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For those who haven't gotten the email yet here's the memo, hope you have the vacation time that I do NOT have to get there a day earlier.

 

May 12, 2006

 

To: ProSolo Competitors

From: Howard Duncan, Tasha Marlow, Cindy Jansen

Subject: Nationals Schedule Change; ProSolo Finale and Warm Up event

 

We wanted to take this opportunity to make you aware of a Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championship press release that will be coming out later today regarding the 2006 event schedule, as it has the most impact on ProSolo competitors planning to run the Finale event.

 

The move of the event from Forbes Field to Heartland Park Topeka (HPT) provides a significant number of advantages and opportunities, as well as a handful of the inevitable challenges that always happen with any relocation. These kinds of challenges require new approaches as we all adapt to a new event setting. The general facilities at HPT will provide us all with a great new environment that will add to our enjoyment of Nationals, but the obvious big advantage of HPT is the wonderful pothole free pavement that will allow for truly unique courses from year to year. However, the shape of that great pavement presents some limitations if we try to conform to what has come to be thought of as the traditional schedule.

 

Although through many of the years in Salina we did not have a Warm Up event, the last few years in Salina and all of our years in Topeka we have, and now this has become an expectation for many of the competitors, especially this year on new pavement. So it is our desire to be able to meet this expectation. As most of you are aware, our years at Forbes Field did not allow us to have the space for truly championship caliber ProSolo courses. It was our expectation that this unfulfilled need would finally be met with the move to HPT and it remains a primary goal of ours. However, the shape of the Solo pad at HPT now means we have competing and somewhat mutually exclusive goals of wanting to maintain a significant Warm Up event AND championship caliber ProSolo Finale courses.

 

Therefore, the press release mentioned above will announce a change in the Nationals schedule to address these competing goals. The ProSolo Finale will move back by one day to be run on Friday and Saturday (September 22 and 23) and the Kansas Region Warm Up event will be run on Sunday, September 24, along with a new National Test and Tune event.

 

We understand the hardships this may cause for some, so we are taking actions to mitigate the inconvenience as much as possible. While the event may be starting on Friday with a regular first day event format of two heats and one heat and Challenges on the second day, the actual start time on Friday will be 10:30 AM (Saturday 8:00 AM) to better allow for late arrivals. Additionally, we will allow registration check-in to be extended for the remainder of Friday. The vast majority of Finale competitors have typically arrived by late Friday morning, so this extended registration period will cover virtually everyone. This will not allow competitors to make up for runs missed by a late arrival, but it will allow for the handful of folks that cannot make it to the site until Friday afternoon to still compete.

 

We know that some of you are thinking that you will be able to be there by late Thursday or very early Friday, as that was your original plan, but you will not be able to make practice starts that will now happen on Thursday afternoon, which by the way will start and finish later than usual. Well, to address that we will be offering a limited number of FREE practice starts on Friday morning, prior to Heat 1. Look on the SCCA web site (www.scca.com) in July for further details on the Finale.

 

This revised schedule provides the following advantages:

·         The majority of Solo Nationals competitors could now come a day later and save a day away from home or work since the Warm Up will happen only on Sunday, rather than the previous two day format of Saturday and Sunday.

·         The ProSolo Finale will finally have adequate space for championship caliber courses and the support areas (grid, impound, etc,).

·         Will allow for a higher entry cap.

·         ProSolo competitors will now be able to take part in the Warm Up event and/or the new Test and Tune event.

·         Getting ready for the Sunday evening ProSolo Banquet will be more leisurely.

·         Extended hours for practice starts on Thursday and limited FREE starts on Friday morning.

·         More time to socialize with old and new friends.

 

We hope that this advance explanation has been helpful and that this schedule change does not cause you to change your ProSolo Finale plans.

 

See you at HPT in September for the best Finale ever!!!

Wow, that's quite a change.

Doesn't effect me, I'm lucky my job is flexible.

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I am Chris Hammond.
Going2Colorado.com
I'm Published! Check out my book

Wow, that's not something I ever envisioned happening...

I guess that's part of being "Pro" and all and having to roll with the punches.

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Mike Shields
1993 BMW 325is | 92/192 DSP

What a pain in the A$$. Just to accomadate a warm up event. They mess with the 250 other entrants of the Pro finale.

Oh Well, guess I didn't want to stay married anyway.

So much for being the pinnacle event huh??    It would be like "hey we're changing the dates of the Runoffs, because we're going to hold a lap day that day instead". 

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177 STX

I think this is a positive move actually.  While it means a some might have to travel a day early, it's not required (practice starts friday AM).  It opens up a lot for warm ups (maybe two courses for a lot of warm up competitors), and makes for a much better prosolo event.

 

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09 Subaru WRX DS
Colorado Region Alumni Solo 2 Chair http://www.rmsolo.org/
http://www.utahscca.org/

So now if I want to run the Finale and Nats I'm stuck in Kansas for an extra day? I'll have nothing to do Sun-Wed, that sucks!

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Scott Sawyer
Team Underdog Racing
89 Honda CRX Si, STS 189

This on top of the fact that doesn't Kansas region get all the $$$ for the warm up event?  So we moved the "Pro Solo" finale so we can preserve the income stream for a single region?

So we make things harder for those dedicated to a traveling series versus those coming to run a non-points 'fun' event?

Oh.. and how quick do you think the Practice will fill up now?... one day only and you will now have all the ProSolo competitors trying to get in as well...

I would have dumped the practice event all together.  Come July/August we'll be hearing about all the people that can't get into the Practice event.  The cluster mess has only begun to be uncovered, I'm affraid..

All IMHO...

Rick Cone

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Rick Cone
Atlanta Region Secretary

STS2 #98
1991 Mazda Miata - Aqua

lundgren:

While it means a some might have to travel a day early, it's not required

I beg to differ.  Our plan was to leave after work on Thursday, drive halfway, spend the night, drive the rest of the way Friday morning.  So unless we want to miss our first set of runs (or worse, have the entire day's runs be worthless from zero sleep), this change requires an additional day to our trip.  And if we're just going to toss out a third or more of our runs anyway, then we might as well just not go.

If it comes down to a choice between the ProFinale or Nationals, I think I'd vote to skip Nationals instead.  Or possibly just skip the trip to Topeka entirely.  Have a "real vacation" for a change.

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177 STX

One thing that would be nice, is if truck/trailer parking could be arranged onsite at HPT for the weekend and week before the Pro Finale. That way people could tow out on the preceding weekend, and not have to take pretty much the whole week off work to get out there, making the total vacation time commitment almost 2 full weeks for those running Thurs-Fri.

In conjunction, a bus or shuttle or something from HPT to the KC airport Sunday afternoon or evening would be a nice touch.

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--Jason Rhoades

Jason,

Like you will get that, please, this is supposed to be PROSolo, not "NoOneCaresSolo".

This is like putting the runoffs off a day because the region wanted to run an practice lapping day at the track.

:thumbsdown:

-Tom

For many people, the warm-up event is a critical part of running nationals.  Without it, they're simply at a significant disadvantage to those who run the Pro Finale.  The Finale may be the pinnacle of ProSolo, but Nationals is the pinnacle of Solo and the warm-up event, IMO, is a key part of that.  It has been for me for years and I think others will agree (non-ProSolo competitors).  Seems like a good compromise.  Finale moves one day and we loose one day of the warm-up.

Dave G.

OK, since your logic separates the "pinnacle of ProSolo" and the "pinnacle of Solo", let me change my analogy...  This is like changing the dates of Speed World Challenge because a local region wants to run a practice lapping day before the Runoffs.

That better?

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177 STX

I just fired a letter off to the National Office. This is just infuriating.

Karen

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Karen Kraus
2005 SCCA SEDiv FS Champion
2007 SCCA DSL National Champion
2008 SCCA ProSolo L1 Champion

How very interesting. And now, I sit here saying... you know, if I WERE able to go to the DC pro, and Peru... I wouldn't be able to go to the finale ANYWAYS after this change.

I guess things (in my case...not being able to get into events) happen for a reason.

--kC

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#95 STS.

Howdy,

Well, now that the national equipment isn't going to be being used by the ProSolo folks, I guess it can be used for the warmup, right?

Might as well have all that money going into the national coffers rather than the local region's.  That way it helps us all.

Since, you know, the warmup event is apparently "part of nationals" now.

Mark

In case anyone cares, here is the text of the message I sent off :

Dear SCCA Staff;

I just received notice regarding the change to the ProSolo Finale dates. I am sure this will just be one of many letters you will receive regarding the negative impact this will have one competitors. I know that there is nothing to be done regarding this announcement now, but perhaps my comments can make a difference in terms of future decisions of this type.

I do not have unlimited time to take to journey over a thousand miles to Kansas for Nationals. In fact, I have three personal days per year, and it is through very special dispensation on the part of my resource teacher that I have been able to take "sick leave" for another day or two to stay out for the full week these last two years. As it is, I must have someone else take my car out to Topeka for me, and I fly in to attend the Finale. Last year, I could not find someone to do this for me, and I had to give up the ProSolo Finale weekend in order to drive my car out on my own.

This change will make it very difficult, if not impossible, for me to attend both the ProSolo Finale and the National Championships. This mid-season change angers me, as I have already made the financial commitment to a ProSolo co-drive that now is worthless to me if I can not attend the Finale due to this scheduling change. On the other hand, maybe I should just forgo looking for a way to get my own car to Topeka, and just skip running the National Championships. I could also withdraw my entries from the DC and Peru ProSolo events and then not have to worry about the ProSolo Finale at all.

I am sure I am not the only one who feels this way, though I could be wrong in that regard. However, it saddens me that a non-competition event has been allowed to affect the ProSolo Finale and the National Championships in this way.

Thank you for your time, and for all that you do for the National Solo program.

Karen Kraus

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Karen Kraus
2005 SCCA SEDiv FS Champion
2007 SCCA DSL National Champion
2008 SCCA ProSolo L1 Champion

jcroy66:

lundgren:

While it means a some might have to travel a day early, it's not required

I beg to differ.  Our plan was to leave after work on Thursday, drive halfway, spend the night, drive the rest of the way Friday morning.  So unless we want to miss our first set of runs (or worse, have the entire day's runs be worthless from zero sleep), this change requires an additional day to our trip.  And if we're just going to toss out a third or more of our runs anyway, then we might as well just not go.

If it comes down to a choice between the ProFinale or Nationals, I think I'd vote to skip Nationals instead.  Or possibly just skip the trip to Topeka entirely.  Have a "real vacation" for a change.

I said 'some' not all.  Look at it this way, you can do the warm ups too on Sunday.

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09 Subaru WRX DS
Colorado Region Alumni Solo 2 Chair http://www.rmsolo.org/
http://www.utahscca.org/

They should run two courses for warm ups on Sunday.  They could easily run 500 drivers through with 3 runs each.  Frankly, make both courses as close as possible.

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09 Subaru WRX DS
Colorado Region Alumni Solo 2 Chair http://www.rmsolo.org/
http://www.utahscca.org/

Well, in light of all the work that's been done to accomodate everyone who wants to play and to try to bring new people into ProSolo -- raising the DC entry cap, apparently doing the same for the Peru Pro, the waiving of late fees for Atwater and Mineral Wells, the Marque class -- it's amazing how fast they throw everything down the drain with a mid-season date change for the Finale.

I wonder how many people are now going to figure that doing 2-3 events is no longer worth the effort. I know I've got time to ditch my codrive before I'm too far in, financially, and I'm very much considering it amongst all my options.

Karen

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Karen Kraus
2005 SCCA SEDiv FS Champion
2007 SCCA DSL National Champion
2008 SCCA ProSolo L1 Champion