ITAC News.

[Ron Earp]

It's pretty obvious that STL was largely a way to give it cars a path to the ruboffs. Not just the "IT cars may compete" clause, but the evolutionary path solves what many saw as a problem of regional status.

What Jake said. STL gives a few select cars, a very narrow portion of IT, a path to the National SCCA scene. But the majority of IT is left to be regional. STL could have encompassed all of the IT cars with a heavy rules rewrite but that clearly wasn't the goal and would have created sweeping changes in the SCCA.

With my limited knowledge of the regional and national classes in the SCCA I think it would have been better had IT made a transition to the national program. That would have effectively ended the national/regional distinction and class system in the SCCA and produced a more cohesive club. It would have been a difficult transition for the club to make but I'm sure it could have been accomplished.

Of course I didn't feel that way back in 2008, but I was also only three years into my racing hobby at that point and knew very little about how the SCCA operated and even less about its long term goals. I know a bit more now, but not much. It is still unclear to me the logic behinds the SCCA's regional and national racing programs. Looks like to me there ought to be classes, regional championships, and a national championship. Largest subscribed classes get to go to the national championship, nice and easy.

[Chip42]

The farm league analogy was simply my attempt to point out that viewing IT as a stock of drivers / car to feed other classes hurts IT. assuming a limited number of drivers and the sort of obvious "evolutionary" system, the end result of a healthy ST and LP prod HAS to be, largely, the result of transition FROM other classes. I'm sure SS/T refugees have also moved in, and we know some entries have been added, so it's certainly not a perfect analogy. I also treat IT as a class that is itself the end goal.

to Greg's post - I see more SM cars moving to IT and ST than IT to SM. not counting double dippers. that's down here. up there it may and likely is different.

[gran racing]

Yes, popularity drives monies spent in a category but it goes a step further than that. A category can cater to different groups of people. Same reason why more people with much larger budgets in IT gravitate towards ITR than on the other side, ITB. Certainly ITC.

[mossaidis]

Looks like to me there ought to be classes, regional championships, and a national championship. Largest subscribed classes get to go to the national championship, nice and easy.

That's the magic sauce. "nice and easy". Lord knows that finishing at the top 5 in regional championships are partly dictated by just showing up.