December Fastrack...

[Knestis]

This sounds like a chorus from the moaners, groaners and complainers club. My god you guys need to step up to the plate if national racing is what you want to do. Otherwise stop your wining. Its like listening to little kids standing out in front of a ball field complaining they can't see the game because they don't want to spend the money on admission. Jesus !
Chris Howard

LOL - and *I* sound like a complainer...?

Kirk - Who thinks those around Chris will appreciate him getting a good hit of tryptophan later

EDIT - to the substance of your issue, Chris, I came to my conclusions about the fallacies of the Regional-National-Pro "progression" (so, hierarchy or value?) 20+ years ago, based on - uh, whattyacallit?. Oh, yeah - "actual first-hand experience." I absolutely choose to NOT play the Nationals game for the reasons Greg describes, and more. However, by doing so I do *not* sacrifice my right to question Club policies, or to make observations about where they come from. Most "pro" racing uses money provided or generated by backmarkers to subsidize the winners, who are typically up front because they have more money to commit to being competitive in the first place. Contingency awards do the same thing, structured the way they are in SCCA Club racing. That more money flows to National entrants than Regional entrants is just another manifestation of the same phenomenon. The Club Racing office could ask Hoosier (or whoever) what they want to accomplish in terms of marketing outcomes (I've played that game, too), and design a program to meet their needs in any number of ways. I tend to believe that those commercial desires COULD be met - perhaps better met - with a structure that wasn't National-centric, except that there are folks who LIKE it that way working to KEEP it that way, who CAN do so. In human affairs something being "how it is," is *always* evidence that someone wants it to be so - and can actuate it. Stuff doesn't just happen.