Originally posted by Andy Bettencourt@Oct 14 2005, 01:03 PM
... I see ITC dying soon. ITB can't be too far behind. ...
Ack. Andy - it is troubling that your response is "I see [class] dying" rather than, "Here's what we can do to keep [class] from dying."

There are a huge number of perfectly reasonable ITB and ITC cars reaching the perfect "vintage" for IT - old enough that they are becoming yard queens, but not so old that parts are hard to find. We just need someone to make a concerted effort to get them listed: Not eligible? Nobody will build one.

Greg's got a good start on why SM popularlity might wain. Add to his list...

** Mazda's interest is subsidizing the boom. I've been involved in spec classes that lost their parts/promotion sugar daddy manufacturers. Mazda WILL change its priorities at some point and the deal will get less sweet. IT took years and a long-needed change in ITA for something like 100 tons of Spec NEONs to find a place to live. Until that change, those cars were selling for pennies on the dollar, having been The Great Opportunity just a decade ago.

** Whether they admit it or not, a portion of SM drivers think that running a class with a "pro" series is their ticket to the big show. This dynamic leads to overexten$ion and increased likelihood of dropping out. Particularly when the body bills start to grow.

** Many have bought into the "all the cars are equal" mythos and some are discovering that (1) they are NOT; (2) where they are, driver skill is a bigger issue - and they can't drive so well; or (3) both.

** The grass is always greener.

I talked to a guy I raced with at a couple of NASA events, who ran an orphan kind of car in PS3 (ITB/ITC). He's actually one of the few who I think might have a really GOOD reason for switching to SM - "No matter how fast I am, I'll probably have someone to race with."

K