Championship????

[Andy Bettencourt]

I just ran the SARRC series for points this year and won. Best six races count PLUS double points for the SIC (equivalent of the NARRC runoffs I think).

Let me ask you this. How would you feel if ALL your races had counted?

[Butch Kummer]

Let me ask you this. How would you feel if ALL your races had counted?

Not speaking for Jeff, but I'd find something else to do if each year I had to run all 30+/- SARRC races (14-18 weekends) in order to contend for the the series championship. Different parts of the country have different challenges, but in 2011 SEDiv held 32 SARRC races at ten tracks from Homestead (South Florida) to Barber (Birmingham) to Nashville to VIR (Southern Virginia). Requiring folks to compete at all or even most of those races in order to win a championship would have resulted in maybe three people (overall) participating. We constantly debate whether or not counting one's best six is too few, but so far that number seems to be working. It also means you could have 3 or 4 drivers show up at the final race (the SARRC Invitational Challenge) with the same number of points, which makes for some VERY good racing there.

[Andy Bettencourt]

Not speaking for Jeff, but I'd find something else to do if each year I had to run all 30+/- SARRC races (14-18 weekends) in order to contend for the the series championship. Different parts of the country have different challenges, but in 2011 SEDiv held 32 SARRC races at ten tracks from Homestead (South Florida) to Barber (Birmingham) to Nashville to VIR (Southern Virginia). Requiring folks to compete at all or even most of those races in order to win a championship would have resulted in maybe three people (overall) participating. We constantly debate whether or not counting one's best six is too few, but so far that number seems to be working. It also means you could have 3 or 4 drivers show up at the final race (the SARRC Invitational Challenge) with the same number of points, which makes for some VERY good racing there.

So ours is a TON less vigorous, but we all also have multiple series to choose from. Here it was 11 events over 7 weekend, with one must-attend double-points Runoff. 5 different tracks. Then there is the NERSCCA, NYSRRC and Pro It series all at the same time with additional weekends. Most racers here think one more than half the races is a good call to allow for real life.

[JeffYoung]

I agree 100% with Butch. If I had to tow from VIR to Barber in Alabama to Sebring and all points in between to run 30 races since all of them counted, I'd be (a) broke and (b) even more single than I already am.

Butch, FWIW, I think six is dead on. Seems to work the same every year. We get 75-100 entries in SM, SRF, ITS and sometimes ITA, with 4-5 guys running enough and well enough to contend for the championship. I tihnk that works. Anything more and it gets tough for the amateur racer to run enough races to count. Anything less and it can be too easy to be good at just one track.

[red986s]

Is this going to be an East coast or a National thing?

[Butch Kummer]

The West Coast guys will say it's an East Coast thing, but I'd prefer to say it's (currently) an "East of the Rockies" thing.

Three parts to the Championship:
. The IT-Fest at Mid-Ohio in late July
. The ARRC by GRM at Road Atlanta in early November
. Your best single result at a number of well-attended "Elective" events

I'm not yet at liberty to disclose the entire schedule, but the closest to you, Mitch, would be the Firecracker Grand Prix at Hallett in July or the Kettle-Moraine at Road America in mid-August.

We currently have no West Coast events listed among the Elective races but we could easily add one or two if there's interest. Given that the eventual champion will most likely have to attend the IT-Fest AND the ARRC, however, I'm not sure any of the West Coast guys would be interested.

[JeffYoung]

I would be fine adding an elective event on the West Coast (or a couple). However, I agree with Butch. Since you have to run the ARRC and the IT Fest, for guys in the Midwest and the Pacific Coast it will be tough to win unless you are committed to two long tows.

I'd still call this a National uh "tour" though. The vast majority of IT cars live and race east of the Rockies, with a majority of that majority east of the Mississippi, and even then with most of them concentrated in the SEDiv, the WDCR and the NEDiv.

We tried to keep a national perspective, but the focus had to be on how to we attract the "most best" IT cars to the scheudle.

[dj10]

with one must-attend double-points Runoff.

IMO the double point events should be eliminated.