=%2Flogin.html

Please note that although I am the "Mid-Atlantic Autocross Region" admin & registrar, I don't have any authority to help with lost logins, passwords, etc... that all needs to be handled through the national office.

Now once you are logged in, you can do things like renew your membership or change any bit of information in your profile (mailing address, emergency contact, car info, experience, etc.) Click the "Edit My Profile" tab on the left side toolbar, and don't forget to save your changes. Once your profile info is in and correct, you can register for a later event much more quickly (i.e. in under 60 seconds once you have done it a few times.)

To register for an event, you will need to go to its individual event ID page. Each event has a three digit number assigned to it. All event pages start with " https://www.nasaproracing.com/nasa_event/show/?event_id= " and then there's the three-digit event ID at the end.

You can see a list of all open event registration pages for all regions here:

https://www.nasaproracing.com/register.html

which forwards to

https://www.nasaproracing.com/nasa_event/list_events

Around here, of course, we are "Mid Atlantic Region" in the middle of that list for HPDE/TT/roadracing, and "Mid Atlantic Autocross Region" at the bottom of that list for autocross/circuitcross/kart enduros. Although these are just parts of the same region, for registration purposes they are considered two separate regions. But more on that later.

(Or instead you can see a list of just all open event pages for Mid Atlantic Region and Mid Atlantic Autocross Region events here:

http://www.nasaracing.net/sched_regis.htm

Click on any of those to get to each individual event's info page, which may or may not take you directly to the event pre-reg page, depending upon the event.)

Anyway, back to the main system and the https://www.nasaproracing.com/nasa_event/list_events page. Scroll down that list to any event you want and click on the "Register" button to the right of the event date/location. Registration is at the bottom of any event page those "Register" buttons take you to, so you can certainly view any event you want before you register for it (or without registering for it.)

Once you are on an event info page, for instance the 9/28/08 autocross at VMP:

https://www.nasaproracing.com/nasa_event/show/?event_id=760

Be sure to read all the info in the "Description" box and follow any links to things like rules or classing.

Now at the bottom you will see three choices and three prices. In this case:

-NASA-X (Members) $45.00 - for those with a NASA membership that will be valid on the event date in question

-NASA-X (non-members) $55.00 - for those without a NASA membership that will be valid on the event date in question

-Officials $0.00 - for event staff only, PLEASE DO NOT PICK THIS ONE WITHOUT PRIOR AUTHORIZATION FROM ME

Check the "Pick" box to the left of your choice, click and scroll the drop-down box to the right to select your class, then click on the "Add" button at the bottom.

(Side note, two neat things about our system are revealed at this point. #1, you can select the Members entry fee here and it will automatically add a membership so you pay the extra $44 but get the $10 off the entry fee immediately. #2, if you are on one of these pages and haven't logged in yet, when you check the "Pick" box and select your class and hit "Add", the next screen will be the login screen so you can continue with your registration without having to back out, login, and get back to the event ID page. This is why I advertise events by sending the info/pre-reg page url specifically, because you can start from any of those at any time.)

On the following screen(s) you will need to enter and/or confirm your info, your car's info, and your emergency contact info. All of which should've all been saved in your profile from prior entries or from when you first set your login up, but it never hurts to double-check it all anyway. Once everything is definitely correct, click "Submit" at the bottom of each screen.

The last screen you will see before you are officially registered is the NASA Cancellation Policy screen. You will need to check the box next to "I have read and agree to these terms" then click "Continue" underneath. Once this has been done, you will get to a confirmation screen that will look like:

RECEIPT

Thank you for your order, Jon. Here is your purchase receipt:
A detailed copy of this receipt will be emailed to you.
Please refer to that message before contacting us.
Name: Jon Felton
Address:PO Box 17854
Richmond, Virginia 23226
nasa-x@get-fast.net
Order date: 2008-08-07 14:39:31
Credit Card: ********
Total: $ 45.00
Your Order Number is ******
Your Purchases
Product Cost
Virginia Motorsports Park, Petersburg, VA -- 9/28/08
NASA-X (Members) - NASA-X D $45.00
Car
Make: BMW
Model: M3 Sedan
Year: 1998
Horsepower: 255
Color: green
Car Number Preference: 37 137 437
TX Number:
Sponsor: Get Fast
Emergency Contact
Name: ***********
Phone: ********

The exact same thing gets emailed to you, copied to me, and registered in that event ID's database. It is then a done deal, and you will receive more info on email the week or two before the event.

Note that if you need to cancel or make a profile change for a particular event - i.e. your Kia Spectra has a broken widget valve so you'll be autocrossing your Daewoo Nubira with its freshly repaired flevis transducer instead, or not autocrossing at all because Daewoo transducers are indefinitely back ordered - you will need to email the event registrar or point of contact for that particular event. The entire list of regional staff is here:

http://www.nasaracing.net/contact.htm

Keep in mind... if your question or issue pertains to any Mid Atlantic Autocross Region event, please contact that registrar directly, i.e. me. The road course event staff (regional director Chris Cobetto, operations chief Laura Cobetto, HPDE/roadracing registrar Sean Thompson, etc) will usually just send you to me, because that's how we have structured the organization. Both my phones are on 24 hours a day and I check email at least 3+ times a day, so I'm never too hard to reach.

Now occasionally someone emails about a problem with the system like "I can login and start to register, but when I click submit, I see weird error codes and it clearly doesn't go through because I don't get a confirmation email and my card doesn't get charged." This usually either means you didn't fill something out correctly, or more likely, your web browser and/or firewalls and/or security aren't letting things process correctly.

I can tell you for certain that the reg system works just fine in the latest versions of Microsoft Internet Exporer, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari. So please try it with one of those browsers first before declaring that the problem is the nasproracing.com site (especially Firefox, it always works in Firefox. Get it free at http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ )

Thanks for your continued support and understanding!

Any questions?

Jon

[getfast]

NASA recently launched a new national registration system that is greatly improved over the old one.

On the plus side, people who couldn't register before should now be able to.

On the minus side, my large post above now needs to be completely revised. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

In the meantime please feel free to email or PM if you have problems with it.

PS- all events still have a 3-digit code but what's in between has changed.

For instance, direct links that used to look like

https://www.nasaproracing.com/nasa_event/show/?event_id=760

Should now look like

https://www.nasaproracing.com/ems/event/760

Please help us correct any of the old style links that may still be on various internets.

Thanks,

Jon

This post has been edited by getfast: Sep 17 2008, 05:05 PM

[getfast]

Q: "Hey Jon I tried registering...and I forgot my password/username and I tried getting it emailed to me but it said it didn't recognize my email address...HELLLLP! lol"

A: "Apparently you signed someone else up for an entry through your account. This is a no-no. Mostly because it then saves their info to your profile instead of yours, which can do all sorts of screwy things, as you are finding out. Does the name ******** ring a bell? That's who the nasaproracing.com reg system thinks you are now. Use that person's email address but your password, then change everything back in your profile, then register."

Cliffs notes: DO NOT SIGN SOMEONE ELSE UP FOR AN EVENT ENTRY USING YOUR NASAPRORACING.COM ACCOUNT. EVERY REGISTERED DRIVER NEEDS TO HAVE THEIR OWN LOGIN AND THEIR OWN ACCOUNT.

Thanks,

Jon

[getfast]

Unstickied until I have time to update it for the new registration system. Same principles should still hopefully apply in the meantime, just with different URL's.

Jon