March fastrac

[seckerich]

Andy, I do not agree with your letter at all. Why should paying entrants not be counted, just because they are IT cars? All of the current 1990 and newer IT car are Prepared eligible. All the CRB did was allowed current IT cars to run in Prepared with out purchasing a SIR and retuning their engines. If the IT competitor likes the Nation/Prepared experience they can upgrade their current car to the Prepared rule set. As part of the same rules changes, the CRB made it easier for current World Challenge cars to compete in the Prepared class. The WC cars will bolster the Prepared numbers, but were are the complaints on the Prod site about letting them run unmodified? The Prod guys just do not want to let the red headed step child in IT to compete in National events. Where is your letter asking for the Pro guys not to be counted?

It is very simple; the Prod guy had the first crack at bring the IT guys to National events, but did not want to do it fairly. Now that there is an alternative, the CRB is out to get them. You know that that is not true. I was just at a regional this weekend (Sebring short course) and there were 22 ITB cars and 15 ITC cars. Can you name a national event that had that many G & HP car in it last year? I think it sucks that there are hundreds of IT competitors that support this club and do not have a say what happens nationally, or get invited to the dance. I know the Prod guys like to say the IT is regional only, but that came from the beginning of IT when everyone thought that they were rolling junk yards. That is not the norm for IT cars today and I believe that there are example of IT car that are better prepared then some of the cars running at the front at National events. PK
[/b]

Well said Peter. I would add that most of the IT cars I see are better prepared and cleaner looking than half the cars I teched at a recent national. I would have run the ITS car if I had known before the weekend. Even saw GTL cars being given to people to race free just to prop up their numbers. False market if I ever saw one. Keep up the good work.

[lateapex911]

So here's an idea.

We start up a website, and get the word out that "IT" cars..REAL IT cars...will be running in Prepared, like Planet 6, and we'll label our cars "Under D Prepared", and we'll make our own trophies and hand them out in Topeka to OUR winners. If you're the first ITA car in the field, no matter where you finish overall, you win UnPrep-ITA. Maybe Speed will pick up on it and run it as a "sidebar" or a "human interest" story.

Could be fun!

.

[cherokee]

I think it has a lot to do with where the clubs priority is. I think it might have lost it's way, The classes that are the answer to the question nobody asked is illustrates this. The Touring classes show that they are intrested in what the MFG's want. Why did Spec Miata get national status, they have car counts....so does IT, they also have Mazda. Do you think that Mazda had nothing to do with it, if you do you are crazy.

I will also say lets just have classes, and let the runoff's go to the top supported classes, we are a club for the members not for General Motors or Mazda, or Enterprise. If for some reason ITA makes it and ITB does not, so be it and on down the line. We are not removing your place to race you just will not be in the "show" if your classes car counts are not high enough. There is no reason on Gods Green Earth why IT is not a "national class". Every reason I have seen as to why IT is not national does not hold water. None of this will take away your place to race, just perhaps your spot in the runoffs.

Last thing, If you want to choose to not renew your membership with the SCCA that is fine, but if you are not a member of the club then you have no right to bitch about how things are done. It is kinda like griping about the Bush when you never voted.

[charrbq]

I have an idea...it's just as full of holes as most of my ideas are, but it's still my idea. Whenever the comp board, national office, or whoever comes out with these schemes about boosting class counts with other classes of cars, or allowing cars from one line of the GCR to update parts from another, instead of just complaining about it here, why don't we start sending them letters in response...just like they do us...that state "Not Consistant With Class Philosophy!"?

[p.keane]

To make things perfectly clear, if I have an agenda or a golden child class it is IT!

[tnord]

Tnord
IT cars have been supporting Nationals for years, why do you think we have a two hundred car IT feild at the National at Daytona? I agree with you about the balls part, but because we are a club it does not seem to happen.
[/b]

wrong.

IT cars have been supporting National Race Weekends. This is a benefit to SCCA with no detriment to IT whatsoever via maximizing entries on a given weekend. Scavenging entries from IT and plopping them in Prepared hurts the IT field as well as SCCA as a whole because now (if you count IT cars as official P cars for runoffs eligibility) the club is forced to support another class via rulemaking, scheduling, grouping, etc. not to mention shrinking the field size of what is one of the healthiest categories we have, making it a less attractive place to be.

what's better, to have 5 classes with 5 cars each, or 2 classes with 13 or 12 entries? does it matter? i sure think it does.

[ddewhurst]

***To make things perfectly clear, if I have an agenda or a golden child class it is IT!***

I like that ^ a whole bunch either Regional or allowing IT to become one of the National 24 if numbers warrant.

[planet6racing]

So here's an idea.

We start up a website, and get the word out that "IT" cars..REAL IT cars...will be running in Prepared, like Planet 6, and we'll label our cars "Under D Prepared", and we'll make our own trophies and hand them out in Topeka to OUR winners. If you're the first ITA car in the field, no matter where you finish overall, you win UnPrep-ITA. Maybe Speed will pick up on it and run it as a "sidebar" or a "human interest" story.

Could be fun!

.
[/b]

UnPrep-ITA! I love it!

Oh, and we get Gregg to sponsor us all. And make it a requirement that every IT driver has to where an Isaac. And we get great big SFI with a slash through it stickers for the hoods of all the cars. And we have the best party. And the best food. And, we keep all the Speed people drunk and well fed so they are sure to like us!!

[cherokee]

IT cars have been supporting National Race Weekends.....Scavenging entries from IT and plopping them in Prepared hurts the IT field as well as SCCA as a whole because now (if you count IT cars as official P cars for runoffs eligibility) the club is forced to support another class via rulemaking, scheduling, grouping, etc. not to mention shrinking the field size of what is one of the healthiest categories we have, making it a less attractive place to be.
[/b]

IT cars support the club more then anyone in Topeka wants to admit. But I think in their eyes our class is only good for supporting the club, filler if you like. If IT was a national class they would have never gone to IT for filler for the Prep. class, let me ask is there a national class that is closer to Prep. then IT? Why did they not take them....because they are national....and hurting for car counts. In IT car counts don't mean a darn thing, to anyone making the rules.

It looks to me like Topeka's main intrest is in the national classes what ever they may be, no one should be shocked that they try to bleed the IT fields dry to make the national classes look better. Make IT national and all this will go away.

[DavidM]

UnPrep-ITA! I love it!

Oh, and we get Gregg to sponsor us all. And make it a requirement that every IT driver has to where an Isaac. And we get great big SFI with a slash through it stickers for the hoods of all the cars. And we have the best party. And the best food. And, we keep all the Speed people drunk and well fed so they are sure to like us!!
[/b]

So will IT cars be eligible for the runoffs in the prepared classes? I didn't read the rule enough to know for sure. If so, then what would be interesting is if all the IT guys started showing up on national weekends to race in prepared. I can't imagine that there will be but one or two prepared cars running so most of the field would wind up being IT cars. You could then wind up with most of the prepared field at the runoffs being IT cars. The true prepared cars would run away (assuming good drivers), but the real racing would be between the IT cars. May show SCCA HQ what they're missing by not including IT in the big show. An interesting thought anyways.

I may enter the prepared race at Road Atlanta in June just for the hell of it. I'll be there anyways since the Regional is being combined with the National. If nothing else it's more track time. I'll have to wait and see how the schedule looks.

David

[planet6racing]

I'm thinking about the June Sprints! None of that low profile stuff... ;-)

[gran racing]

Becareful of what you wish for when thinking about IT becoming a National class or going to the "big show".

[cherokee]

Becareful of what you wish for when thinking about IT becoming a National class or going to the "big show".
[/b]

Why? :he asks while poking the wasp nest with a stick:

[DavidM]

Becareful of what you wish for when thinking about IT becoming a National class or going to the "big show".
[/b]

Uh oh.

I like beer.

David

[gran racing]

Without getting into another long winded debate of if IT should remain regional or go national (or should be invited to the race out in KS), I think most of us are quite happy with IT now and the way it is heading. We really have a great thing right now that keeps getting better. My fear is that this paricular change will make things quite different - for better or worse, that can be argued both ways. I do believe we can agree that in some way, IT will be impacted if this happens.

I have no issues with not being invited to the Runoffs. When I got into IT, that was never on my mind. We're talking about how the Runoffs receives very poor t.v. air time, so that really isn't an appeal to me. Sure, I'd watch my race (like 20 times!) and bribe a few friends to come over and watch with wings & beer after I recorded it on my DVR. I am quite happy with going to the new Mid O Festival then down to the ARRC later in the year.

I suppose a lot of this depends upon the goals of the club and how IT fits into that.

REAL IT cars [/b]

Jake, what are real IT cars?

[lateapex911]

Well, in that context, where IT cars are running in D Prep, it would be cars that were true IT cars, not some hybrid.

It's just a goofy idea, basically giving an award to the guy who brings the best knife to a gunfight. But lets not give the award to the guy who's installed a blade ejection device on his knife, you know?

[Bill Miller]

The difference is in the past all National classes got invited to the Runoffs. Now it is only the top 24. New classes can compete in National events, but do not get a spot at the Runoffs. The BOD changed the number of classes to 25. The BOD members I have talked to said they would have done the same thing for GTL.


[/b]

Peter,

The president of the SCCA stated exactly the opposite.

[ddewhurst]

***Becareful of what you wish for when thinking about IT becoming a National class or going to the "big show".***

It would be no different than Spec Miata going National. Some people would do Nationals & some people would do Regionals. & as I see in races at Road America & Blackhawk Farm the Regional counts would be less than before going National.

[gran racing]

I do not fully buy into the concept that IT going national would be the same as when SM went national although I'm sure there would be similarities.

[PSherm]

My .02, for whatever it's worth, is that IT is just being used as a field filler so a new class can make numbers. After all the crap IT has taken over the years from the CRB (etc...), there's a lot of built-up distrust/resentment of ANYTHING the comp board does regarding IT???

I think I'd much rather see IT getting National status before I'd consider running with Prepared. What's to stop the board from saying IT is no longer welcome in Prepared after they make numbers?