Being an old time racer (started in early 70's) the "National Races" were something that the Regional drive aspired to, the ability to run well regionally and show you had the skill to compete (and maintain a car) got you the ability to get a National license. Back in the 70's -- 80's and perhaps the mid 90's running the Nationals implied that you were well skilled and willing to put out your best effort to complete for the top 3- 5 positions in you division to be "awarded" an invite to the Runoff. That was a well respected situation. However as the years went by, and the number of classes swelled and the number of drivers in a class shrunk, it was just a matter of showing up to an event and you got to go to the Runoff's, so the mystique was gone and the only real achievement became a title win.

However since all of that is diluted, even the Runoff's doesn't generate that much interest (sort of like the regional races, the only spectators are the entrants and their family & friends). So IMHO there is no benefit to the club and as far as the racers are concerned there is obviously no desire to aspire to a National license. Part of this is why IT is so popular, it is easy to get involved, doesn't require a lot of effort to enter, and ultimately since a lot of the races are poorly participated the non-hard core racers give up and go do something else.

So if we eliminate the National/Regional program, provide understandable rules for a realistic number of classes (not having 15 variations on a Miata), the drivers will want to work a tad harder on their cars because they entered a race where there were 25 cars in the class, the race weekend could take two days which means that you get much more track time then 20 minutes at a regional, the drivers improve their skills, and then want to build and maintain their cars. So it's a win win, the region gets more entrants, the drivers have more fun, and the world is a happier place.