Why get a National License

[JimLill]

as Dave alluded to in another thread (link below).....

http://itforum.improvedtouring.com/forums/...showtopic=10139

Looking in GCR, I don't see where the $25 comes in. To me, renew your comp liicense and move from Reg to Nat at the same time or did I miss something?

[gran racing]

In the other thread, Chris stated having a National License opens doors. Can you expand upon this? Is there more to it than one might be asked to drive a national car in a race?

[Knestis]

National and Regional competition license renewals are the same price. Why NOT get a National?

Bamfoozled,

K

[tnord]

yup, when you renew your liscense just upgrade from regional to national and it won't cost you anything. that way, you can go do whatever race you want where ever you want. i think you also have to be nationally liscensed to instruct at a school.

[Greg Amy]

National and Regional competition license renewals are the same price.[/b]

Ah! See, that's old thinking. I *think* it used to be that a National used to cost more 'in the old days'? Or was I thinking about doing an upgrade during the year (not at renewal)? Or...what? Senility?

So, given that...I rescind my $25 loan offer... - GA

[ddewhurst]

***Or...what? Senility?***

Nope, it's the fulfillment thoughts that NOW occupy that lobe of the brain. No room for other less substantial stuff.

[Butch Kummer]

If you're never going to drive anything other than an IT car, I suppose there's no real reason to get a National license. Granted it costs no more than a Regional come renewal time, but in order to renew a National license you must run three Nationals, two Nationals and a Regional, or four Regionals in a 12-month period. To renew the Regional license, you need to run two Regionals (which can be done on a Double Regional weekend). The Regional license therefore is cheaper to renew, which could be important for those operating on the proverbial shoestring.

As Greg suggested in the other thread, however, having a National license allows you more opportunities to race should something happen that opens up a seat on a National-eligible car. And should you ever decide to buy/rent/borrow a car that can run in a National class, you get more flexibility in deciding what races to run. A National driver/car can always run Regionals, but the opposite is not true.

I used to think the only reason to get a National license is because you wanted to go to the Runoffs. The move to HPT has made that a less attractive reason.

Butch Kummer
National license holder in a Regional car (GTA)

[Greg Amy]

1) So let's say you do at least four Regionals: check the "National" box.
2) You only do two Regionals: either request a waiver (they're commonly given) or check the "Regional" box.
3) Subsequent year: go to step one...

[JimLill]

lest anyone starts worrying about their memory etc.

The $25 delta still exists but on the leap from Novice...

Novice -> Regional = $75

Novice -> National = $100

Check the Lic App Form

[Z3_GoCar]

lest anyone starts worrying about their memory etc.

The $25 delta still exists but on the leap from Novice...

Novice -> Regional = $75

Novice -> National = $100

Check the Lic App Form
[/b]

That's a negitive, GCR page 23:

6 regional race + $75 => National License

2 regional races + $75 => Regional License

Delta's the same:

It must be noted that a race is denoted by a sanction number, a double regional weekend means two sanction numbers.

James

[JimLill]

so which is correct.......... the application form or the GCR if they contradict? IMHO, $25 is nothing in the grand scheme of things anyway....

[JohnRW]

Some of us race with multiple sanction bodies, various pro series, vintage groups etc. I know that when I was racing some SCCA Pro races, the Nat'l license was the 'gold entry card'. All discussion stopped there, as they knew you 'had a clue' (and probably a WHOLE lot more 'clue' than the pro series noobs).

Same deal with the non-SCCA vintage race groups, and all those other sanctioning groups. If you've never run with them before, there are always 'raised eyebrows'. Those eyebrows generally drop when you say 'Nat'l license'. Really.

[Bill Miller]

Since it cost no more to upgrade to a National, I did it when I renewed my license. I also had visions of running my new HP car in a couple of Nationals.

But, let's not start up that whole Regional/National thing again.

[ddewhurst]

While on the topic of SCCA drivers license. On another site some of us frequent there was a thread with posts that some of the drivers when renewing their license had not in a considerable number of years filled in the SCCA sanction numbers of races for the previous year when renewing their license. The whole deal didn't make sense to some of them when the renewal was returned because it was not complete.

Have Fun
David

[NutDriverRighty]

this is specifically addressed to Butch Kummer, but I invite all to reply. In Butch's post, it says that you must compete in "x" number of events for "y" license. IIRC, the GCR states that you must be listed as a finisher[i] for "x" number of events. The GCR goes on to define "finisher" as completing 50% of the race laps that the winner of your class completed, plus one. If I am wrong on this, please let me know. I ran an obviously hurt engine at VIR, got in the way of alot of folks, and cost myself alot of $ due to my interpretation of this. If I only have to "compete" in two events per year to keep my license, I'll be much less frustrated by the possibility of a DNF coming late in the season.

Scott Franklin
www.NutDriver.org

[Greg Amy]

Scott, you're right: you must "finish". - GA

[Butch Kummer]

Technically what I said in my post was "run" x number of events and yes, that was incorrect. DNFs and DNSs do not count as "running" (finishing) an event.

Even more technically, to be classified a finisher you need to complete 50% of the laps completed by the winner in your class. If that is an odd number of laps, then you need to complete 1 LESS than 50%. i.e. if the winner in your class completes 15 laps, you need to complete 7 to be classified a finisher.

Sorry for any confusion I may have caused...

Butch

[JoshS]

Even more technically, to be classified a finisher you need to complete 50% of the laps completed by the winner in your class. If that is an odd number of laps, then you need to complete 1 LESS than 50%. i.e. if the winner in your class completes 15 laps, you need to complete 7 to be classified a finisher.
[/b]

Actually Butch, that's not right. There was a proposal to that effect, but the BOD shot it down. It's called out in the latest (1/07) Fastrack:

The following items were rejected
GCR
Item 1.
Effective 1/1/07: Change section 6.7.3.A as follows:
In order to be considered a finisher, a car shall complete half the distance covered by the <strike>overall</strike> winner of the <strike>race</strike> same class. If the race length is
an uneven number of laps, divide the <strike>overall</strike> class winner&#39;s laps by two and round down to the nearest whole integer.

[CaptainWho]

Actually Butch, that&#39;s not right. There was a proposal to that effect, but the BOD shot it down. It&#39;s called out in the latest (1/07) Fastrack:

The following items were rejected
GCR
Item 1.
Effective 1/1/07: Change section 6.7.3.A as follows:
In order to be considered a finisher, a car shall complete half the distance covered by the <strike>overall</strike> winner of the <strike>race</strike> same class. If the race length is
an uneven number of laps, divide the <strike>overall</strike> class winner&#39;s laps by two and round down to the nearest whole integer.
[/b]

Yep, I saw that, too, and it made me a bit upset. That puts some folks squarely behind the eight ball. So, for example, if you might get a run group that includes both FA and FV. It&#39;s not common, because the powers that be typically don&#39;t want the speed differential that high, but it happens occasionally at low-turnout events due to low subscription. Now, it seems to me like in a situation like that, it&#39;s not always too difficult for the winner of the slowest class to not complete half of the overall winner&#39;s lap count. Does that mean that no one in the entire class gets a finish for the event, even though they all ran the entire time of the race?

Or say you&#39;re in the run group our IT7 car is usually in ... ITS, ITA, and IT7. If you&#39;re in the situation we found ourselves in at VIR in October, limping a hurt car around to get our finish, we could&#39;ve been completely hosed because IT7 usually gives up laps to ITS anyway. Add a hurt car, and it&#39;s easy to run afoul of the "half the overall winner&#39;s laps" limit.