Any new ideas for racing this year?

[Andy Bettencourt]

I was wondering if anyone had any cool ideas for racing this year. I hope to get to a NERRC Club Racing meeting in the coming months and I figured if we had any cool ideas I could Champion them when I go.

Anything? I have heard a couple ideas so far:

- Use a qualifying race instead of pure qualifying at an event
- Try a standing start an an event

Anything else anyone has on their mind?

AB

[JohnRW]

Originally posted by Andy Bettencourt@Dec 19 2005, 04:11 PM

- Use a qualifying race instead of pure qualifying at an event
- Try a standing start an an event


AFAIC - "More Racing, Less Practice & Qualifying".

It depends on track and run groups (think 'schedule'), but we've had good success with:

Sat am single combined practice/qualifying session - ~ 20-25 min
Sat. pm 'qualifying race', usually 60-80% of a Sunday 'feature race' length
Sunday am short warm ups (open wheel/closed wheel)
Sunday am-pm 'feature race', usually close to at Nat'l length

As far as certain Regional championship series are concerned (NYSRRC, etc.), this is a double points weekend - both the qualifying race and the feature race pay full series points. Basically, it's doing a double without paying the extra sanction fee.

Downside ? Well, if you're trying to jam races in to keep a license, this would only be considered a single. Some people ask "How can you have a combined practice/qualifying on Sat am ? What about noobs and track virgins ?" Well - 95+% of racers have been there before. Tough luck...better be a fast learner.

I"ve never done a standing start (other than in ice racing), but I have the usual whiny concerns - 'What about my clutch/driveline/etc. etc. etc.'.

[stevel]

Originally posted by Andy Bettencourt@Dec 19 2005, 08:11 PM
I was wondering if anyone had any cool ideas for racing this year. I hope to get to a NERRC Club Racing meeting in the coming months and I figured if we had any cool ideas I could Champion them when I go.

Anything? I have heard a couple ideas so far:

- Use a qualifying race instead of pure qualifying at an event
- Try a standing start an an event

Anything else anyone has on their mind?

AB

68701


Don't know if this is the right place to talk about it.

A restricted regional weekend, and making it a triple event. Qual and race on saturday, your finishing position on sat determines your qual position for sunday am race, and your finishing position in sunday am race determines qual position for sunday pm race. Just something I thought would be neat. I think doing a standing start would be awesome. I know NASA does it with there honda-challenge series in the south and both the drivers and spectators love it. Maybe just do it for a run group or 2 that really wants it?

What's going on with the memorial day event at NHIS? I hear we have the track for Monday and plans are up in the air for that day. What is being decided? I say we do an HPDE event, NER SCCA did ONE about 3 years ago at LRP and it was a big hit. After that they did a 1 or 2 hour (can't remember), mixed group sprint/mini enduro race. If I remember correctly the HPDE was from 8am to 2pm, it was $150 (a bargain but not a full day) and the drivers that instructed for the HPDE got free entrance to the 1 or 2 hour race. It was all closed wheel cars. That would be a fun thing to do. I don't think we've done anything like that up here since. I think it would be a great way to attract the younger crowd that SCCA always seems to be talking about needing more of as far as membership. All the HPDE participants would be there, encourage them to stay, talk to the drivers about getting involved (as drivers, workers, whatever) and to stay and watch the race. It's just a great way to open up the HPDE crowd to a real race. I don't think that gap is bridged quite a bit up here. At least from SCCA's position. If it's done it's by individuals that happen to be SCCA drivers instructing at other org's HPDE events and promoting it themselves.

I also think on a double regional weekend we make it a corner workers weekend. Every driver/entrant has to bring a gift worth up to $25 (or put $25 cash into the worker fund mandatory) and then all the gifts are raffled off at the end of the weekend to the workers. I just think it would be something more drivers could do to recognize the workers of the event.

I've got a few more, I'll have to remember them.

steve

[benspeed]

Hire some umbrella girls from Scores to work grid. :023:

Race winners must drink a celebratory fifth of scotch on Saturday so they cannot be as fast on Sunday. :119:


On the Real Side
Change up trophies - plaques get boring

Photos of race podium finishers - have Roz or somebody take some shots for the NESCCA site.

I like the idea of a standing start - can I buy insurance for that part of the race?

I love the idea of using qualifying at LRP on a Friday for a race instead - draw your position and give a bunch of folks a chance to finish on the podium and make the faster cars work to the front. That would make for some exciting racing.

A NE Region/Mid Atlantic/SE Region championship race would be very fun. Someplace central like Summit.

Award the Rogain hair raising momement of the race for the most bonehead move. :blink:

[Greg Amy]

Originally posted by JohnRW@Dec 19 2005, 03:03 PM
AFAIC - "More Racing, Less Practice & Qualifying".
68703
Amen, Brother John! Make every session count. - GA

[gran racing]

Use a qualifying race instead of pure qualifying at an event.

Yup! I also like the idea that has been mentioned before of picking the qualifying starting position out of a hat. Instead of the 15 min. qual. at LRP, have that as a "100 yrd dash" race. Maybe there is a way to deterimine who the front runners are and invert the typical qual. starting positions? Or maybe that would cause too many incidents.

[Racerlinn]

Originally posted by stevel@Dec 19 2005, 03:20 PM
A restricted regional weekend, and making it a triple event. Qual and race on saturday, your finishing position on sat determines your qual position for sunday am race, and your finishing position in sunday am race determines qual position for sunday pm race.
68704


Something very similar at the Oct. NASA event at Putnam Park. Combined practice / qual session each morning followed by two races, the grid of the first race set by qualifying and the grid of the second race set by the results of the first race. We got 4 races in a single weekend (aren't the first few laps of a race usually the most fun? :) ). Not sure how this would fit the SCCA standards/restrictions/sanctions.

[pfcs]

Consider what Limerock would be like to drive backwards. Am I missing somehing?
The downhill might be a problem (shades of Atlanta pre-castration). I'd like to try it.

[Andy Bettencourt]

Originally posted by pfcs@Dec 19 2005, 08:54 PM
Consider what Limerock would be like to drive backwards. Am I missing somehing?
The downhill might be a problem (shades of Atlanta pre-castration). I'd like to try it.

68732


I think that track is not safe to run backwards. You would have to brake coming iat the uphill (which would now be the downhill) in order to not launch yourself off the track.

AB

[pfcs]

just try to drive into the grass (at old Atlanta-try to hit the bridge abutment) and you'd probably end up in the middle of the track heading to the apex!
What might be a problem is runoff at the bottom of hill/outside of turn.

[lateapex911]

Ben I was right with you until you said, "On the real side"....I liked BOTH ideas! I win so seldom I would happily risk the Scotch!


OK, standing start? Lets do it...but at NHIS where there is plenty of swerve around room.

Lime Rock backwards? I has been done before, but with the tire barriers in theri current positions, it would be foolhardy to run it backwards.

I like the idea of more races.

I REALLY like the idea of inverted/random starts. Here's my idea. Top 20% of the class gets their number tossed in a hat. Either the pole sitter or an official pulls a "draw number" form a seperate hat... It would be a number between 1-6 for a 25 car field. What ever number is pulled is the number of cars subject to revised positions. (This way, nobody knows how many cars will get "revised...so nobody sandbags.) From there on it's just a case of pulling the position numbers. So, if ITS has 25 cars, Nick (lets say, LOL) pulls the first number for himself. The numbers are 1-6, he gets his, then works his way down, how far depends on the first "draw number".

It sounds more confusing that it would be...it would be pretty interesting!

[Ed Funk]

:happy204: LRP backwards, sounds like fun! Use the IMSA chicane to slow cars so they could make the downhill (?uphill?). But Steph, who worked for the track for lots of years (maitenance to management) tells me the guard rails would have to be changed. If they are not overlapped the correct direction loosr ends become spears when hit and popped loose. :( That could hurt :bash_1_: ! So even if the track was willing to relocate all the tire walls, ha!, they'd be very unl
ikely to rebolt all the guard rails ;) .

Ed

[dazzlesa]

more racing/qualifying races

[Andy Bettencourt]

So I was thinking about asking the NER RRB to try this at the Pig Roast in 2006:

Sat AM: Practice/Qualify
Sat PM: Race 1
Sun AM: Race 2 (with starting positions determined by Sat PM finishing position)
Sun PM: Race 3 (with starting positions determined by Sun AM finishing position)

Now here is the issue I had: Typically, we run the Chicane/Chicane on Sunday - so is it fair to have grid spots determined by finishing positions from a different track configuration? I could go either way but there are people who may feel different. Or maybe we just run the NC/SO config we always do for the whole weekend...

Thoughts?

Dick: on the operational side - can we 'hide' or 'conserve' sanction numbers to save costs or should we just make it a triple?

AB

[7racing]

Assuming an 8 race group single regional weekend...

Qual/Race groups 1-4 on Saturday
Qual/Race groups 5-8 on Sunday

Less cars at the track on either day (ala NASA), probably can get longer qualifying and longer races (maybe a short qualifying session in AM, Qual Race in the AM and a longer afternoon race?)

Or something along those lines. It's a singe regional anyway, this just makes it a one day and you might gain a lot of extra track time from it. Not sure if entrants would shy away from that type of thing, though.

Also *MIGHT* get the added bonus of some crew/drivers helping out with Grid/Timing/F&C/Registration/Tech on their "off" day.

Looking at the NERRC schedule, this could probably only work at NHIS. And NHIS is all double weekend (except August which is Enduro and Regional). So, this might not fit into any conceivable event weekend up here. Maybe elsewhere, though.

Jeremy

[gran racing]

It could be fun to race the full oval at NHIS. I know, I should just go do a roundy-round event. <_<

[Racerlinn]

Indy Region ran the IRP oval back in the mid-90&#39;s (96 I believe).
I think it would be a hoot, especially considering the size.
Don&#39;t think I would want to do a full 1 mile track.
The wall looks mighty high when you run down to T1 at Gateway.

[dickita15]

Originally posted by Andy Bettencourt@Dec 20 2005, 12:19 PM
Dick: on the operational side - can we &#39;hide&#39; or &#39;conserve&#39; sanction numbers to save costs or should we just make it a triple?
AB

68774


The sanction fee is not really a big deal. On a big race weekend it is only a couple of bucks a car. The insurance where the money is covers a three day period regardless of the number of sanctions. the only down side to running the weekend under one sanction that I can think of is for the drivers trying to get signed off and maybe the way points are counted though i am not 100 percent sure on the later.

[dickita15]

Originally posted by gran racing@Dec 20 2005, 01:53 PM
It could be fun to race the full oval at NHIS. I know, I should just go do a roundy-round event. <_<

68787

When Nhis first opened a lot of driver liked the idea. They had a drivers meeting and at the begining of the meeting they took a straw poll of the drivers and the vote was like 28 to 2 in favor. They then spent 45 minutes talking about what was involved in running such a race. Then they took another vote and it was like 28 to 2 opposed.

[dickita15]

Originally posted by Andy Bettencourt@Dec 20 2005, 12:19 PM
Sat AM: Practice/Qualify
Sat PM: Race 1
Sun AM: Race 2 (with starting positions determined by Sat PM finishing position)
Sun PM: Race 3 (with starting positions determined by Sun AM finishing position)

68774


This is similar to the thoughts that are floating around for the new memorial day event. You actually have two choices in setting up the grid for race two and three. Finishing position from previous race or fastest time from previous race. withthe second one the guy who crashes or get a flat in one race can still start well in the next race.

when considering new and experimental formats for a race weekend it is easier sell on a weak event. if a race is already drawing over say 200 cars at a track like nhis it is a much larger risk to mess with the format.

[RSTPerformance]

Dave-

I don&#39;t like the oval that much... I ran a de-tuned Nextell car on the oval last year with unrestricted speed (IE: not Richard Petty school where you follow someone). It was fun, and I deffinatly scared myself a few times, but it is not nearly as fun as the road racing circut...

Also with all of our cars being very different and the fact that we are all good drivers :bash_1_: , I don&#39;t think talent would win but rather how fast your car is. After my driving experience I can see how in "Nascar" some talent comes into play as a well set up car will be much much faster, and driving slightly better with equal cars will make a .05 - .1 of a second lead per lap wich will build a lot over the period of a race. But with the differences in most of our classes I don&#39;tthink it would be much of a race... I think the spec miatas would be fun, but thats about it...

I like the ideas of qualifyings being made into Races...

Also I like the idea of the HPDC along with an enduro... That might work on the enduro weekend rather than the practice sessions for sundays races and the qualifying for the enduro... Just draw names out of the hat for starting position in the Enduro. use the funds from the HPDC and Enduro entries to decreas the now 1 day regional entry fee :happy204:

Raymond

[RacerBill]

Originally posted by Andy Bettencourt@Dec 19 2005, 04:11 PM
I was wondering if anyone had any cool ideas for racing this year. I hope to get to a NERRC Club Racing meeting in the coming months and I figured if we had any cool ideas I could Champion them when I go.

Anything? I have heard a couple ideas so far:

- Use a qualifying race instead of pure qualifying at an event
- Try a standing start an an event

Anything else anyone has on their mind?

AB

68701


Andy: Indy region also ran a real fun event. They ran it two years in a row at the last regional of the year at IRP. It was a handicapped 10 lap race with the slowest car starting first and the fastest car starting last. Theory was that if every car turned the same time equal to their fastest race lap time, for ten laps, all the cars would cross the finish line at the same time! The result is that the field packs up rather than stirngs out. Restricted to closed wheel cars only!

We ran a two hour kart enduro with a similar format, and it was great - six teams our of eight finished on the same lap! after two hours of racing!

[RSTPerformance]

Not really a fun suggestion like the rest of you have had but one that would make our events safer for our friends, kids and families....

Predetermined grid positions for practices and qualifying. I am always annoyed at lime rock when I try to go get air in the main paddock for my tires when I can&#39;t get there because there are lines of people for the next 3 race groups. (And yes I do the same thing...)
With our current set-up if you want to be in the front of the rungroup you line up early, then earlier, then earlier, then even earlier! I wasn&#39;t at any races last year so maybe it has improved but I can tell you after going to mid-ohio where they had 700 entrants it was very organized and "un-clutterd" at grid for every session. In Theory this makes it much much safer for everyone... emegency vehicles, fist fights on who goes first, ect, ect :)
For us I think haveing you start by your NARRC points would be great. It&#39;s simple and just requires a printout of the current point standings. It would also kinda give you a reason to run events and try to earn more points.... Just like Alpine SKI Racing! I would volunteer to help the region do this since it really just requires an excell spreadsheet that has everyones current points. then you delete everyone that has not registered as of 9Am in the morning. If there are multiple race groups creating theoretical ties then the theoretical faster classed car goes first. For those that all have zero points it could just go by random draw. (Not possible to really tell who registered first, as far as I know, and this would just complicate things) Instead we can have a random number count created for each event from 1-100 and use that as the standard for all run groups. (Then use your car # to decide where your grid spot is)

In conclusion I think this would make our race weekends safer and is a proactive way to prevent a potetially dangerous situation that will eventually happen someday. This would also give another reason to run events and accumulate points.

Stephen Belthen

On a side note...
I think the NARRC Runnoffs should have grid for the actual race set up this way as well since it is the NARRC Runnoffs an it should benifit those that have raced for the points that they have accumulated throughout the year.

[bg43wex]

Originally posted by benspeed@Dec 19 2005, 09:32 PM
Change up trophies - plaques get boring

Photos of race podium finishers - have Roz or somebody take some shots for the NESCCA site.

I like the idea of a standing start - can I buy insurance for that part of the race?

I love the idea of using qualifying at LRP on a Friday for a race instead - draw your position and give a bunch of folks a chance to finish on the podium and make the faster cars work to the front. That would make for some exciting racing.

A NE Region/Mid Atlantic/SE Region championship race would be very fun. Someplace central like Summit.
:blink:

68705


Ben,
I wish you were an NER member then I could announce that we have a new trophy chief . (suttle hint we could use a new volunteer)
It&#39;s easy to make a blunt statement like yours when in reality plaques are chosen because they are the least hassle to purchase and distrubute. a few years ago NER distributed bowling style trophies. although they looked cool they were heavy and occupied large amounts of space when competitors did not pick up.

Photo Trophies were dropped due to the high cost of Roz pictures and the poor turn around time for deliver (some times 6 months). and getting podium finishers to report for a picture is like trying to herd cat&#39;s.

You CAN NOT in any way shape or form race on a friday at LRP.. this is in the injunction and means qualifying races as well, maybe some other region would like to try this one but with fewer and fewer events at that facilty why rock the boat?

Standing starts would be difficult with out having grid out on the front straight setting car position, there are no spots marked on the track nor can we paint marks, chaulk may be an option but not if the event is within 1 week of a cup date which our July and September events are.

Summit regularly bangs out it&#39;s events what motivation do they have to stage a multi divisional event?

brian m

[gran racing]

Predetermined grid positions for practices and qualifying.

Excellent point! The MARRS event I did at Summit this year used random starting positions. It worked out very nicely. The whole get to the false grid waaaaay early creates a mess.

[Matt Rowe]

Originally posted by gran racing@Dec 21 2005, 03:33 PM
Excellent point! The MARRS event I did at Summit this year used random starting positions. It worked out very nicely. The whole get to the false grid waaaaay early creates a mess.

68875


Actually the MARRS series uses a variety of different methods to determine grid position. I&#39;ve been told it is selected group by group based on the wishes of the individual driver&#39;s reps. I seem to remember one time it was based on fastest lap of the season? Another was random and so on. But the important point is that you know your grid spot in advance so there is no reason to waste time pre-pre-pre-gridding.

[RSTPerformance]

Originally posted by Matt Rowe@Dec 21 2005, 04:43 PM
Actually the MARRS series uses a variety of different methods to determine grid position. I&#39;ve been told it is selected group by group based on the wishes of the individual driver&#39;s reps. I seem to remember one time it was based on fastest lap of the season? Another was random and so on. But the important point is that you know your grid spot in advance so there is no reason to waste time pre-pre-pre-gridding.

68877



I really like the idea of gridding by points because I honestly think it would create much more interest into the "series" rather than just the one weekend itself. It really could create more excitment about points. It would also be cool to see how you stand compaired to your competitors.... it gives it a nice visual perspective for the entire feild.

[benspeed]

Originally posted by bg43wex@Dec 21 2005, 07:41 PM
Ben,
I wish you were an NER member then I could announce that we have a new trophy chief . (suttle hint we could use a new volunteer)
It&#39;s easy to make a blunt statement like yours when in reality plaques are chosen because they are the least hassle to purchase and distrubute. a few years ago NER distributed bowling style trophies. although they looked cool they were heavy and occupied large amounts of space when competitors did not pick up.

Photo Trophies were dropped due to the high cost of Roz pictures and the poor turn around time for deliver (some times 6 months). and getting podium finishers to report for a picture is like trying to herd cat&#39;s.

You CAN NOT in any way shape or form race on a friday at LRP.. this is in the injunction and means qualifying races as well, maybe some other region would like to try this one but with fewer and fewer events at that facilty why rock the boat?

Standing starts would be difficult with out having grid out on the front straight setting car position, there are no spots marked on the track nor can we paint marks, chaulk may be an option but not if the event is within 1 week of a cup date which our July and September events are.

Summit regularly bangs out it&#39;s events what motivation do they have to stage a multi divisional event?

brian m

68871


Hey Brian - I thought we were looking for suggestions on this thread...

[mlytle]

Originally posted by Matt Rowe@Dec 21 2005, 08:43 PM
Actually the MARRS series uses a variety of different methods to determine grid position. I&#39;ve been told it is selected group by group based on the wishes of the individual driver&#39;s reps. I seem to remember one time it was based on fastest lap of the season? Another was random and so on. But the important point is that you know your grid spot in advance so there is no reason to waste time pre-pre-pre-gridding.

68877


yup, that is how we do it. each class decides how they want to grid up ahead of time. some like random, some like by season points, a few have tried fastest lap to date. regardless, you know where you are gridded for the first session when you go through registration. second session is by time from the first session.

works well.

marshall
marrs its drivers rep
we grid by season points

[anthony1k]

How about revamping the (NESCCA?) web site?
I&#39;d like to see race results posted in a more timely basis, in a consistent format (not PDF) and with a points tally throughout the season.

[Andy Bettencourt]

Originally posted by anthony1k@Dec 22 2005, 04:25 PM
How about revamping the (NESCCA?) web site?
I&#39;d like to see race results posted in a more timely basis, in a consistent format (not PDF) and with a points tally throughout the season.

69026


What series are you looking to follow? I think they only do the Enduro Series but are otherwise a catch-all. More specific info can be found at the Series sites. The NERRC is www.ner.org and the NARRC is hosted by Norther New Jersey at http://www.scca-nnjr.org/NNJR_Race/NARRC.shtml

AB

[gran racing]

What about using both ovals and the standard road course section? Or possible use the first chicane then the 2nd oval.

[RSTPerformance]

Dave-

That is an interesting idea... hummm, way cool :)

Raymond

[RKramden]

Originally posted by bg43wex@Dec 21 2005, 03:41 PM
Standing starts would be difficult with out having grid out on the front straight setting car position, there are no spots marked on the track nor can we paint marks, chaulk may be an option but not if the event is within 1 week of a cup date which our July and September events are.


From the GCR:


7.5. SCCA STANDARD START (ROLLING START)

The following rolling start technique shall be known as the SCCA Standard Start and shall be utilized at all SCCA races, unless an alternate procedure has been approved by the Divisional Executive Steward and is set out in the Supplementary Regulations for the event.

We used to use a "standing start" at the Little LeMans races like that used at LeMans. It was modified to have a crew member run across the track and remove a cup that was taped on the back of the car, so the driver didn&#39;t have to get in the car and strap on the belts while trying to start the race. IIRC, the car keys (back in the real days of showroom stock) were in the cup and had to be handed to the driver.

We certainly could do a F1 type of standing start, but we need to think about the rules and get them approved ahead of time. Doing it at NHIS kind of scares me, because if there is an accident at the start, then it pretty much is going to block the track with no room to get by. Of course, the start could be on the chute between turns 10 and 11, where there is plenty of room. It doesn&#39;t have to be on the front straight.

Matter of fact, the "start" itself could be on the NASCAR track before NASCAR three, then no matter what happened, the race line would not be blocked.

[Andy Bettencourt]

Originally posted by RKramden@Dec 23 2005, 02:52 PM


Matter of fact, the "start" itself could be on the NASCAR track before NASCAR three, then no matter what happened, the race line would not be blocked.

69100

And if you did the start there, we could eliminate the problem of marking a &#39;starting grid&#39;...you could do it out of duct tape on the ground that could be removed right after because that section isn&#39;t used during the race...

Hmmmm....I like it!

[benspeed]

That is a very cool idea! I would think that should add some serious excitement to the start and great racing nostalgia too :)

I also really like the idea of both ovals - particularly since I still suck getting into 12.

[moto62]

Originally posted by Andy Bettencourt@Dec 19 2005, 04:11 PM
I was wondering if anyone had any cool ideas for racing this year....

....Anything else anyone has on their mind?

AB

68701



Coronas in the beer tub for the post race gathering. :birra:

[ulfelder]

I&#39;ll play devil&#39;s advocate/party pooper: I find the standing start gimmicky and unnecessary.

1: I make it to a half-dozen race weekends per year, and I suspect that&#39;s pretty typical for a club racer. The start of the race - yes, the old-fashioned rolling start - is the coolest, most challenging part. And since I only do it about 8 times a year, I am far from bored with it.

2: Standing starts are a recipe for carnage. I find it utterly obvious that the first time we tried them, we would see at least 3 drivers per race group CREAM the guy in front of them. I don&#39;t want to be the creamer or the creamee, thank you very much. My bodyshop bill is high enough as it stands.

3: Certain NER run groups have been begging for split starts for over a year. Unless I missed something (please correct me if I did), there ain&#39;t been no split starts yet. Why? Call it institutional inertia; it&#39;s hard to make a major procedural change in any organization, let alone one staffed by tireless volunteers who donate their weekends (and many weeknights, believe me). Bottom line: don&#39;t underestimate the logistical difficulty of trying something like this.

OK, you may now call me a fuddy-duddy. :unsure:

Steve U
Flatout Motorsports
05 ITS

[RKramden]

Originally posted by ulfelder@Dec 26 2005, 09:15 AM
1: I make it to a half-dozen race weekends per year, and I suspect that&#39;s pretty typical for a club racer. The start of the race - yes, the old-fashioned rolling start - is the coolest, most challenging part. And since I only do it about 8 times a year, I am far from bored with it.
Actually, it is the old fashion standing start we are talking about. This wouldn&#39;t be something new, it would be something old. We used to do them all the time. The "rolling start" is the "new fangled" start. And I don&#39;t think it would be at all the races, either. Maybe we just use it for the enduro, where it is in everyones best interest to be on their best behaviour, as 6 hours is a long, long time to be watching everyone else racing because you were stupid at the start.

2: Standing starts are a recipe for carnage. I find it utterly obvious that the first time we tried them, we would see at least 3 drivers per race group CREAM the guy in front of them. I don&#39;t want to be the creamer or the creamee, thank you very much. My bodyshop bill is high enough as it stands.
No-one said it would be for ALL race groups, and I can think of a number of groups that should never have standing starts. Formula Continential is one of them. If your group had a standing start, then you could choose to start at the back (no-one to run into you), and you could control who you ran into. Your choice.

3: Certain NER run groups have been begging for split starts for over a year. Unless I missed something (please correct me if I did), there ain&#39;t been no split starts yet. Why? Call it institutional inertia; it&#39;s hard to make a major procedural change in any organization, let alone one staffed by tireless volunteers who donate their weekends (and many weeknights, believe me). Bottom line: don&#39;t underestimate the logistical difficulty of trying something like this.
You missed something

We (the region, and other regions at Lime Rock)) do both Split Grids and Split Starts as the situation warrents. It certainly is the perogitive of the Chief Steward, and it has to be in the Supps or ALL must agree. Unless everyone in the race group wants it and you can convince the C/S, that is.. If it is not in the supps and one person says no, then it is no.

I have been the starter for a number of split starts at NHIS and LRP with no, one, and two pace cars. (You do not need any pace cars if the drivers pay attention.) The rule I have used is simple. "The green waves until the last car of the first pack is over the Start/Finish line. If the second pack can see the green, you keep waving it."

So, if the first car in the second group follows to closely to the firat pack, they lose their split start.