Any Thoughts on "Majors"?

[joeg]

The following is from SCCA.com.

TOPEKA, Kan. (January 16, 2012) – Sports Car Club of America announced today a new, top-level Club Racing program dubbed the “Majors,” launching as a pilot program in the Midwest, Rocky Mountain and Southwest Divisions in 2012.
Focused on providing fresh, enhanced opportunities for National-level classes within a geographical racing area, the Majors offer a new format race weekend focused on clustering competition and providing greater value for racers.
The Majors concept comes from a two-year planning committee directive from the SCCA Board of Directors to evolve the top level of SCCA Club Racing with the changing times. For decades, “National” racing has served as the top Club Racing level, providing a path toward both Divisional Championships and the National Championship Runoffs®.
“By definition in the SCCA General Competition Rules, National racing has not changed for decades, but many of these events have evolved away from their true purpose—to provide a high level event for the most serious competitors,” SCCA Chairman of the Board Jerry Wannarka said. “The Majors program does just that, not unlike the Tire Rack® SCCA ProSolo® Series does for the autocross community.”
A New Championship and Path to the Runoffs and Super Sweep Award
Combining participants from the Midwest, Rocky Mountain and Southwest Divisions for the six Majors events creates a new opportunity for a meaningful Championship. Not only does a driver need to better the competition from his own Division, but also those from the neighboring Divisions as well.
A driver will count his or her best eight finishes (out of 12 possible) toward their respective class Championship, using the GCR Points schedule established for Divisional Championships. Along with the prestige and prize package to be announced later, the Champions will be recognized as having met the second leg (Divisional Championship) of the four-legged Super Sweep award.
Additionally, recognizing that participating in the Majors Pilot events could hamper a driver’s ability to qualify for the 2012 National Championship Runoffs® through the traditional process, any driver that starts at least one race on each of three Majors weekends (in the same class) will receive a Runoffs invitation.
In addition to the Majors Point Championship for the Invitational classes, other awards will be offered, including, but not limited to, special recognition to up-and-coming drivers that are new to Championship racing and a year-end prize for the best performers in qualifying races. Point Championship awards will be announced at a later date.
“There are a great many opportunities to race, score points and qualify for the Runoffs across the country,” SCCA Planning Committee Chairman Bill Kephart said. “The goal of the Majors is to identify key events that a driver can count on for a good field of competitors, not only from within his or her Division, but drawing from the surrounding Divisions as well.
“For the most serious racers in SCCA, competition is the most important aspect of a weekend. Recognition programs and social aspects are important components, but giving a racer a full field to compete in is our primary objective.”
The Midwest, Rocky Mountain and Southwest Divisions were grouped into the pilot zone based on the ability to travel out of Division within, for the most part, one day’s tow. Additionally, the average entry counts of each Division could benefit greatly with the incentive for drivers from the neighboring divisions to participate in one or more event outside of their own Division.
Showcase Events
Showcase Events are for the National-level classes in the program not covered in the Invitational program. For the Pilot program, this will include 19 classes, which makes up just over 30 percent of the total entries based on 2011 participation numbers. Showcase classes will have additional racing opportunities at other events, likely a Bonus National in 2012. This program could also include festival events, anniversary races or marque-specific opportunities.
Like the Super Tour and Invitational events, the goal is to shine a spotlight on these events for the classes they include, creating an atmosphere and opportunity designed to draw racers to that event, thus clustering competition.
Pilot Program Invitational Classes
Based on combined participation numbers from 2011 in the Zone including the Midwest, Rocky Mountain and Southwest Divisions, as well as taking trends into consideration, the following classes and groupings will take place in the three Invitational races and Majors Championship.
- Spec Racer Ford
- Spec Miata, Super Touring® Under
- E Production, F Production, H Production
- Formula 500, Formula Vee
- Formula Mazda, Formula F
Majors Events
The following events have been designated as part of the 2012 Majors Championship Pilot program
March 9-11* Texas World Speedway (Lone Star Region) Super Tour, all 29 classes
April 14-15* Hallett Motor Racing Circuit (AVRG) Super Tour, all 29 classes
May 5-6* Texas Motor Speedway (Texas Region) Invitational Classes only
May 5-6 Heartland Park Topeka (KVRG) Showcase Event component
May 25-27 Pikes Peak International (CDR) Showcase Event component
June 16-17* Pueblo Motorsports Park (CDR) Invitational Classes only
June 30-July 1* High Plains Raceway (Colorado Region) Super Tour, all 29 classes
July 14-15* Heartland Park Topeka (KVRG) Invitational Classes only
*-Part of the Majors Points Championship
Note: One additional Showcase event may be added in the Southwest Division
Overview
- Majors are a step beyond National races in SCCA Club Racing. The progression is now Driver’s School > Regional > National > Majors > Runoffs
- Attractive event format clusters competition, provides quality track time and is a good value for a racer’s investment.
- 2012 pilot for the “Zone” including the Midwest, Rocky Mountain and Southwest Divisions
- Majors Events can separate classes into two groups (Invitational and Showcase) to create a more manageable sample for unique opportunities
- 2012 Majors program will include three BFGoodrich Tires Super Tour events and three Invitational events. Each weekend will be a doubleheader for a total of 12 races.
- Additional Opportunities on different weekends for Showcase classes

[Hoof Hearted]

"Additionally, recognizing that participating in the Majors Pilot events could hamper a driver’s ability to qualify for the 2012 National Championship Runoffs® through the traditional process, any driver that starts at least one race on each of three Majors weekends (in the same class) will receive a Runoffs invitation."

So if you just start one race at three Majors, you're qualified for the the Runons... ...oooo, that's a steep hurdle to clear.

[mossaidis]

"Start and then park it..." nice.

[1stGenBoy]

"Start and then park it..." nice.

You can do it without even leaving pit lane. Start in pitlane from behind the S/F line when the Green waves and cross the line and into the paddock. I bet I could borrow a car for those 30 seconds and save myself thousands of dollars in qualifying for the Runoff's

[shwah]

Nice to see the errection of additional barriers between IT racing and the "top level" of SCCA club racing.

Also flattering to see some aspects of the IT National Tour concept, which was designed to be a true championship, rather than a single race mis-labeled as a championship as the Runoffs has become for some classes. To win the Majors, you have to go and race against people at a number of (hopefully) higher profile events, rather than just show up and beat 10 cars at one race.

[TStiles]

I'm in favor of some changes being made to SCCA Club Racing

SCCA Club racing has been hit hard by economy , competition , proliferation of classes , ect. The bottom line is that the competitive nature of National racing has suffered and something needs be done. Let's face it , it's a different world than when many of us started 20+ years ago.

As in business , the challenge is often to reposition your program upscale ( improved competition opportunities for a select group ) or reposition downscale ( something for everybody ) . I am glad the BOD has made the decision to go upscale.

This solution is certainly a step in the right direction to improve competition in the well subscribed classes and should only make the top classes stronger over time.

This solution is much better for the competitors in the less well subscribed classes than what happened in the slower GT & Prod classes.

It's not clear to me , but I hope the " Invitation " classes are selected by Region ( 2013 ) vs. a one size fits all approach

It's also not clear to me , but I hope the " non invitation " classes can gain " invitation " status via putting cars on track

I like what I've heard in that 2012 is going to be a learning year and the program will be tweaked for full rollout in 2013.

It's somewhat unrelated , but in case anybody is listening. Now that we have " Invitation " classes , can we now eliminate the regional / national distinction and just have club races and invitational races ? Why not :
- Short term : keep the same class structure we have
- Long term : via consolidation work toward fewer classes ( FC/FM/FE Really ? )
- Top 10 per region are invitational classes
- Top 24 nationwide ( or whatever allows the national office to make some $$$ ) go to the runoffs
- Everybody else goes to the ARRC

Easy to put on paper , Hard to get everybody to agree.

[mossaidis]

+1

[lateapex911]

After reading that, WTF are they talking about! LOL.
Ok, I kinda get it, but, it's far from clear in my mind what it is, and what it does.
Say I'm a STU guy. Why would I do it? What's in it for me? A lot of towing, thats for sure....

And for those who think that there is no "progression", this quote should clear up HQ's attitude:

The progression is now Driver’s School > Regional > National > Majors > Runoffs

I dunno...I probably don't have a real handle on every class and echelon of club racing in the club, but what I see is that the Runoffs are a draw, yet.....most of the fields (classes) are far from full. This whole 'qualify" thing is so different than what I'm used to in swimming, where the next years qualifying times will be based on this years top 24 times. It seems like we have this 'qualifying system", yet the resulting fields sure aren't full, nor particularly deep. Unlike swimming, it' seems the pie just isn't that deep, nor improving constantly. I have often wondered, "Why not just open up the Runoffs?" (yes, two +/- classes would be oversubscribed. We can discuss options, like qualifying races, but it's workable)
Of course, with so many classes now Runoffs bound, the fields don't NEED to be full to have a large event.

So, looking at the schedule, I see
8 Nationals in a 5 month span. (!!! yea you only have to attend 6 I guess, but...*)
of those, it looks like 3 are "super tour", which means, "All national classes".
2 are "showcase", which means some national classes that suck and aren't chosen are cut.
and three "Invitational" which means that 10 classes.... the chosen ones may attend.
So it seems like instead of eliminating the whole Regional/National distinction, they've divided it up further.

Will the incentives be enough? How will they run an event with only 10 classes? Will they make money? Are these additional events on the schedule? or "repurposed" existing Regionals and Nationals?

Again, I'm sure I'm missing something...or a lot here. Seems to me that somebody with a memory said, "Hey, remember back in the day, when we only had 8 or so Nationals? And guys like Newman/Sharp and Tulius showed up? That was great. We should do that again".

Initially, I think the landscape is different, and the guys like that (with money) want to be on TV, with Grand Am, etc. On the other hand, I see lots of Motor coaches and multi hundred thousand dollar rigs towing Spec Miatas, so maybe this will fly...

* I did a quick calculation. If I lived in a popular area, say Arlington TX (near Dallas), and I went to the six races, (TMS, Hallet, TMS, High Plains, Pueblo, Heartland) I would have towed for 85 hours and 5000 miles.(in 5 months!) (AT 10MPG, and say 3.50/GAL, that's $1750.00) And before you cry "foul, he's picked a bad place to base this on", two events are 45 mins from Arlington, so it's pretty fair. Point is, it's a whole lottta towin'...
Ok, I'm not the guy this program wants to attract...but, how many people in each class will actually (or can!) do that!? It seems like it's going to be handing out an award to a rich retired guy to me......

[Knestis]

Argh.

Don't add layers. Fix what's already there.

K

[23racer]

When I started reading this thread, I was very interested in what the plan was going to be. What I was assuming (perhaps foolishly) by a "Major", was that it was going to be a series of races with more ooomph or pizzazz for the competitor. Things that made the event more fun. Things like planning Marque Car Shows at the Events, Barrett Jackson style car auctions, Combined events with Solo guys, Rock Bands, firework shows, TV Coverage of some sort, Car Part Flea markets........ whatever. Things that attracted more people to the events, made it more interesting for the competitors as the additional crowds made the Major Events more like a festival. Maybe have the competitors have to take time from just standing around, , to actually sign autographs or talk to fans.

I may be stupid and not understanding the psyche of the average SCCA club racer, but most of us race for fun. We want to race in an event where winning or at least doing well means something and we receive some recognition for it in some fashion, . More than anything, the event should be fair and fun. It sounds to me like the intent is to create an elite series of events and that seems at first glance to be interesting, but I am interested to see what the next step is. How do they differentiate these events from regular Nationals so that the average competitor wants to come out. I don't know if an automatic invite to the Run Offs is enough.

I think it is an interesting idea, but it may need something more added to it to be a success.

Eric

[TStiles]

When I started reading this thread, I was very interested in what the plan was going to be. What I was assuming (perhaps foolishly) by a "Major", was that it was going to be a series of races with more ooomph or pizzazz for the competitor. Things that made the event more fun. Things like planning Marque Car Shows at the Events, Barrett Jackson style car auctions, Combined events with Solo guys, Rock Bands, firework shows, TV Coverage of some sort, Car Part Flea markets........ whatever. Things that attracted more people to the events, made it more interesting for the competitors as the additional crowds made the Major Events more like a festival. Maybe have the competitors have to take time from just standing around, , to actually sign autographs or talk to fans.

Eric

What you are describing sounds a lot like the original " Sunburn GP " held at the Abilene ( Tx. ) Airport. The facilities were less than impressive , but there were bands , car show , spectators , and heavy promotion by the city ... It was a great atmosphere and event.

I'll never forget the kid roaming the paddock with a big chunk of fiberglass getting racers to autograph ... " Hey kid , that's a piece of my ( SRF ) nose ! " ... We all got a big laugh out of that.

Not sure what happened to the event , but I'm guessing the city / airport authority moved on after a few years.

[Greg Amy]

What you are describing sounds a lot like the original " Sunburn GP " held at the Abilene ( Tx. ) Airport. The facilities were less than impressive , but there were bands , car show , spectators , and heavy promotion by the city ... It was a great atmosphere and event.

I think I still have the event t-shirt from the very first one...1989? Also kept the one from the Ponca City Ok National...great events. - GA

[Butch Kummer]

After mulling it over for a couple of days, here are my thoughts:

. The announcement hurt my head the first time I tried to read it -obviously done by a committee or at least someone with limited communication skills.
. This is doing what the individual regions have not done yet people have been saying we need to do - cut down on the number of events to make the remaining events "special". It took an area of the country that has 15-18 (poorly attended) National races and pared it down. Given the reduced number of events, participation levels at the remaining events should/could improve significantly. In certain areas of the country I can see where all the current National weekends will eventually be phased out.
. The "run three and you're in the Runoffs" aspect makes running these events more attractive to those that are actually interested in doing the Runoffs. At least they don't have to choose between running Major and National weekends.
. I don't see the need for it in SEDiv (or at least Atlanta Region), but it doesn't need to - different parts of the country face different challenges. Our National schedule has been described by at least one CRB member as "ridiculous", but I think having twelve chances to earn National points over seven weekends is giving the racers what they want.
. I haven't yet figured out how the two types of events (Showcase vs. Invitational) will work.
. It may not work (i.e. - event attendance may not increase), but at least they're not doing the same old thing expecting different results.
. I expect it will be a major (pun intended) topic of dicussion at the SEDiv Annual meeting this weekend.

[23racer]

What you are describing sounds a lot like the original " Sunburn GP " held at the Abilene ( Tx. ) Airport. The facilities were less than impressive , but there were bands , car show , spectators , and heavy promotion by the city ... It was a great atmosphere and event.

I'll never forget the kid roaming the paddock with a big chunk of fiberglass getting racers to autograph ... " Hey kid , that's a piece of my ( SRF ) nose ! " ... We all got a big laugh out of that.

Not sure what happened to the event , but I'm guessing the city / airport authority moved on after a few years.

I may be a bit jaded as my first few years racing were in a Pro Series where we ran as support races for CART, NASCAR and F1. There was always tons of people around and the atmosphere was always electric. I signed all kinds of stuff and people used to really identify with the cars we ran. I remember hearing the crowd roar as I passed a Mutant Ninja Turtle SHO Taurus in the East Hairpin at Montreal during the GP Weekend in my Suzuki Swift. The crowd's level of excitment really took everything to a different level and made lots of guys come out to race and try hard.

I hope that the Major concept brings some of that to the SCCA Club racer. Tons of effort goes in to running a car in an event like that and its always great to get some emotional and fun content in return.

Eric

[lateapex911]

After mulling it over for a couple of days, here are my thoughts:

. The announcement hurt my head the first time I tried to read it -obviously done by a committee or at least someone with limited communication skills.

Me too! I felt like I was reading a bunch of words that described nothing specif...still not sure HOW its going to work and WHAT makes the races 'special".

. This is doing what the individual regions have not done yet people have been saying we need to do - cut down on the number of events to make the remaining events "special". It took an area of the country that has 15-18 (poorly attended) National races and pared it down. Given the reduced number of events, participation levels at the remaining events should/could improve significantly. In certain areas of the country I can see where all the current National weekends will eventually be phased out.

See, I missed that. So they are removing the non mentioned races from the schedule...ahhhh, well duh, yea, attendance at each race SHOULD go up, regardless of format, etc.

. The "run three and you're in the Runoffs" aspect makes running these events more attractive to those that are actually interested in doing the Runoffs. At least they don't have to choose between running Major and National weekends.

yup, although it creates a situation where other parts of the country can cry foul, as their requirements are more severe...

I may be a bit jaded as my first few years racing were in a Pro Series where we ran as support races for CART, NASCAR and F1. There was always tons of people around and the atmosphere was always electric. I signed all kinds of stuff and people used to really identify with the cars we ran. I remember hearing the crowd roar as I passed a Mutant Ninja Turtle SHO Taurus in the East Hairpin at Montreal during the GP Weekend in my Suzuki Swift. The crowd's level of excitment really took everything to a different level and made lots of guys come out to race and try hard.

I hope that the Major concept brings some of that to the SCCA Club racer. Tons of effort goes in to running a car in an event like that and its always great to get some emotional and fun content in return.

Eric

Your races were part of the "Motorola Cup", predecessor to the World Challenge, I think?? You were two classes in the same race, IIRC. Being a support race at a major event like an F1 race at Montreal is a ship that has sailed, I fear. Nowadays support races like that will cost you as they are pro level series, like Grand Am, etc.

In the NE, we supported a Busch North race at Lime Rock for a few years with a series based on IT that Peter Robers (a steward) and others put on. It was great, and a ton of work for him. The track charged us for the privilege, as I recall. But Tracks and event promoters want "pro" series like the Formula BMW, and Pro 2000 (whatever that FF2000 series is called), not IT cars....or old Prod cars or GT cars. Maybe SM can get a gig like that, but more likely the MX5 series....

I don't see how even the 10 class Invitational event could be a support race for a Pro event.

[TStiles]

I don't see how even the 10 class Invitational event could be a support race for a Pro event.[/QUOTE]

Agreed ... But that makes me wonder ... How much value would an SCCA Club "Invitational " race add for a small market festival ? ... It's seemed to work well for Abilene ( Sunburn GP ) , Ponca City , AquaFest ( Austin ) ... I'm sure there are other examples.

We raced at a bunch of crummy places in Texas while TWS was closed and before TMS , MSRH , MSRC , EC ... The atmosphere at some of the venues made up for the track and track facilities.

[23racer]

"Your races were part of the "Motorola Cup", predecessor to the World Challenge, I think?? You were two classes in the same race, IIRC. Being a support race at a major event like an F1 race at Montreal is a ship that has sailed, I fear. Nowadays support races like that will cost you as they are pro level series, like Grand Am, etc.

In the NE, we supported a Busch North race at Lime Rock for a few years with a series based on IT that Peter Robers (a steward) and others put on. It was great, and a ton of work for him. The track charged us for the privilege, as I recall. But Tracks and event promoters want "pro" series like the Formula BMW, and Pro 2000 (whatever that FF2000 series is called), not IT cars....or old Prod cars or GT cars. Maybe SM can get a gig like that, but more likely the MX5 series....

I don't see how even the 10 class Invitational event could be a support race for a Pro event. "


Jake, I hear you, but at least in Canada we can run in the CTCC in our STU cars and still be at those shows. It ain't cheap though, the entry fees can reach up to $2,000 per car.

But there is nothing stopping the Major Event organizers from a small splash around the event. Buy the gate from the track, print up tons of tickets or put a printable link to a website for the tickets, pass them around to all the local racers who would then pass them along to their local auto parts retailers, circle tracks, car clubs, etc..... Give a bunch to some local radio station to give out as prizes. We do this with our Regionals up here and we usually get between 1,500 and 3,000 spectators out for a race. If the 10:1 rule is still in place for U.S. and Canada, an effort like this could bring out tons of people, especially when its cheap and easy to attend. Have a designated corner for families with a couple of tables set up for the drivers who could go there when they aren't on track.

Nothing major around this effort and it just raises the whole feel of the weekend if there are lots of people around. It seems like its doable as the competition side is being handled by the race structure for the weekend, just need to have the organizing Region take the next step and become a bit of a promoter. I know that it would be a lot cooler for me to tow down to Watkins Glen or Mid Ohio to race at an "Event". Heck STU is a National Class, so I could even race in it, .

Eric