OK, one more time. And this time, Matt, I'll speak s-l-o-w-l-y.
The proposal/concept/idea put forth by Fred Clark of Buccanneer Region did in fact offer a suggestion to cut back the racing season for ALL regions and create a method that regions wanting to implement a racing program could find weekends on which to race. It was a SUGGESTION, a stepping-off point for discussion, a way to get things moving - and yes, it worked better than Fred ever thought it might. At the first "secret meeting" at Jekyll back in January 2006 (which I attended as Competition Director for Atlanta Region), Fred apologized to all concerned about the furor his SUGGESTION created and we all had a good laugh about it. No changes to the schedule or guidelines resulted from that meeting, no votes of any kind were taken and there was no clandestine lobbying going on that I was aware of - it was simply an opportunity for the RE's and Competition Directors from the SEDIV regions to meet in a relaxed atmosphere, get to know each other, and discuss issues that each of us face.
I have no idea why Rick Balderson brings this up in a recent issue of The Checker. It was a dead issue then, it's a dead issue now. In my discussions with Rick and Robin (at Jekyll in 2007) they both confirmed my suggestion that the moved their SARRC sanctions to "off" weekends because the August Daytona weekend and the Turkey Trot were already oversubscribed and they chose not to "waste" their SARRC sanctions on events that already were approaching 400 entries (which they feel is the maximum number they can handle logistically). As an aside, they (CFR) also do not allow the 2-3 Craftsman Trucks that run SPO in other regions to run their events because they don't need the extra entries. Is this also a conspiracy among the northern regions?
I agree that "burden" is probably too harsh a word. I have run CFR events in the past and have always been made to feel welcome even though I live north of Gainesville, FL. And I don't mean to imply that CFR doesn't want us at their events, all I was saying is that CFR doesn't NEED the rest of the division to show up in order to have well-subscribed events. There are enough racers in Florida to have a healthy race program. Indeed many racers in Florida rarely venture outside the state because they have ample opportunity for competition within the Sunshine State.
That said, there IS an underlying friction between CFR and the rest of the division (and National) that has been there for years. One such case is the long-standing SARRC rule that the SARRC points race must be the longest race of the weekend and must be the first race in a day if multiple races are being held. Those who run CFR events know that CFR likes to schedule multiple races in a weekend, so this requirement is seen by some within CFR as "telling us how to run our events". Another rule (new this year from National) is that copies of event results MUST be made available to all participants before the weekend is complete, otherwise the host region must send hardcopies of the results to all drivers and entrants. This is a direct result of regions not providing copies of the grid sheets and results at the track. Those who run CFR events will remember having to crowd around the single copy of the grid sheet posted inside the glass of T&S and having to copy down the grid spots while every other racing region in SEDIV makes copies available. Again, some with CFR see this as others telling them how to run their events.
Back about three pages Robin Langlotz posted that he was dissatisfied with the ECR Series and chose not to participate any longer. I'm not on the ECR Committtee and I don't know the issues, but it is completely Robin's choice to participate in ECR or not. I do know there has been grumbling among the National drivers about the ECR taking track time away from them at the May Daytona event (we get the same grumbling in Atlanta about our Pro-IT series). As race organizers, we (and Robin and his staff) make decisions that may ruffle some feathers but we need to look at the bottom line for the entire race program, not just a select group of racers. We make our choice to keep Pro-IT, CFR chooses to drop out of ECR - it's the decision of the host region and is NOT directed by anyone outside that region.
Finally, when determining who is telling the truth and who is lying I ask you to look at the track records (literally and figuratively) of those speaking. I do not hide behind psuedonyms (sp?) and I actually show up at the track on occasion. I'm undecided about attending the Jim Stark weekend at Roebling the end of this month, but I plan on being at VIR May 11-13, Nashville May 19-20 (at a Track Trials), Road Atlanta June 1-3, Little Talladega June 9-10, the Double National at Roebling June 29-July 1, Barber July 7-8, Road Atlanta July 20-22, the Mid-Year Meeting July 28, VIR Aug 10-12, Nashville Sep 1-2, the SIC, the Runoffs, and the ARRC. Some of those events I will be driving, some crewing, some officiating and some all three. Come introduce yourself and I'll make time to talk.
Butch Kummer
Butch Kummer
Former SCCA Director of Club Racing (July 2012 - Sept 2014)
2006, 2007, 2010 SARRC GTA Champion
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