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Thread: 2014 Improved Touring Participation

  1. #1
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    Default 2014 Improved Touring Participation

    Here are the final 2014 participation counts for Improved Touring by Division

    # of Races 11 10 14 48 28 3 71 12 12 209
    CLASS CenDiv Great
    Lakes
    MidDiv NEDiv NOR
    PAC
    ROCKY
    MTN
    SEDiv SOPAC SowDiv Total
    Class
    Entries
    IT7 0 14 30 100 0 7 99 0 0 250
    ITA 20 83 29 285 178 1 456 42 12 1106
    ITB 13 35 40 205 2 1 150 0 4 450
    ITC 3 54 61 2 0 73 0 0 193
    ITR 1 4 6 133 5 0 94 0 4 247
    ITS 22 27 20 305 30 3 462 0 14 883
    TOTAL ENTRIES 59 217 125 1089 217 12 1334 42 34 3129
    2014 Averages 5.36 21.70 8.93 22.69 7.75 4.00 18.79 3.50 2.83 14.97


    For comparison purposes, in 2013 there were 241 events with a total entry of 3782 - average of 15.69

    Terry

  2. #2
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    Looks like an East Coast series (yo!)

    Nice to see IT7 included.

    ITC is dead.

    ITR better pick up the pace, or we'll put SIRs on them and move them to IT7.

  3. #3
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    What's an IT car look like? I haven't seen one in years..
    Houston Region
    STU Nissan 240SX
    EProd RX7

  4. #4
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    You had 34 chances to see one...you need to pay attention more.

    I'm recalling the strength of IT in the mid-80s in SWDiv, resulting in my building a 1983 Rabbit GTI into a stout ITA car...later an ITA Dodge Shelby Charger, which got its butt tanned by some kinda wild-sounding Alfa GTB-something...and having to jostle in the fields with dozens of cars per group...

  5. #5
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    Over 75% of all IT entries are in NEDiv/SEDiv.

    Does the ARRC inflate the SEDiv numbers?

    Is the ARRC a significant encouragement to account for the huge differential?

    Would a similar event in other parts of the country encourage additional participation?

    Is there something else that accounts for the huge differential?

  6. #6

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    Wow. IT and ITA are strong in the northeast!
    #08 ITA/STL Miata

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by jwasilko View Post
    Wow. IT and ITA are strong in the northeast!
    Thanks, (Spec) Miata!

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Greg Amy View Post
    You had 34 chances to see one...you need to pay attention more.

    I'm recalling the strength of IT in the mid-80s in SWDiv, resulting in my building a 1983 Rabbit GTI into a stout ITA car...later an ITA Dodge Shelby Charger, which got its butt tanned by some kinda wild-sounding Alfa GTB-something...and having to jostle in the fields with dozens of cars per group...
    Tongue in cheek comment. Most of the IT cars I see are either double-dipping SMs (ITA) or are 'twice-a-year' cars that are running 20 seconds off the pace of a pointy-end car (ITS) and I only see them as I'm hoping they see me coming and don't turn down on me. All nice people, but they just don't show up that often and some of that's because of lack of competition... good fields breed better competition. no competition breeds an empty field. The ITB entries are a 1970-something Celica whose owner recently bought a GT-3 car and the Celica gets driven 2x/year by his son to keep his license.
    The ITR entries must be the ITE car that I saw at 2-3 events last year, as I don't recall ever seeing an ITR car here. Schweitzer runs a NASA GTS-2 E46 in ITE and it's stupid fast. Another guy runs a Porsche 996 in ITE and GT2.

    so yeah, I know who they all are.. only a couple of them are true IT cars; the rest are "we'll find you a place to run" cars that just want to play in traffic.

    When I got involved in Club Racing via working F&C back around 2004, there were a good contingent of ITA and ITS cars- several regular Datsun Zs and RX7s in addition to a host of double-dipping Miatas. I was talking to some of the area veterans and there were several factors around here that killed IT in the region- most of it politicky stuff 10 years ago that ran everyone off. ugh. damn politics.
    Last edited by Matt93SE; 12-09-2014 at 04:40 PM.
    Houston Region
    STU Nissan 240SX
    EProd RX7

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Olivola View Post
    Over 75% of all IT entries are in NEDiv/SEDiv.


    Is there something else that accounts for the huge differential?
    there are only three places in the country where regional racing is significantly bigger than national racing. NE Div, SE Div and San Francisco. everywhere else national racing is where the cool kids are. IT thrives where regional racing is king. (except SFR where nothing is normal)
    dick patullo
    ner scca IT7 Rx7

  10. #10

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    ITC is not dead--In may be in need of some fresh blood, or newer cars classed into ITC. regular co-driver's wifes' health problems and lack of ECR's in SEDIV did reduce my overall participation in 2014. I understand that ITC is experiencing a revival in the Great Lakes area.
    JOHN E. FINE
    2012 SEDIV ITC ECR CHAMPION
    2011 SEDIV ITC ECR CHAMPION
    2010 SEDIV ITC ECR CHAMPION

  11. #11
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    Agreed. Big deal for ITC in Ohio, WNY and MI too.

    We are more or less home-based at Nelson Ledges, so there can be a lot of bad knocks from those "not-in-the know" on account of that.

  12. #12
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    Wow. IT and ITA are strong in the northeast!
    Relatively speaking. Fields have been small and it sure isn't was it was like several years ago. Too bad. Hopefully this will change and IT will grow.
    Dave Gran
    Real Roads, Real Car Guys – Real World Road Tests
    Go Ahead - Take the Wheel's Free Guide to Racing

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by ITC69 View Post
    ITC is not dead--In may be in need of some fresh blood, or newer cars classed into ITC.
    Problem is, there are no "newer" cars of that performance level...the Toyota Yaris, Fiat 500, Mazda 2 all put out ITB power. Hell, the Hyundai Accent is ITA power!

    And no one is going to want to take one of the above into ITC when they can run Spec-B (as long as it lasts). And participation in Spec-B - with all the manufacturer support - shows how little interest there is in racing cars like that.

    Maybe the 84hp Chevy Spark? What else? 74hp Mitsu Mirage?

    The Smart Car...?

    Quote Originally Posted by joeg View Post
    Agreed. Big deal for ITC in Ohio, WNY and MI too.
    Adds new clarity to the term "regional racing"...
    Last edited by Greg Amy; 12-10-2014 at 09:59 AM.

  14. #14

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    Some eye opening numbers there for sure....I had assumed IT was as popular elsewhere in the country as it is here in the NE.

    Is it really dying or were the numbers never there everywhere else?
    Jason Carroll - NER IT7 #07

  15. #15
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    I have caged a large number of BMW's here in the northeast in the last few years and most are NASA youngsters that want wings and splitters and automatic paddle shifters. The rest are BMWcca guys. Increasing number of young guys do not know how to drive with a clutch pedal.
    Chris

  16. #16
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    I'd say absolutely not. The ARRC is actually pretty poorly attended in ITS and ITA. Big S and A fields at CMP, VIR, Roebling, Daytona, etc. though.

    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Olivola View Post
    Over 75% of all IT entries are in NEDiv/SEDiv.

    Does the ARRC inflate the SEDiv numbers?

    Is the ARRC a significant encouragement to account for the huge differential?

    Would a similar event in other parts of the country encourage additional participation?

    Is there something else that accounts for the huge differential?
    NC Region
    1980 ITS Triumph TR8

  17. #17
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    even in the divisions it varies. for instance if you look at 100 entries for IT7 in the North East you think that is good. for those 9 tracks. truth is 96 of those were at the 3 tracks in New England.
    dick patullo
    ner scca IT7 Rx7

  18. #18
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    These numbers - particularly by division - do nothing but reinforce for me how asinine the "national-regional" status of IT is. If it's not a REAL region-specific category, its classes should be Majors- and RubOffs-eligible. If it's never going to happen, it should be left up to the regions to decide what they want to do.

    Fish.

    Cut bait.

    Decide.

    Then make the XX best-subscribed classes in the GCR in 2015 eligible for the RubOffs in 2016 (and so forth). Let the market work its magic and we'd have fewer "national" classes in one step. Cake.

    K

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Knestis View Post
    These numbers...do nothing but reinforce for me how asinine the "national-regional" status of IT is. If it's not a REAL region-specific category, its classes should be Majors- and RubOffs-eligible. If it's never going to happen, it should be left up to the regions to decide what they want to do...Then make the XX best-subscribed classes in the GCR in 2015 eligible for the RubOffs...
    So just remove Improved Touring from the GCR and leave it to the various regions to publish their own regs. Problem "solved".

    GA

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Greg Amy View Post
    So just remove Improved Touring from the GCR and leave it to the various regions to publish their own regs. Problem "solved".

    GA
    That would indeed be one solution. Regions could emphasize what they think is important. It could be that those places where ITC is rocking, they could make it even better by getting out from under the assumption that the entire nation needs to follow the same rules. If a division wanted to form a compact among its regions to include IT classes in a divisional championship, it could, or expand for among-division standardization if it's viewed as valuable.

    I have a HUGE emotional attachment to IT - as it's traditionally been framed - but under the circumstances, we should be revisiting first principles of all of our programs.

    K

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