There's been suggestions that ITR is the "wrong direction" for the category so I thought it would be interesting to think about what other directions IT - or something spiritually its equivalent - might look like. This isn't such an odd quesiton for a reformed NERD to ask, since I've resigned myself to the fact that we can't stop "progress," and in a decade IT grids will look like current LP fields...

I will however get off my chest right up front that I don't believe that there's any way to legislate decreased costs, short of a claimer class (or engines or other major components). That said, there might be ways to passively encourage affordability:

** Proactively list some new ITB and ITC cars - we actually tried to start a movement to get some new blood into the classes that are most affordable. Dave G. (I think) suggested that it is tough for newbies, whom we should be courting like crazy, to understand or undertake the listing process. I couldn't agree more. The Hondas are a great addition to ITB and I'd love to see more options.

** My favorite new idea is "Pro ITA" or "Tiny Touring Cars" - take the EXACT SAME IT RULES, and apply them to cars that fit the ITA envelope but are NOT old enough to be eligible for club IT. Create semi-pro divisional series (pl.), running with WCT/GT and other events, and let the allure of big-time, pro racing siphon off some of the cream that otherwise might define the top of the spending continuum. Those cars would then become ineligible for the pro series, and available for club racing, when they hit the established age threshold.

** What else?

K