New IT class revealed at National Convention

[Charlie Broring]

I think ITJ is a a fine idea. It's good to see one of our regions trying to capitalized on the Chump/Lemons phenomenon to attract drivers from outside the club and provide it's members a new low-buck option. There certainly is room in the SCCA for a class less costly then IT and SM.

I know of another region where the SCCA members are running a Lemons clone endurance race independent of the National office sanctioning , so this isn't the first region to recognize the potential.

I recently asked the SCCA Chairman of the Board if the national office has been following the success of Lemons/Chump in attracting new road racers and if there was any interest in an SCCA getting involved in this sort of thing. He assured me that the interest was less then zero in Topeka. I was a bit surprise by this and it seemed like our club is missing an opportunity.

I think some of the best ideas in the SCCA emerge from the regions, I hope the ITJ class takes off out in Oregon, and then spreads eastward.

[RSTPerformance]

At first when I saw this thread I thought what the heck are they doing now.

I am scheduled to compete in my first Lemons race this May at NHMS and i am very excited! The one thing I keep thinking while we prep the car is that it would be nice for some of the other drivers to have some chances to race in some other events (if the car makes it through the first event!).

So after thinking about it, now I like the idea but I am NOT a fan of the association with IT. In reality the cars are closer to Showroom Stock/Touring cars than IT cars in my opinion. Personally I think it shows all of us IT folk what "they" think about the category as a whole. NOT IMPRESSED with that part of it but I like the idea to get more people involved...

Raymond "Still glad to see people thinking outside the box" Blethen

[gran racing]

So what happens when a guy with a $500 investment (little skin in the game) pulls a total bonehead move and takes out a 60K racecar? Oh well....that's racing???

Or what happens when a "$500 investment" car laps a 60k racecar? No, really.

I went to a ChumpCar event and choose not to watch much video of the track to challenge myself. Hell, after all these guys don't need a license, right? There was plenty of stupid stuff going on at this event, but honestly most of it was from the guys who can drive, not the novices. Walking to pit lane I was like, err, really? I wasn't expecting PAID pro drivers to be here. Why? It's about FUN.

My point with this link is absolutely not for some 100 visitors traffic but the post is too long to put here. This was my first ChumpCar event. Next time I'll take it as seriously as attending an SCCA event I want to win in a competitive class. Shame on me. (I did LOVE racing in the dark once I figured out where the track went.)

Why SCCA versus ChumpCar? Yes, there's a huge reason why. We offer sprint races. It takes a lot more to put together a enduro effort than a sprint race effort. One man crew versus several person crew.

IMO, way to go and actually take a look at the market and what's out there. If there are a few people who go to BMWCCA or PCA, so be it. They aren't paying higher entry fees or membership fees anyway. Hell, maybe I'll go down this route myself in a few years.

-- I do agree it should not be directly associated with IT. Give it another category. Not hard to do.

[rydermike]

You might be incredibly suprised to see who some of the guys that do occasional races in crapcans . People Like Trans Am Buzz McCAll , Randy Pobst Tommy Kendall among many other pro guys. Many guys have previously raced in SCCA & IMSA and for whatever reasoned stepped away and are now finding racing fun again under that formula.

[Knestis]

... Many guys have previously raced in SCCA & IMSA and for whatever reasoned stepped away and are now finding racing fun again under that formula because people will let them drive for free.

Fixed.

By the way, I have a Lemons MkII Jetta kit. It ran a couple of races then blew up the engine before I snagged it. I've got a complete MkIII 2.0 swap for it.

Problem is, I don't have the time to put it together and drag it to the track. I'd be willing to give it to someone in exchange for the opportunity to be one of those "many guys" for a couple of races.



K

[Spinnetti]

Fixed.

By the way, I have a Lemons MkII Jetta kit. It ran a couple of races then blew up the engine before I snagged it. I've got a complete MkIII 2.0 swap for it.

Problem is, I don't have the time to put it together and drag it to the track. I'd be willing to give it to someone in exchange for the opportunity to be one of those "many guys" for a couple of races.



K

I'd take you up on that... I've built several, and we are doing well in our lexus, but I want to do a veedub, ideally with a TDI as the next engineering challenge. You could drive the Lexus for that matter if you are reasonably fast... We should be in the hunt to win now, so I'm looking to take home the nickles hopefully before too long... email me if you still have it my username at gmail

[Spinnetti]

Some of you clearly don't get it. Think of it if you were a mythical sales guy tring to make the pitch to run SCCA vs. "Crap Can"

Org
SCCA - Permits, Licenses, 2 drivers schools, huge rule book
CC - Small rule book, licence by paying for it

Car
SCCA - Hugly restrictive, build how SCCA wants it, seems to be winning cars and everybody else
CC - Build what you want, how you want

Event
SCCA - mostly sprint races lots of downtime
CC - All enduros, very little downtime

Cost
SCCA - Expensive to run up front
CC - Less expensive to run up front

Quality
SCCA - Some great guys, lots of hyper aggressive dbags
- Plenty of on track contact
CC - Lots of great guys, a few hyper aggressive dbags
- Very little. Strongly disincentivized


Its funny to me that the whole club looks down on IT, and IT looks down on CC. As (for now) an ex-SCCA guy, you guys for the most part just don't get it. Lemons is more fun for less $. simple. I see it as exactly what IT was meant to serve. As for "rolling chicanes", "Dangerous cars" etc... all I can say is "whatever". When I ran ITA, there were plenty of those. In CC, you just know that its up to you to keep it clean. I don't worry about my line, I just make sure I get a clean run by regardless of what the others will do. I've had one contact (wheel mark) in 240hrs or racing. Certainly less than in SCCA where I lost a car and got hit good twice besides. I'm having a blast in Lemons, and will try Chump too. Besides, nowhere in the SCCA can I run what I felt like running - a nice Lexus LS400!

[Knestis]

I'd take you up on that... I've built several, and we are doing well in our lexus, but I want to do a veedub, ideally with a TDI as the next engineering challenge. You could drive the Lexus for that matter if you are reasonably fast... We should be in the hunt to win now, so I'm looking to take home the nickles hopefully before too long... email me if you still have it my username at gmail

I've finally shifted it to some friends down in NJ who are going to help get it together. Given the realization about the lack of secondary insurance, I'm rethinking it a little but the car will at least get done at this point.

K

[dickita15]

I think some of the best ideas in the SCCA emerge from the regions,

QFT

[jhooten]

Dick,
You were kind of shy and reserved at the convention. Tell us how you really feel.