I think the draw has more to do with the free for all and track time, as well as the novelty of having a cut off roof, basically open aero, ugly paint, missing windows, themes, etc... SCCA and to a great extent NASA have developed paradigms and crapcans let you spit in the face of those. also, having a single run group definitely minimizes the time sitting in the paddock.

we can learn from this, but trying to do the same thing, better, is not the right approach, IMHO. finding what the compelling aspects of both CC and SCCA (or NASA) are and a way to merge them is the way to go. the end result should look unique, if you know what you are looking at. much of the final package should consist of event organization and conduct rules more than vehicle regs. As has already been noted, the chumpers are cheaper they just look like it. the visuals are definitely a part of the appeal, but they aren't the whole package by a long shot.

and to MM's organizational structure - don't single out VTEC Hondas, most, like the D16Y8, K24A4, etc... are economy systems that switch between a strong low end and efficient higher end cam, while the others, like the B16A/17/18C5 and K20Z3 are a streetable cam with a high end "race" cam on the VTEC side. some V6's just have cylinder deactivation and are called "VTEC" but are big enough to move up to the higher classes anyhow. point is, lumping them all together is ignorant and will end up pushing some good, cheap, fun cars out.