Although I hope the new 2012 calendar will be different from the last few years, I'm betting it will not be. I had a couple of minutes while my computer rebooted:

Stats from the 2011 calendar:
65 total pictures including about 150 cars
20 club racing pictures including about 82 cars
20 pro racing pictures including about 47 cars
15 solo pictures including about 15 cars

Not a single IT car, heck our CATEGORY is not even mentioned
Not a single regional race car (no IT, no regional formula cars)
Every single picture is from a national or pro event, even the rallycross and solo pictures.

Would it really be so hard to include 1 single IT car in the calendar? Would it really be so hard to include one regional car in the calendar. Would it really be so hard to include one regional event of any kind in the calendar?

I realize that pro racing is considered high profile. (Athough I disagree that the club as a whole and regional programs in particular get any value from pro racing.) Same with national racing, national solo, national rally, it's the "big time" and regional programs are just that, regional and of little "value" to the image of the club.

But year after year this calendar is a reminder to me of how SCCA priorities are wrong and skewed toward programs that don't benefit the majority of members. Sure sure, no one wants to see a beat up 86 civic on the calendar, any more than anyone wants to see it in SportsCar. But this continous focus on pro racing, on national racing, on national solo at the expense of the regional programs that really impact the majority of members is very discouraging.

Every time I read SportsCar and every time I look at this calendar I am reminded that new members are bombarded with these same images. National Racing. Pro Racing. Pointy end of the field ARRC. And new members can go years without realizing that the majority of active members are not involved in huge dollar national or pro programs. We're not flying into tracks to participate in Red Bull driver searches. We're out running regional autocross, regional racing, regional rallycross. We're out working regional races. We're doing things THEY can be doing.

The focus on the tip of the iceberg in publications, in rules making and in classing is one thing that hamper's SCCA's ability to compete in the marketplace. This calendar is a daily reminder.