NNJR SCCA PRO IT SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM

[Robert Zecca]

[attachmentid=1244]Last night we held our NNJR board meeting and discussed at length the 2008 season. One thing we spoke about is holding PRO IT events in conjunction with our races at LRP, Thunderbolt and Pocono. We are hoping to have about 6 race events. Driving Impressions will be helping to sponsor this race by donating TEAM DI safety equipment at every event to the class winners. We will be awarding shoes, underwear, balaclavas and gloves. At the end of the season we will be awarding a TEAM DI 3-layer SFI 5 suit valued at $700. This is all in the talk stage but I would value your input as to how I can best set up the sponsorship in a equitable manner.

In addition to sponsoring the PRO IT event I would like to help sponsor all other NNJR events by handing out $1,000 in DI bucks for use in purchasing TEAM DI safety equipment. In the coming months I will make a final announcement on how this program will be implemented. For 2008 Driving Impressions hopes to be carrying more major brands including Sparco, Oakely, Recaro and others in hopes of expaniding on the needs of our local customers both here and at the and our Lime Rock store. We plan to expand our own line of Safety Equipment known as TEAM DI which will include suits, gloves, shoes and underwear. It will be top quality but at a affordable price to compete with the rising prices of other European lines.

You can contact me at 1-800-275-4667 or [email protected] www.teamdi.com
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks
Bob Zecca

[robits325is]

thats great news - Thanks a lot Bob.

Brings back memories of the Import Challenge.

Which classes will be included? How can we help?

[Robert Zecca]

Dear Rob,

Many people may not realize that besides owning Driving Impressions I am secretary and on the board of NNJR. As you are well aware the car counts have been down in the NE at all events. We as a region in conjunction with our neighboring regions must work together to build up members in SCCA and bring back the excitement and affordability of racing from years ago. This will not happen overnite. With the help of yourself, Andy from Flatout and others we need to work together to build up fields and I believe IT is a start. I can not do much as one individual or as a small company. What I will try to do is help anyway I can with sponorship and then use my connections with other manufacturers to get them involved in this series.

For now our region visited the PRO IT event in Atlanta and got their rules. In the coming months we will work on this and as we get closer we will make an official announcement. I hope we will have something concrete in about 45 days because time is passing fast. We will work on a overall points/awards championship and back it up with product and cash awards. In the meantime let's all put our heads together and make this happen. The racing is exciting and maybe we can build this into some enduros and night racing too! Years ago I ran in the Firehawk series. Our first race was at Sebring with 108 cars starting. Guess who started 108th? Yep you got it, me. But we finished about 30th. The bottom line is this racing is fun, affordable and includes a team of people with driver changes. Lets start with PRO IT and see where this goes in the next few years. We have Lime Rock, Pocono and now Thunderbolt so the travel will not be so bad yet we will have a diversity in tracks and I am sure we can grow from there to include other great tracks.

I truly love this sport and more importantly the people involved at all levels including the WORKERS!!! I am committed to seeing us succeed. Please keep the ideas coming.

Thanks
Bob Zecca
1-800-275-4667
www.teamdi.com

[gran racing]

Pretty cool Bob.

Based on your original post, it sounds like this is something that would happen at regional races and not separate dates. If that's accurate, it'll be interesting to see how many people enter both races. The Atlanta region prices a Pro IT event at the national race cost. Will NNJR be pricing the Pro IT race higher than the regional race held on the same date?

I do agree that some new things need to be tried; I'm looking forward to learning more about this.

Hope the winter months have been treating you well.

[dtanthon]

We at NNJR and SJR want to model the Pro IT after what the Atlanta Region's format.
Take a look at - http://atl-scca.org/Documents%20Word/2007/...0IT%20Rules.doc (http://atl-scca.org/Documents%20Word/2007/2008%20PRO%20IT%20Rules.doc)

Comments welcome. We can do a lot with this here in the NE. We have the best IT drivers in the country!

For now ... Look for the first event to be at the Joe DeLuca and Linda Gronlund Freedom Races and Enduro at Pocono, Pa on May 10th. The finale will be October 17-19 at New Jersey Motorsports Park (Lightning). The season awards will be held at this event. In between will be at least 4 more events. Everything is in planning but the Board meeting on Tuesday was very productive.

Look for Team DI sponsored prizes as well as prize money.

What about Most Improved, Hard Charger, Hard Luck, Clean Sweep, etc... ?

Look for more news at www.NJRRS.com (still under construction).

Thanks,
Darrell Anthony
NNJR-RE

[dj10]

Bob & http://itforum.improvedtouring.com/forums/uploads/post-11665-1197478620.jpg (http://itforum.improvedtouring.com/forums/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=1244),

Good job on taking the initiative for your Pro IT series. I've been a proponent of the Pro IT idea ever since I heard about it in the Southeast Division. There is no reason for this not the spread through out the North East Division and possibly even into the Central Division. With some planning and some marketing you could help turn this sport into a spectator sport.

[Robert Zecca]

Dear Dan,

Thanks for your positive words! You are absolutely correct is saying that this could be the start of something big and exactly what our club needs to get growth going again regarding car counts and membership. I hope everyone sees this and feels the way you do and this motivates all of us to accmplish these goals. I am sure you read the words of our RE Darrell Anthony. He is truly a hard working and talented individual and lives and breathes SCCA. He has put together a strong team of individuals on our board and I am sure in the coming months you will see great things happening.

Please keep all ideas and comments coming.

Sincerely,
Bob Zecca
1-800-275-4667
www.teamdi.com

[Robert Zecca]

If you are interested in this race series please email me your name, address and car that you have in mind running. I need to work on a sponsorship plan for prospective sponsors who may support this series. I will looking for products and possible cash. Some of the entry will go into the cash payout but I will still try to find some money from potential sponsors. Frank Cioppettini from Evergreen Peformance Products who is promoting Quikleen will be jumping on board as a product sponsor. You could learn more about Quikleen at www.evergreenpeformanceproducts.com It is truly amazing stuff. It is used to pickup oil, paints and antifreeze, leave zero residue and is legal to throw in the garbage and weighs much less than kitty litter.
We will obviously try to find product sponsors who will have products that have a direct use by the competitor. By winning a award will certainly help keep the cost of racing down in a small way and hopefully we will find enough cash to pay down to 10th place per event. The larger the entries the larger the amount of cash we will have to payout. PLEASE speak to your fellow competitors about this to see how much interest we have because the more participants the better chance I will have of obtaining sponsorship. What I may have to do is package some of the sponsorship with the regional or national event since PRO IT will be run in conjunction with the event.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Thanks,
Bob Zecca
[email protected]

[Magical Trevor]

Sounds interesting!
I hope this helps to draw some diversity in entries-I'd like to bring an ITA Celica into the mix in 2010 or so if I can get the time and money; just in time for Palmer? :)

[Andy Bettencourt]

I am in.

[dj10]

To bad I'm on the other side of PA or I would be in too.

[wdether]

thats great news - Thanks a lot Bob.

Brings back memories of the Import Challenge.

Which classes will be included? How can we help?
[/b]

The Atlanta Region rules include the following classes:

1. Standard IT classes (ITR, ITS, ITA, ITB, ITC)
2. Atlanta Region IT Truck Class (4 cylinder trucks)
3. Atlanta Region ITU Class (under 3L NA engined cars, similar to NARRC ITE rule)
4. Atlanta Region IT spec SM, SSM (DC region rules), ARRC SM
5. SEDIV IT7, DC region Spec RX-7 (SRX) may compete in ITA

There should be some discusion on the classes allowed. I could see SM being added. ITT might not fit in the NEDIV area. I could see adding the cars listed in the ITU category (WC Touring cars, etc.). Including IT7 and SRX seems to make sense.

This really seems like a good idea.

[Andy Bettencourt]

I would set a minimum participation number first. Then consider the classes. If it's Pro IT, then have it be IT. Expand it as funds and sponsorship allow looking at SM and SSM. As long as you are looking outside of IT, I guess any well subscribed class would be a consideration. SRF? FV? Maybe keep it IT only in it's first year and expand as needed.

ITR, ITS, ITA, ITB, ITC, IT& and ITE.

[lateapex911]

ITR, ITS, ITA, ITB, ITC, IT7 and ITE.

[/b]

Fixed that for you, assuming you held the caps when you hit the "7" and got a "&" instead.........

[gran racing]

SRF, FV, SM, SSM... Andy, I thought it is called ProIT. LOL

I'd be interested in running some of the races depending upon the race format, and entry cost. (ITB)

[benspeed]

Fantastic! This is the sort of thing that will help pull cars and make the racing even more fun and competitive. We should try to get SportsCar and GrassRoots to cover the events.

[Robert Zecca]

I will definetly contact Philip Royale the editor of Sports Car and Tim Suddard ( a personal friend ) of Grass roots Motorsports. I am sure they will support us. This is a great idea and part of the process of going racing, getting exposure for your sponsor and yourselves. As it stands now we have very little to offer a sponsor but by putting out a package like this with some print coverage the sponsors will get behind it because they hopfully will see the bigger picture 2 or 3 years down the road.

Please keep your comments coming. Everything has been positive and needs to be positive for this to happen.

Feel free to call me with any questions or comments at anytime. You can reach me at 1-800-275-4667

Thanks,
Bob Zecca
www.teamdi.com

[dj10]

I will definetly contact Philip Royale the editor of Sports Car and Tim Suddard ( a personal friend ) of Grass roots Motorsports. I am sure they will support us. This is a great idea and part of the process of going racing, getting exposure for your sponsor and yourselves. As it stands now we have very little to offer a sponsor but by putting out a package like this with some print coverage the sponsors will get behind it because they hopfully will see the bigger picture 2 or 3 years down the road.

Please keep your comments coming. Everything has been positive and needs to be positive for this to happen.

Feel free to call me with any questions or comments at anytime. You can reach me at 1-800-275-4667

Thanks,
Bob Zecca
www.teamdi.com (http://www.teamdi.com)

"Fantastic! This is the sort of thing that will help pull cars and make the racing even more fun and competitive. We should try to get SportsCar and GrassRoots to cover the events."

[/b]

Excellent posts guys, good businessmen think alike! :D Getting it started is critical but it is just as critical to look longer term. :023: I would suggest calling Fletcher & Sandy from the Atlanta region, for some of their input. It might be a good idea to have a central committee so everyone is running under the same rules but you can still have your divisions within the PRO IT. If I go SE or NE I won't have to worry.

[dtanthon]

I modified what Atlanta Region has for their successful series.

Here is what I came up with so far - this is very preliminary
http://www.njrrs.com/proit.html

Comments welcome. We can make this work from all angles.
Want to get more involved, just ask. It is our club.

Thanks,
Darrell Anthony
NNJR-RE

[gran racing]

With a 40 minute race format, it might make things interesting to try a couple of different race formats. Maybe it's because I'm watching too much foreign racing lately, but many series use a manditory pit during the race. Maybe add a quick manditory stop & go to the race? Just a thought.


Will these be held on the same day as a regional race? Or is there any chance to have them held on other dates as a supporting race during lunch? Just looking for a higher profile event for sponsors.

[Robert Zecca]

Without a doubt. Lets get off the ground this year, prove ourselves to our sponsors and then at the end of the year then approach SCCA or another sanctioning body to be their support race. People love this form of racing and the show will be great.

[dtanthon]

I was leaning more toward a Speed World-Challenge type format. Maybe use the Reward Weight system.

As of now we will run with regionals, but we are looking at being a support race as well, Pro events and Nationals. Plus the finale could be the showcase along with another pro group.

These would not be run during lunch.

Keep the ideas coming, this is our series.

Thanks,
Darrell Anthony
NNJR-RE
www.NJRRS.com
www.scca-nnjr.org

Happy Holidays to all from NNJR & SNJ. NJMP is one heck of a present for 2008!

[philstireservice]

Bob,

We might be interested in getting involved in something like this. I've been a long time SCCA racer and have many friends in the NE who we help, as well as, them helping us, during the course of a season. It would be nice to be a part of this on the ground floor. We offer a varied selection of products that we might be able to throw into the mix. Keep us posted !!


Phil & Kim Phillips

[Mark Gregory]

Hi every one This looks a a good idea . I have started my own company this year and would be pleased to be concidered as a sponsor in return for some advertising for my prodcuts . Please contact me if you would like some other prizes to offer to the competitors. I would also be interested in racing in this program. Mark g Rosmar 77

[Robert Zecca]

Dear Mark and Phil,

Please call me Monday at work 1-800-275-4667 to discuss ideas and involvement of your companies in this program. Have a good weekend in the storm and we will speak Monday.

Thanks
Bob Zecca

[Dave28]

:eclipsee_steering: I like where this idea is going. The only thing I think may need a little more thought is how the prize fund is distributed. I was reading the atlanta regions ruyles for Pro IT briefly. I think that maybe the percentages of what position gets how much should possibly chang so that more of the field gets something. Lets face it we race for nothing now so would it be better fpr more guys to get something to encourage them to race more? Just a thought. :024:

[GregM]

Great idea to get more people racing. Count my cars in.



I was leaning more toward a Speed World-Challenge type format. Maybe use the Reward Weight system.

[/b]
I think we need to go to a rewards weight system as well. Can't have the second place car getting lapped every race.

Have a Happy Holiday

Greg

[RSTPerformance]

our driver suits are legal for 1 more year so we are certainly interested for 1 year of this and maybe more if we can win the suit!!!

2 ITB Audi Coupes
1 ITS Porche 944s

Raymond

[lateapex911]

Lucky for us your suits are set to expire soon!

[wepsbee]

to gran racing,
Sory to get off topic but great book!!!!!!!

[gran racing]

No need to apologize to me. :D (Thank you, I appreciate it!!)


I like the rewards weight system and think it would spice things up a bit. The only downside of that is if it would frustrate some people who run the series regularly and lost to someone who only enters one or a couple of events therefore has no weight penalty. Then again, it works the same way in WC. Yup, I still think it's an interesting idea.

[Rabbit05]

This sounds lile a great idea !...and even more incentive to get going on my new car !! :eclipsee_steering:


Would this be an "all classes out" race ( ie ITR thru -C ) ? And what happens when the car counts get high enough to warrant another run group ? Especially if SM's are going to run, they usually generate a decent amount of cars per race. Would a class or classes get axed for others ?

I look forward to running in B this summer... well that's the plan if me and the guys can stop doing this ----> :birra: and build a car....


John VanDenburgh

[dtanthon]

The initial set of rules (borrowed from Atlanta region) is located here:
http://www.njrrs.com/proit.html

Please provide comment on this forum and the JRB will consider them for inclusion in the rules. Keep in mind, we want to keep things simple in 2008. Then expand further in 2009.

Thanks,
Darrell Anthony
NNJR-RE
www.NJRRS.com
"The BEST racing in the country"

[Robert Zecca]

Dear Guys,

I will out of the country on vacation until next Friday. I will be closed for business starting tomorrow and unavailable. I want to wish everyone, your families and friends a safe and Happy Holiday and I will speak to you when I return. Please keep the ideas and momentum going. This is going to work!

Sincerely,
Robert Zecca

[Robert Zecca]

Hi guys,

Finally back to work from vacation and the holidays. I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays and now ready to tackle the new year and racing again. I see Darrell has been working hard on the rules and schedule of events. Please visit www.njrrs.com where you will find the updated rules for PRO - IT and schedule. Things are still in the growing stages but make sure you check the site weekly to see any changes. I will now start working with potential sponsors and anyone else who would like to get involved in this series. As always you can always write or call me to add your ideas or comments.

Sincerely,
Bob Zecca
1-800-275-4667
www.teamdi.com

[gran racing]

Is there an approximate timing when the schedule will be determined for these races?


From the site....


Fifty percent (50%) of each entry fee will be placed in the prize fund. Fifty percent (50%) of the prize fund will be paid out for each race; the remaining fifty percent (50%) will be accumulated for the end of the year championship pay out.[/b]

I'm sorry but I have to ask - how does this impact the actual entry fees, meaning will they be 50% higher than normal?

[dtanthon]

We are still working on the schedule but for 2008 we will mostly be with Regionals.

Very tentative.....
05/10 - Sat Pro-IT - NNJR at Pocono - Pocono, Pa (Qual = 20 min, race = 45 min)
06/?? - ???
07/05 - Sat Pro-IT - Tri-Region at Pocono - Pocono, Pa (Qual = 20 min, race = 45 min)
08/02 - ???
08/23 - Sat Pro-IT - NNJR at NJMP (Lightning) - Millville, NJ (Qual = 20 min, race = 45 min)
09/?? - ???
10/18-19 - Sat & Sun Pro-IT (double finale) - NNJR at NJMP (Lightning) - Millville, NJ (Qual = 20 min, race 1 = 45 min, race 2 = 45 min)

We want to be at Lime Rock but the schedule and time constraints may keep us away. I'm asking if we can be part of the National in August. That timeline is extremely tight.

The South Jersey events at NJMP are in question since there will be other classes there (Pro F2000 in Sept.)
We asked MoHud and NER about having Pro-IT at LRP and NHIS, waiting for reply on that.

As for the entry fee. Atlanta Region charges the same amount as a National, these will be National length races. If we do get an event at LRP the entry would be up to the host region. NNJR has the National race, that entry in 2007 was $425, the regionals were about $325. Have to think about that.

The other races will be more than the regional entry because you will be getting more track time as well as prize money to the top 3 in each class. The top 5 in each class will also get year end prize money.

Comments are welcome. Feel free to contact Bob Z. or myself. We will pass them along to the JRB.

Thanks,
Darrell Anthony
NNJR-RE
email - reg-exec @ scca-nnjr.org
www.SCCA-NNJR.org
www.NJRRS.com
www.NARRC.com

[JaxonMotorsports44]

Darrell,

Is the PRO IT entry separate from the entry for the weekend?? For example, on 5/10, there will be a full complement of IT races for the NARRC event and each competitor will have to pay $XXX entry fee. Any competitor who is also running the PRO IT race would then pay the PRO IT entry fee of $XXX. Is that correct???

[dtanthon]

Jay,
Yes, full NARRC or JRRC race format with the addition of the Pro-IT race. A lot of track time for IT drivers.
This is a separate race from the other races of that weekend. That is how the Atlanta Region does it.

This is another way to double dip but with this series you can at least win back some of your entry.

This is a Pro series, you win prize money per event (top 3 per class) and at the end of the year (top 5 per class).

Thanks for the question,
Darrell

PS - More track time and 'interesting' events is what was asked for from the Drivers Committee and comments received. We are working on other 'interesting' formats for 2009 for other groups.

[JaxonMotorsports44]

Sounds good. Now I need to find an ITA rx7 or something to add to the british car stable :D

Now I understand how the entry can be applied. My confusion was with the payout vs. the amount going to the region.


Now it is clear.

thanks

Jay

[lateapex911]

Sounds good. Now I need to find an ITA rx7 or something to add to the british car stable :D

Now I understand how the entry can be applied. My confusion was with the payout vs. the amount going to the region.


Now it is clear.

thanks

Jay [/b]

Not so sure I'd choose an ITA RX-7. Their chances at the front aren't s good as some other ITA cars, and it looks like IT-7 is excluded from this.

[dtanthon]

Jake,

Atlanta Region includes IT7 in with ITA. We will do this for now but if there is reason to change that we will more than welcome that change. This is your series.

As I mentioned before to Jay, 50% of the entire entry gets given back as prize money, 25% for the event and 25% for the year end. The more groups we have the less the payout will be per individual. The top 3 in each group gets a cut (50,30,20). That cut is proportional to the number of cars in that group compared to the overall entry.

This is a series for IT drivers so the IT drivers can make suggestions as to how we can make this better.

Comments and suggestions are more than welcome.
Thanks,
Darrell

[Butch Kummer]

Darrell,

One thing I forgot to mention when talking about the Adminstrative side of things is the need to issue 1099's to the prize money winners. I don't recall the actual minimum off-hand, but we've had some people in years past that took home north of $5000 for the year - not enough to retire on but enough to get the IRS's attention. :D

Looks like there's a lot of interest. Good luck on making it work!

Butch

[JaxonMotorsports44]

Jake,

Good Point!!!!

Andy,

I will need a duplicate of the 09 ready for the 09 season!!!!

[Tkczecheredflag]

Darrell,

One thing I forgot to mention when talking about the Adminstrative side of things is the need to issue 1099's to the prize money winners. I don't recall the actual minimum off-hand, but we've had some people in years past that took home north of $5000 for the year - not enough to retire on but enough to get the IRS's attention. :D

Looks like there's a lot of interest. Good luck on making it work!

Butch
I believe 1099 (R, INT, MISC) is required for disbuirsements over $600.00 (although you can issue for less). You may want to require Social Security numbers in the IT Pro rules. Not sure what the "powers to be" or the "bean counters" think?

[tdw6974]

I do believe we are more than interested:rolleyes:. T Weaver

[rsx858]

cant wait for this to happen! If we can eventually hold pro-IT events in conjunction with pro series like speed world and ALMS, i think there would be tremendous interest.

So if your considering a speedworld type format, whats the story on standing starts???? could be interesting!

[dtanthon]

The Driving Impressions Pro-IT is progresing well. We have the next Jersey Racing Board ( JRB ) meeting on the 9th of Feb. We should have things 99% at that point.

Check www.NJRRS.com (http://www.NJRRS.com) for details.
This is your series in the NorthEast, what can we do for you?

Thanks,
Darrell
NNJR-RE
JRB member
NARRC member

[Robert Zecca]

In the next week I will announce exactly what I will be giving away for awards to winners in Pro It series. I will also speaking to other companies to get this finalized by mid March.

In the meantime we do have in stock the new Hans Sport model device for sedans priced at $695 and the new sliding tether model for $710. Please give me a call if you are interested and I will ship it to you freight free via UPS ground. This is a perfect alternative to the higher priced Hans where money is an issue but the protection is needed. We have already delivered many of these units the past few weeks and everyone is pleasantly suprised at the quality and weight.

To order call me at 1-800-275-4667 and we will ship the same day.

Thanks in advance for your support.

Sincerely,
Bob Zecca
www.teamdi.com

[Mark Gregory]

Hi Bob thanks for your efforts count me in . If you remember we spoke about us becoming a sponsor also. Please give me a call at your convenience.