2014 Improved Touring Participation

Here are the final 2014 participation counts for Improved Touring by Division

[TABLE="width: 725"]
[TR]
[TD]# of Races
[/TD]
[TD]11
[/TD]
[TD]10
[/TD]
[TD]14
[/TD]
[TD]48
[/TD]
[TD]28
[/TD]
[TD]3
[/TD]
[TD]71
[/TD]
[TD]12
[/TD]
[TD]12
[/TD]
[TD]209
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]CLASS
[/TD]
[TD]CenDiv
[/TD]
[TD]Great
Lakes
[/TD]
[TD]MidDiv
[/TD]
[TD]NEDiv
[/TD]
[TD]NOR
PAC
[/TD]
[TD]ROCKY
MTN
[/TD]
[TD]SEDiv
[/TD]
[TD]SOPAC
[/TD]
[TD]SowDiv
[/TD]
[TD]Total
Class
Entries

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]IT7
[/TD]
[TD]0[/TD]
[TD]14
[/TD]
[TD]30
[/TD]
[TD]100
[/TD]
[TD]0[/TD]
[TD]7
[/TD]
[TD]99
[/TD]
[TD]0[/TD]
[TD]0[/TD]
[TD]250
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]ITA
[/TD]
[TD]20
[/TD]
[TD]83
[/TD]
[TD]29
[/TD]
[TD]285
[/TD]
[TD]178
[/TD]
[TD]1
[/TD]
[TD]456
[/TD]
[TD]42
[/TD]
[TD]12
[/TD]
[TD]1106
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]ITB
[/TD]
[TD]13
[/TD]
[TD]35
[/TD]
[TD]40
[/TD]
[TD]205
[/TD]
[TD]2
[/TD]
[TD]1
[/TD]
[TD]150
[/TD]
[TD]0[/TD]
[TD]4
[/TD]
[TD]450
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]ITC
[/TD]
[TD]3
[/TD]
[TD]54
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]61
[/TD]
[TD]2
[/TD]
[TD]0[/TD]
[TD]73
[/TD]
[TD]0[/TD]
[TD]0[/TD]
[TD]193
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]ITR
[/TD]
[TD]1
[/TD]
[TD]4
[/TD]
[TD]6
[/TD]
[TD]133
[/TD]
[TD]5
[/TD]
[TD]0[/TD]
[TD]94
[/TD]
[TD]0[/TD]
[TD]4
[/TD]
[TD]247
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]ITS
[/TD]
[TD]22
[/TD]
[TD]27
[/TD]
[TD]20
[/TD]
[TD]305
[/TD]
[TD]30
[/TD]
[TD]3
[/TD]
[TD]462
[/TD]
[TD]0[/TD]
[TD]14
[/TD]
[TD]883
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]TOTAL ENTRIES
[/TD]
[TD]59
[/TD]
[TD]217
[/TD]
[TD]125
[/TD]
[TD]1089
[/TD]
[TD]217
[/TD]
[TD]12
[/TD]
[TD]1334
[/TD]
[TD]42
[/TD]
[TD]34
[/TD]
[TD]3129
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2014 Averages
[/TD]
[TD]5.36
[/TD]
[TD]21.70
[/TD]
[TD]8.93
[/TD]
[TD]22.69
[/TD]
[TD]7.75
[/TD]
[TD]4.00
[/TD]
[TD]18.79
[/TD]
[TD]3.50
[/TD]
[TD]2.83
[/TD]
[TD]14.97
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


For comparison purposes, in 2013 there were 241 events with a total entry of 3782 - average of 15.69

Terry

Looks like an East Coast series (yo!)

Nice to see IT7 included.

ITC is dead.

ITR better pick up the pace, or we'll put SIRs on them and move them to IT7.

What's an IT car look like? I haven't seen one in years..

You had 34 chances to see one...you need to pay attention more.

I'm recalling the strength of IT in the mid-80s in SWDiv, resulting in my building a 1983 Rabbit GTI into a stout ITA car...later an ITA Dodge Shelby Charger, which got its butt tanned by some kinda wild-sounding Alfa GTB-something...and having to jostle in the fields with dozens of cars per group...

Over 75% of all IT entries are in NEDiv/SEDiv.

Does the ARRC inflate the SEDiv numbers?

Is the ARRC a significant encouragement to account for the huge differential?

Would a similar event in other parts of the country encourage additional participation?

Is there something else that accounts for the huge differential?

Wow. IT and ITA are strong in the northeast!

jwasilko said:

Wow. IT and ITA are strong in the northeast!

Click to expand...

Thanks, (Spec) Miata!

Greg Amy said:

You had 34 chances to see one...you need to pay attention more.

I'm recalling the strength of IT in the mid-80s in SWDiv, resulting in my building a 1983 Rabbit GTI into a stout ITA car...later an ITA Dodge Shelby Charger, which got its butt tanned by some kinda wild-sounding Alfa GTB-something...and having to jostle in the fields with dozens of cars per group...

Click to expand...

Tongue in cheek comment. Most of the IT cars I see are either double-dipping SMs (ITA) or are 'twice-a-year' cars that are running 20 seconds off the pace of a pointy-end car (ITS) and I only see them as I'm hoping they see me coming and don't turn down on me. All nice people, but they just don't show up that often and some of that's because of lack of competition... good fields breed better competition. no competition breeds an empty field. The ITB entries are a 1970-something Celica whose owner recently bought a GT-3 car and the Celica gets driven 2x/year by his son to keep his license.
The ITR entries must be the ITE car that I saw at 2-3 events last year, as I don't recall ever seeing an ITR car here. Schweitzer runs a NASA GTS-2 E46 in ITE and it's stupid fast. Another guy runs a Porsche 996 in ITE and GT2.

so yeah, I know who they all are.. only a couple of them are true IT cars; the rest are "we'll find you a place to run" cars that just want to play in traffic.

When I got involved in Club Racing via working F&C back around 2004, there were a good contingent of ITA and ITS cars- several regular Datsun Zs and RX7s in addition to a host of double-dipping Miatas. I was talking to some of the area veterans and there were several factors around here that killed IT in the region- most of it politicky stuff 10 years ago that ran everyone off. ugh. damn politics.

Peter Olivola said:

Over 75% of all IT entries are in NEDiv/SEDiv.


Is there something else that accounts for the huge differential?

Click to expand...

there are only three places in the country where regional racing is significantly bigger than national racing. NE Div, SE Div and San Francisco. everywhere else national racing is where the cool kids are. IT thrives where regional racing is king. (except SFR where nothing is normal)

ITC is not dead--In may be in need of some fresh blood, or newer cars classed into ITC. regular co-driver's wifes' health problems and lack of ECR's in SEDIV did reduce my overall participation in 2014. I understand that ITC is experiencing a revival in the Great Lakes area.

Agreed. Big deal for ITC in Ohio, WNY and MI too.

We are more or less home-based at Nelson Ledges, so there can be a lot of bad knocks from those "not-in-the know" on account of that.

Wow. IT and ITA are strong in the northeast!

Click to expand...

Relatively speaking. Fields have been small and it sure isn't was it was like several years ago. Too bad. Hopefully this will change and IT will grow.

ITC69 said:

ITC is not dead--In may be in need of some fresh blood, or newer cars classed into ITC.

Click to expand...

Problem is, there are no "newer" cars of that performance level...the Toyota Yaris, Fiat 500, Mazda 2 all put out ITB power. Hell, the Hyundai Accent is ITA power!

And no one is going to want to take one of the above into ITC when they can run Spec-B (as long as it lasts). And participation in Spec-B - with all the manufacturer support - shows how little interest there is in racing cars like that.

Maybe the 84hp Chevy Spark? What else? 74hp Mitsu Mirage?

The Smart Car...?

joeg said:

Agreed. Big deal for ITC in Ohio, WNY and MI too.

Click to expand...

Adds new clarity to the term "regional racing"...

Some eye opening numbers there for sure....I had assumed IT was as popular elsewhere in the country as it is here in the NE.

Is it really dying or were the numbers never there everywhere else?

I have caged a large number of BMW's here in the northeast in the last few years and most are NASA youngsters that want wings and splitters and automatic paddle shifters. The rest are BMWcca guys. Increasing number of young guys do not know how to drive with a clutch pedal.
Chris

I'd say absolutely not. The ARRC is actually pretty poorly attended in ITS and ITA. Big S and A fields at CMP, VIR, Roebling, Daytona, etc. though.

Peter Olivola said:

Over 75% of all IT entries are in NEDiv/SEDiv.

Does the ARRC inflate the SEDiv numbers?

Is the ARRC a significant encouragement to account for the huge differential?

Would a similar event in other parts of the country encourage additional participation?

Is there something else that accounts for the huge differential?

Click to expand...

even in the divisions it varies. for instance if you look at 100 entries for IT7 in the North East you think that is good. for those 9 tracks. truth is 96 of those were at the 3 tracks in New England.

These numbers - particularly by division - do nothing but reinforce for me how asinine the "national-regional" status of IT is. If it's not a REAL region-specific category, its classes should be Majors- and RubOffs-eligible. If it's never going to happen, it should be left up to the regions to decide what they want to do.

Fish.

Cut bait.

Decide.

Then make the XX best-subscribed classes in the GCR in 2015 eligible for the RubOffs in 2016 (and so forth). Let the market work its magic and we'd have fewer "national" classes in one step. Cake.

K

Knestis said:

These numbers...do nothing but reinforce for me how asinine the "national-regional" status of IT is. If it's not a REAL region-specific category, its classes should be Majors- and RubOffs-eligible. If it's never going to happen, it should be left up to the regions to decide what they want to do...Then make the XX best-subscribed classes in the GCR in 2015 eligible for the RubOffs...

Click to expand...

So just remove Improved Touring from the GCR and leave it to the various regions to publish their own regs. Problem "solved".

GA

Greg Amy said:

So just remove Improved Touring from the GCR and leave it to the various regions to publish their own regs. Problem "solved".

GA

Click to expand...

That would indeed be one solution. Regions could emphasize what they think is important. It could be that those places where ITC is rocking, they could make it even better by getting out from under the assumption that the entire nation needs to follow the same rules. If a division wanted to form a compact among its regions to include IT classes in a divisional championship, it could, or expand for among-division standardization if it's viewed as valuable.

I have a HUGE emotional attachment to IT - as it's traditionally been framed - but under the circumstances, we should be revisiting first principles of all of our programs.

K