IT7 spec tire rule problem in atl

[instigator]

well this weekend in atl we had alot of rain so we all went to the rain tires. the problem was brought to my attention by the cheif stewart for that weekend. On the issue of rain tires the rules listed on the internet did not show that the hooosier dirt stocker was allowed as an approved tire for the class. So the ball being in my court I went and notified tom little we both remeber the letter that was sent out which listed the hoosier as a legal tire for the rain. then both went to the tower to talk with the chief stewart . to make a long story short we end up going to Joe Varble . The final resolution for the weekend becuase of this descreation was to have all the IT7 vote on the removale of the spec tire rule for this weekend of compition until clearification could be made . Thanks to all the IT7 drivers there for the unanimus vote to go forward with this petition. Big thanks to Joe Varble and the cheif stewart for ther efforts in walking around in the cold rain to get this vote.

I have checked the web site it does not make mention for the hoosier at all for the rain as the letter that was sent out to all on the mailing list . For those invovled in this class and those who started this rule please lets get this resolved so that this will not happen again .


Kurt, ITA #00 & IT7 #59

[steve s]

iwas of the opinion that the toyo tire was the spec tire wet or dry [205-60-13]

[crushed]

iwas of the opinion that the toyo tire was the spec tire wet or dry [205-60-13]
[/b]

That's what I thought as well, Spec Miatas run full tread Toyos in the rain...

[instigator]

For those who were on the mailing list there was a leter sent out that expland the rule and listed the tires allowed fro competition. My copy of the letter was given to the Joe , who intern showed it to the cheif stewart I belive most of use got this leter does any one know how to get in contact with Lee Graysier find out what is going on?



Kurt ITA#00 & IT7#59

[iambhooper]

I'm not a IT7 driver, but in my opinion, if they want to use the dirt stocker for rains, let em. And if they want to use the Toyo (since it is the spec tire), let em. After 1 weekend, they will all be using full tread Toyo's at the next rain event.

The full tread Toyo is a superior rain tire, as evidenced by my ITC car that was running as high as 8th overall at last summers Lowes ECR (in the rain). Now, after it stopped, and the competition all switched to Hoosiers... we got our but's kicked, but we were up there and probably would have stayed had it continued to rain.

hoop

[tlyttle43]

Kurt is right about the tire rule. The original petition specifically allowed Dirt Stockers (or full-tread Toyos) as rain tires. The rule as originally adopted included the language specifying DSs as an approved option for rain tires. Now the IT7 rule on the web site stops after "spec tire is the Toyo RA1". It looks like the portion of the rule after that was just deleted (i.e., even the period at the end of the sentence disappeared). I don't know if this was intentional or not, but it sure looked to me like a case of attempted "rule-change-by-delete-key". If Kurt and I hadn't had copies of the rule as originally adopted, I'm not sure what we would have done about it, either. But since we have clear proof that DSs were allowed, the rule as published needs to be corrected.

Regarding Toyo vs. DS, I have to go with the DSs if the track is fairly wet. I was able to qualify 4th overall in an IT7, ahead of all the ITAs and most of the ITSs, using Dirt Stockers on a very wet track. They are no doubt inferior if the amount of water on the track gets minimal. The middle part of the Road Atlanta race was merely damp and I could feel my tires starting to give up a bit, until the rain came back. However, when it's really wet, DSs can't be beat - very open tread and very soft is the right combination.

Tom Lyttle