taake1201:How are we as active SSC or SSB drivers part of the problem? WTF? Those who leave the class are part of the problem; not those who stay and try to make a difference.
I believe that virtually everyone agrees that some type of wholesale changes to SCCA Club Racing are needed. It is my opinion, though, that those changes need to be carefully considered as part of a long term plan before making rash decisions. Haven't we run off enough competitors from SSB and SSC already? No need to bankrupt anyone overnight either.
Josh, your posts are growing old very fast. Instead of criticizing others ideas, please share your ideas in great detail. I don't know you personally but I know you are an experienced racer and I'd welcome hearing more of your thoughts.
I'm definitely frustrated with the state of affairs too...I'm not singling anyone out but I'm growing tired of the folks who have sold their cars still coming on here to complain. Get over it or get back involved. I welcome all of you b/c there are some damn good racers on the sidelines. I just don't get it...I raced SM here in TX in it's infancy but I don't go back on specmiata.com and *** and moan about their issues. ???
Fairn enough Steve, I gave up on this SS/T nonsense after 2006. So I'm an outsider.
But I'm still a racer, and most especially, an SCCA Club Racer, and this is my club too. I've been a member for 20 years. I care about it.
You are right -- active racers are not part of the problem, as far as that statement goes. But just trying to get cars out of mothballs to bring the turnout for a single class up from the bottom to middle-of-the-pack does nothing in the big picture to fix the whole problem. It's the STRUCTURE of the racing program that's broken. People who fight any changes to the structure because they are personally happy can't see the forest for the trees.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think that the recent failed attempt at restructuring was 'the answer' either -- I think they didn't go nearly far enough. Too conservative.
I think that times have changed enough to the point where the basic premises behind the club racing program need to be revisited. The economy is falling apart, so there's a smaller pool of potential racers. Traveling to races has become the most expensive part of racing (partially due to all of our love for our enclosed trailers and big tow vehicles). Structuring the program so that there's an expectation that drivers will travel all over the US in order to race doesn't make sense.
Most national classes are even less subcribed at regionals across the country than they are at nationals. Regions make up classes to please their members. The same members. Why aren't the most popular regional classes also national classes? It's called turf protection, and this is where the recent letter-writing campaigns against the proposed consolidation have me upset. What good does turf protection do? You guys all really want to run in a tiny SSC class with no end in sight? Do you really think that not making any more Mini Cooper S blunders is going to bring back the class in this economy? Really? Where will the racers come from? Even if you believe it, how far back can it get? If it's not one of the top 5 classes, it will still have tiny turnouts despite your best efforts.
The goal should be to have turnouts in every class of at least 10 cars at every race. If the average turnout at a national race is 123 drivers (from the latest spreadsheet), then, in my opinion, we should have only 12 classes, or have some sort of active program that predicts future growth in race turnouts in order to justify more classes than that. I'm not sure what happens to the numbers when you add regional races into the mix -- I know it probably doubles the number of classes though, and probably only slightly raises the average turnout.
I have some ideas about specifically what to do, but those ideas would be more in the nature of "complete overhaul" than "turf protection." I would study the market, and the existing classes and racers wouldn't be nearly as powerful a lobby as the current powers-that-be allow them to be. This is a member-driven club, but unfortunately right now, the members are steering the ship straight into the side of a mountain. We need leadership, we need some tough decisions. I would like to believe that a large portion of the membership is like me, and is passionate about the club, and they would stick with the club through the changes rather than taking their car and playing elsewhere.
With that all said, I'll take your suggestion and stop posting in forums where I no longer have a car. Sorry to interrupt. I'm out.
Josh Sirota
Go, Dog. Go! Racing