In the spirit of last year's "who will win?" threads (so, who was right?):

ITS: http://itforum.improvedtouring.com/forums/...?showtopic=6995
ITA: http://itforum.improvedtouring.com/forums/...?showtopic=6990
ITB: http://itforum.improvedtouring.com/forums/...?showtopic=6991
ITC: http://itforum.improvedtouring.com/forums/...?showtopic=6992


...I'm ready to get thinking about which hot shoe is gonna do it this year. Instead of making four different threads, let's keep it all in the family here...

2007 is going to be one tough season for NARRC competitors. For example, the month of May has THREE double regional weekends back-to-back and it seems this year is going to be more of a decathlon than a sprint. Winners of the 2007 championships will have to show a combined punch of speed, endurance, and motivation (not to mention money!) and the championships will be well-deserved.

The best of luck to each of you.

ITR
A total crapshoot. Who's gonna run; any rumors? Are the ITS E36s coming out of hibernation as ITR cars? The E36 has the upper hand, simply because it's an already-developed and proven car, so if AutoTechnic chooses to dig them out of the dust heap, they'll get the nod for '07. If Dave Maynard chooses to move to ITR, he'll be one to watch as well.

ITS
I confess I was not paying a lot of attention to ITS this year (kinda busy). Kip VanSteenburg won it with a consistently strong run, with Rob Driscoll tieing his score in the E46 Bimmer. Kip won the championship by virtue of a higher number of wins. Dave Maynard ran the ENTIRE season and was knocking on their door at each event. Rookie Jeff Harding, Jeff Henderson, and Mark Gregory were right there, too!

I don't have any rumors as to who is doing what this year. Will Kip get the bugs worked out on that Miata and run it full time? Is this the year of the E46s coming to fruition? Will Dave Maynard get his program matured fully and beat the snot out of everyone? Or, will Maynard choose to run ITR, instead? What about Jeff Harding: what happens when he gets that Flatout car repaired and gets a few more races under his belt? Mark Gregory is commonly overlooked and always fast, and if he can get consistent he'll be a player every race.

Greg's pick: hard to choose against Kip. If he runs a full season he'll be the favorite, but I simply cannot count out the potential of the AutoTechnic E46s or the Harding/Gregory RX-7s. This one'll be a barn-burner.

ITA
Hah, easy one to pick, you may say. WRONGO!!! First off, your humble author is not going to be making a run for the golden (well, pewter) chalice again in '07, choosing instead to focus on marquee high-visibility events and varying venues. Besides, there's a new factor in NARRC this year: lots of races at LRP. That, my friends, will favor the King Mosquito of LRP, Andy Bettencourt. His new LRP track record may not even stand a year before he breaks it again, he's proven he's fast at NHIS (another numerous NARRC venue). If he can dominate all LRP events and win one or two NHIS events then he'll be 75% of the way to the NARRC championship. Andy gets the nod for '07.

But, who else will be right there? ITA is chock-a-block with candidates. I'll be a spoiler at some faster venues like NHIS, WGI, and Pocono, but it won't be wash: had Mr Hunter bothered to attend Pocono and gotten those important 20 participation points he'd have been in the hunt (har-de-har) much sooner (and would have forced me to run the NARRC to win the championship; how would that have played out for the ARRC?). Rick Benazic in the Integra is hungry to get that chalice back, and illustrated that with a win in '06; had he run a full ITA season he would have been a BIG factor. Tim Klavana had a hard year in '06, but expect him to come back swinging; he's certainly got the talent and the right equipment. The Sentra of Joe DiMinno, the Nissan S13s of the Bogarts, The SatURN of Jeff Lawton, and Mr Ray Lee Chee are all going to be RIGHT THERE fighting for those wins, places, and shows. The Phoenix Victor Gangi is not to be overlooked.

This one's gonna be one HELL of a spectacle; don't miss it.

ITB
Tim Mullen did a GREAT job fighting off the twin tornados of Ray and Stephen Blethan, but I bet they're PISSED now. Hell, they may actually do preventive maintenance on their cars to try and win this championship back! If the Blethans can keep those cars running they're the favorites, but their lack of dependabilty is always a key factor. ITB is no longer a wash; watch for Tim to take the tried-and-true tortoise tactic of consistency in the face of fire, and watch for both of the Blethans to take the hare tactic of fire in the face of consistency.

Of course, never count out Paul Curran. As long as he doesn't break or wreck, he's always up front. That's one trick - and fast - pony, but it's unclear if he's willing to commit to a full season of events. If he does: watch out.

And, what about dark horse Dave Gran? I happen to have it on good faith he's getting top-prep horsepower this year, and he tells me the new chassis actually has more "steel" than "rust"...be afraid, be very afraid...

Work on those cars, guys.

ITC
This one, at first glance, seems an easy pick: Eric Parham. Eric finished up front, or damn near it, in almost every race he chose to attend. There were flashes of brilliance from others such as Brian Megliola (1 win), Ed Funk (2 wins), and Fred White (1 win) but Eric is the only one to run enough races to make a consistent show at it. Even then, he still missed a handfull of races, which could have turned the tide towards someone else.

As in all the others, the winner of ITC will be someone that puts in very good consistent showings and finishes. As long as he's willing to commit to the full season, Eric has the ability to pull it off. But, should he choose to pass on several events, then any of the others could go for the brass ring.