I'd love to hear from someone that had a lot of experience w/ Solo I. Did anybody ever do an analysis as to why it failed?[/b]
Who said it failed? It and the ruleset it was based on was used as one of the cornerstones of the Time Trials program of which those events continue to grow. The success of the Solo I program (and TT level 3&4 events they have become) are highly regional though due to the efforts of people within those regions to grow the programs. At heart the ruleset isn't a problem and neither is the PDX rules that are also part of the time trials program. Yes there can be improvements made in the ease of implementation and those are ongoing but the single biggest thing holding us back are getting more people to organize and staff these events.

The customers are out there. Dates can be hard to get but they can be found. Initial profitability is an issue, you have to have a region that afford to lose a little at first while they establish that customer base and their reputation. But ultimately it comes down to having a core group of people that decide to put together these events and target that market.

There are a couple strong Solo I programs (now TT) that continue to bring in new drivers and they exist primarily through the efforts of a few core people. As an example in my own area we have a pool of roughly 300-400 drivers entered in TT events over the last 5 years and out of that group I can think of at least 15 that have gone on to participate in club racing, myself included. Meanwhile the other drivers are still generating revenue for the club and more importantly increasing exposure to SCCA among the automtive savvy public.

My point is the tools are there. They need polishing but there is no need to reinvent the wheel. What we need is people who will pick those tools rather than stand back and say the work needs to be done. That is not directed at anyone in particular but you can't expect national to put on events. Even the regions don't put together events, it is people that spearhead them and without people stepping up to make this happen it doesn't matter what the plan is, it is not going to succeed