STL : National ?

[TStiles]

Looks like STL has 160 regional entries nationwide thru July 31

If you look at National participation , that would put STL about 20th in terms of participation.

It's too hot in my garage , so I'm taking a break and wondering ... Will STL be National in 2012 ?

[Greg Amy]

Workin' on it. Write your CRB/BoD representative.

[Rabbit07]

The goal has always been to have STL be a National class. As Greg stated, please write and request it.

[Greg Amy]

Bump.

If you have an opinion on Super touring Light going National - pro or con - now's the time to talk. It is vitally important that you make your opinion known to your Board of Directors representative:

http://www.scca.com/about/?cid=44417

Email, call, or write them, let them know. Do it now!

GA


I believe Super Touring Light would be a great addition to SCCA's National racing program.

- Cars come from one of the fast-growing, and ever-popular segment of the automotive population.
- There are tons of these cars out here, and they're very popular with the younger crowd.
- Allows a large segment of the existing DOT tire-based racers (e.g., Improved Touring) to dip their toes in National racing.
- Gives sanctioning regions more opportunities for entries for their National race weekends, where the DOT cars are not competing against slick-tire cars.
- Once new fuel economy regs and "B Spec" cars take off in the general population, 2L cars will become "the new mid-size" cars.

In the "good old days" of World Challenge (circa 1999-2004 or so) the most popular of the two categories was Touring. This was because the cars were identifiable as "attainable" by their fans, and carried a level of modification that was, in itself, perceived as "attainable". Remember the fury over Roger Foo, "the every man like you and me," winning that Touring Car race at Laguna Seca in 2001 and what excitement it caused? Anyone remember who won Mosport or Road America?

That's Super Touring Light.

And even World Challenge has tacitly admitted as such; it wasn't too soon after that WCT "went off the rails" and started allowing sequential transmissions, custom-fabbed manifolds, significant suspension pickup relocation, big engine mods, and costs skyrocketed. What didn't skyrocket along with it was audience interest: while the cars became more like British Touring Cars (remember the failed North American Touring Car series?) they were no longer something that Dave and Kai could potentially participate in (regardless whether they actually would or not). To resolve this, World Challenge renamed the modified monsters GTS and created a new Touring class...made of every day attainable cars with every day attainable mods. Guess in which of its three classes World Challenge is seeing the most growth...?

That's Super Touring Light.

Support bringing STL into the National racing program.

[23racer]

Greg, keep in mind that it was after the turn of the century that things went off the rails as SCCA Pro decided it wanted a diversity of cars in the fields and also started courting the manufacturers (i.e. certain black 4 door sedans that everyone at the time decried allowing in with the allowed mods). To equalize the field some, they picked a benchmark car and allowed everyone else to either mod the h3ll out of their pigs ear or artificially slowdown their gazelle to equalize the cars. That is why some cars like mine have a bunch of mods that don't fit within the spirit of STU any longer.

I also think that the growth of the Touring class has to do with the general lack of free discretionary income and available sponsor $$$$. For example, look at the rapid growth of B-Spec. Every Pro Sedan Series and sanctioning body will have a class soon for those cars. Cheap and easy to build and still mostly street legal in a pinch.

Eric

[dickita15]

It appears that the Bod will have this as a discussion item on December 2 & 3rd.