Mustang in STU

[JeffYoung]

Just a question -- so if membership, the guys who race in IT, didn't want to go National, it would be ok to force them to do so?

Point being, the powers-that-be SHOULD have been where the decision was made, irrespective of what a survey of current drivers want.

This is a strategic decision about the structure of National Club Racing, about how the categories and classes fit together to build a comprehensive program, that shouldn't be made based on what Regional IT drivers want. The fact that IT folks picked their classes KNOWING that it was a Regional-only opportunity is powerful evidence that - except for those on the cusp of looking for a "next step beyond IT" - they aren't going to be inclined to be positive about the proposed change.

And the decision sure as hell shouldn't have been made based on (or even influenced by) the desires of drivers in existing National classes in an environment where the classes are competing one against another for RubOffs berths. The LAST thing they want is a new, SUCCESSFUL class.

At the end of the day, if the CRB and/or BoD HAD wanted IT to become a National category, they would have done it. That they didn't do it is strong evidence that it wasn't their desire that it happen.

The lack of strategic thinking at that level - above our category - is what got us this Platypus of a category. None of the parts fit together very well but it will probably be viable in some niche of the bigger ecosystem (i.e., the arch-typical National class).

K

[Knestis]

Just a question -- so if membership, the guys who race in IT, didn't want to go National, it would be ok to force them to do so?

What adoyle said.

The CATEGORY going National would NOT force individual ENTRANTS to do so. Based on my present goals and personal situation, if ITB were a National class, I would almost certainly still just run Regionals within a sensible distance of Pablo's home base.

That's part of why the whole conversation was so whack. Some current IT drivers being asked, "Should IT be a National category?" were answering based on their personal desire to do National events - including the RubOffs - rather than Regionals. In essence, "I don't want to do Nationals therefore nobody should be allowed to do so in an IT car."

Again, there WERE some well-founded arguments against the idea. That just wasn't one of them.

K