St. Louis Region Regional/National/IT Tour March 28 & 29

[tnord]

Sorry you are not going to make it Gary. I fully understand the difficulty of back to back weekends. It is tough to do these races as a worker and I know it is even harder for drivers. When we made the schedule we tried to avoid these situations but unfortunately it did not work out. The division seems to be making strides in spreading the races out over the course of the season but it is obvious we still have some work to do for next years schedule.

i completely agree that the schedule is 10x improved in this regard, and i think it will make for a more successful season in terms of the bottom line.

just to throw out another likely unpopular idea, i think we should eliminate the IT tour and make all regional races count towards Mid-Am.

[Speed Raycer]

i think we should eliminate the IT tour and make all regional races count towards Mid-Am

What would that do to racing on Sundays for us IT guys? I thought that the Tour was what allowed us to run on the same day the "real" races were going on

[tnord]

What would that do to racing on Sundays for us IT guys? I thought that the Tour was what allowed us to run on the same day the "real" races were going on

now that i think about it, there are some challenges with anyone who runs in a national class but only wishes to compete on a regional level.

i just REALLY hate that we have two regional "series" which in many cases amount to nothing but an attendance contest.

[Gary L]

i just REALLY hate that we have two regional "series" which in many cases amount to nothing but an attendance contest.

I tend to agree. To add to the issue, an attendance contest in MidDiv is actually a towing contest, at least for me. I get two IT Tour events at Hallett which is only a 2 hour tow, one way. But WRT the other IT Tour races, I'm looking at 8 to 10 hour tows for every other event on the schedule.

[pballance]

That's too bad...Would have loved to see a fresh face.

I'm sure you could have run well with us Midwest hacks.

No offense to Nashville...but...the track kinda sucks (especially driving for a no points race). I lost a motor mount/front subframe and tranny mounts (both!) and tranny crossmember on their new curbing 2 years ago.

While I finished the race(s) and had fun in the field of fast SEDiv cars, I don't see myself rushing back.

BTW...I'm the Eastern most situated ITS driver (that's not in Memphis/Mid-South if any of them are still racing) in the MiDiv FWIW.

Hey Mark, Thanks for the invite. You may still see me sometime this year.

Several of us involved with the NSS race have talked about trying to do another "joint" points race for each division. Like it was done in '07 I think. We thought it might help out the Middiv "Eastern" guys especially since Memphis is still building their worker pool.

NSS can be bad if you push the envelope just a little too much . I only drug one brake duct off last year when I clipped the strips getting on to the back straight. I would love to see some of you ITS guys come to NSS. Bill D from Memphis lost an apex seal last year and didn't run on Sunday. Randy Shedd and I had fun starting DFL in the run group and then getting to run to the front last year.

[FireballPhil]

Paul, I personally enjoyed working with the SE guys for the dual points race at NSS in '07. I was able to win the MidAm GTL championship. The reason why it didn't happen the next year was that NSS wanted to change the date and that date was on top of an HPT date and I was not going to conflict with them like that. As of right now, we here in Memphis are having an extremely difficult time building the worker pool. I don't expect that we will have any races at all this year unless we can come up with a worker miracle of some sort. I would very much like to work with NSS again. BTW, Bill D. sold his car last fall and I don't know what he is going to do now. My whole intent was to the eastern part of the Midiv another place to race that wasn't such a far tow. The attendance was somewhat low but I believe that we could have built on it. If my car is ready I will be there this June also.

[buldogge]

Any chance of doing a joint venture at Memphis instead of Nashville? If Phil could draw from a SE worker pool as well perhaps it could work. Also, it would make for some nice competition with the SE guys. Randy and AL Murdock usually come to Memphis...would be nice to have some thicker fields.

ps...Travis and Gary...I agree 100%...In fact, I have decided (much like the last few years) not to take part in an attendance championship. While I am signed up for GIR (8 miles/practice/home track/etc.) I will not attend any MiDiv races (away from GIR) that do not have at least a few ITS entries. Unfortunately, that makes me part of the problem in the end...its a cyclical issue.

[pballance]

Paul, I personally enjoyed working with the SE guys for the dual points race at NSS in '07. I was able to win the MidAm GTL championship. The reason why it didn't happen the next year was that NSS wanted to change the date and that date was on top of an HPT date and I was not going to conflict with them like that. As of right now, we here in Memphis are having an extremely difficult time building the worker pool. I don't expect that we will have any races at all this year unless we can come up with a worker miracle of some sort. I would very much like to work with NSS again. BTW, Bill D. sold his car last fall and I don't know what he is going to do now. My whole intent was to the eastern part of the Midiv another place to race that wasn't such a far tow. The attendance was somewhat low but I believe that we could have built on it. If my car is ready I will be there this June also.

Phil, I will talk with the Race Chair and RE's in the next few days. I am traveling today but will follow up. Do you know if there is a conflicting Middiv race on June 27-28? BTW this year NSS includes a test day on Friday and they have improved the curbing since the last combined race there. Transition from the front straight can still be rough if you go too deep.

Memphis is high on my list of places to race this year.

[tnord]

Memphis is high on my list of places to race this year.

i have to ask.....why? proximity?

[IPRESS]

Here is my opinion (which everybody has):
Memphis is a fun track and usually doesn't see a lot of car-nage. If you pay attention to entry into "Grant's Tomb" you are ok and the rest of the track has runoff area. So in the grand scheme of things it is what I call a pretty safe venue. It is not RAtlanta or RAmerica..or even Texas World, but it does have some good things going for it.
1. It is pretty easy to get up to decent speed in a short time.
2. The paddock area is paved and close to everything.
3. The officals are some of the friendliest in club racing.
4. Always great BBQ is served at the worker / racer party.
5. Easy access to and from roads out of town without being right on a freeway.
6. From Grant's Tomb down the dragstrip thru the Carrousel to the Ms is a fun series of straights and turns. The 90s offer a late brake zone, and the guys who nail the Tomb entry usually win.
7. Tech is done pretty well and I don't remember a bunch of controversy coming up.
8. BBQ is very good (OH Sorry for the repeat)
9. Registration is very fast compared to some SCCA venues.
10. Running a bunch of different lines thru the Carrousel is possible, and very likely so you get some racy racing going on there. (Huge amount of runoff so folks will go hard thru that section of the track and it is fun.)

No Memphis is not Laguna Seca, but it is a place that you can usually have a fun / EASY weekend and come away with very little body work needed. It's a good 8 hour tow, but I go just about every time they race if I can. (I think it is the BBQ that traps me!)

[pballance]

i have to ask.....why? proximity?

Yup, you hit the nail on the head. Roughly 3.5 hours for me. Sure, its not a RA, MO, Barber, <insert track> but it is close by and until I develop the driver and car some more, cheap seat time is more important than difficult challenging tracks. I have heard nothing but good things about Memphis and the people and have had some fun with some of them on track.

For me close cheap seat time is more important than chasing a series points win. That may change with time but I can be at these tracks in 2- 4 hours. NSS, Memphis, Barber, and RA. 2.5 hours more gives me Gateway, 8 hours gives me RR, CMP, and MO. Not being critical but in Sediv there are so many tracks and events that chasing points is as much an endurance series as anything else. Show up, finish and do resonably well since there is PLENTY of fast guys in ITS around Sediv.

I also believe that if region "A" hosting a race wants drivers from Region "B" to attend the race the region "A" drivers should attend races at Region "B's" track, even if that means crossing divisional lines. Yeah, I could drive HSR, SVRA, or Nasa and never travel farther than Barber or RA and have plenty of seat time. I choose to race SCCA and if I can hit close races and Time trials then I will.

Mac and Travis, I will supply the beverage when I make it to Memphis. Mac, I have heard good things about you from Spike. Both of his sons completed the Roebling school in your old car and it never skipped a beat. They live about 2 miles from me.

[Turkflyer]

I'm probably nuts, but I'm going to try to make both weekends. I'll miss seeing Gary in STL...always good to race with. We can dice with each other in Hallett. 1/3 of my yearly races are in the next two weekends. Couldn't come at a worse time with calves hitting the ground right now...and nasty weather.

[IPRESS]

You know as old as you are, you should hire someone to mess with those cows and calves.

[Turkflyer]

Mac...you're the one I'll REALLY miss. Today my cows reminded me of you...they ran faster than I did...and ran where they weren't supposed to. And ran into things! Hope to see you soon!

[tnord]

paul -

i figured proximity was it, and i think proximity is the most important thing for everyone without an unlimited budget these days. i know it sure is for me. i've heard nothing but good things about the folks in memphis as well, but it's just not worth it for me to make a 10+ hour tow to there from KC. if i'm going to drive that far, i'm going to road america.

[IPRESS]

OK you get a pass! I don't blame anyone that wants to avoid long tows. My situation is different in that I am trying to run out of money at the same time I go bye bye. So after checking my account I find out Drago is trying to kill me off quicker with those high prep rates!

See you at Hallett if you come or maybe HPT.
Say Cowpuncher, are you going to Hallett?

[Turkflyer]

Sure...come on to Hallett. I'll see you there!

[SLUF]

Quick report with details to follow.

A POS-7 double class win for the Scott Team, Trey in IT7 and me in STU. Conditions were pretty pathetic especially for Trey's IT race.

[IPRESS]

Has it snowed up there yet? I got a text saying: "rain, rain, rain, with snow predicted, I LOVE RACING":mad:
Gateway in the rain is such a fun place!!!!!

[tnord]

8'' of snow in KC today. i think it's supposed to show up in STL overnight/in the morning.

have fun with THAT.