Upcoming runoffs location(s)?

"Mike, saying So Cal should have the majority of the nations based on populous isn't necessarily correct because if that were the case then the runoffs would be an east coast event."



and it certainly was for basically 40 years!! and no, socal by itself is not the most populous but socal and SF together dwarf everything else by a large margin. And yes, we must take that into account as any business would and make their lives as easy as possible. that doesn't mean to completely forget NW (or those of us on the other side of the equation near mexico border..) but it is what it is to a certain degree.

Having said that, the runoffs and major races are two entirely different subjects. trhe runoffs should move around for reasons I stated earlier. the majors are an annual thing that needs to make sense. How much moaning do we see here and everywhere else about towing to our own local races. so it makes sense to limit the distances for the most people as much as you can. does that work for everyone? of course not, but I welcome the solution that makes everyone happy. down here in socal we don't see SFR as being 'local'. its a long tow. so to lump all of cali into one bag is incorrect. right now, socal has 3 majors within reasonable distance and if SFR would pick-up a 2nd major the northern half of the conf would have 3 majors. im sure the tows if you live all the way up north are not great but it's the price of the geography we have.

if SFR doesn't pick up another major to support their national drivers (and in actuality I hear they're wavering on having even one major in 2016??!!) then the equation gets more complex and we probably need to petition Nat'l office for more reasonable participation criteria for the northern folks...
 
Bob Clark":1fckdshd said:
"Over 25% of the classes had entries that were abysmal: FC, GT3, P1, and FA barely fielded 10 cars.

GT1: 7 cars,
GTL: 9 cars,
T3: 5 cars made the grid.
3 classes that didn't name a Nat Champ"

Well... not so much. I do not know about GT-1 or T3 but GTL had 10 cars qualify during the week and per the GCR that is all you need to crown a national champ in the race even if only 9 cars start.
Click to expand...


You are correct. My bad.
 
"the vast population of west coast driver/member population is calif so it makes sense that majority of conference races are there. sometimes geography and circumstances work against you. someone's always unhappy. particularly in the scca. its no walk in the park being from san diego with all the track northward..."

Really? San Diego is that disconnected from So Cal? Must have been hell driving 100 miles up to Fontana. I can feel your pain facing a 200 mile tow to Willow Springs. And that Tucson race... 400 miles of pure, unadulterated hell driving clear over there.

Your attitude about geography is exactly why the Majors program is a failure for NorPac drivers. Instead of having options with the National program, the Majors program is all about the SoPac area. Thanks so much for that.
 
dhrmx5":12k3eblf said:
"the vast population of west coast driver/member population is calif so it makes sense that majority of conference races are there. sometimes geography and circumstances work against you. someone's always unhappy. particularly in the scca. its no walk in the park being from san diego with all the track northward..."

Really? San Diego is that disconnected from So Cal? Must have been hell driving 100 miles up to Fontana. I can feel your pain facing a 200 mile tow to Willow Springs. And that Tucson race... 400 miles of pure, unadulterated hell driving clear over there.

Your attitude about geography is exactly why the Majors program is a failure for NorPac drivers. Instead of having options with the National program, the Majors program is all about the SoPac area. Thanks so much for that.
Click to expand...

Dave, Go easy dude. Its a boat a lot of us are in but getting on Mike for it is not gonna fix it. Maybe the solution is for one or both of our regions to pick up a date if SFR dumps one? Another part of the fix maybe to count national cars running regionals as part of participation. That might encourage more divisional participation.

I think what Mike and others have tried to do is a good effort to build on the runoffs that still has some bugs to work out.
 
Need to clarify something. Although I might tease Mike about the SCCA's attitude, I don't hold him personally responsible.

Really I am just annoyed with the direction this club is headed. I have been around it for a long time. Look up "inconsistent" in the dictionary and you will likely find an SCCA logo.


That's timing, Joe. I was writing the above while you were writing your post.
 
Joe, it's a simple fix, really. Just give me the ability to bring in points from attending other Division races and I would be pretty damn happy.

I have cars sitting in FL from the Runoffs and would be overjoyed to run Sebring, NOLA, COTA, etc, rather than have to rush back to run at Fontana or Chucklehead, etc.

If the Runoffs is about attending bucket list tracks (to a large degree, otherwise the 2017 race would be on the West coast, where it supposedly belongs) then why would the club want to dissuade me from running the tracks that make my bucket list during the year?
 
dhrm- okay suggest something that works for everyone. happy to listen.

im not going to get into an argument over who has the rougher tow. sorry but when you live in certain areas.. life sucks. its not always someone else's fault.

btw... what is your goal? to win a conference championship or qualify for the runoffs? if you're just looking to qualify for the runoffs you can fulfill participation requirements in any major in any area.

and I do feel the love!!
 
mlewis":1nu2qip6 said:
if SFR doesn't pick up another major to support their national drivers (and in actuality I hear they're wavering on having even one major in 2016??!!) then the equation gets more complex and we probably need to petition Nat'l office for more reasonable participation criteria for the northern folks...
Click to expand...

SFR will not add a 2nd Major. They loose money on the one they have, or at least they used to, before the Run-Offs Rotation.

If you look at the numbers for the last 3 years, for the Rational in 2013, Major in 2014, and the Major in 2015, There is a direct correlation to where the Run-Offs were located.

2013 Rational = 60 Entries
2014 Major = 246 Entries
2015 Major = 118 Entries

It doesn't take much rocket science to determine that participation improves based on where the Run-Offs are located. Road America in 2013, Laguna Seca in 2014, Daytona in 2015.
 
Mike, finishing in the top three of a division determines whether or not tow funds and divisional money kicks in. That is the only importance I have ever placed on it. Now that SCCA has ended the tow fund, it is even more important to get manufacturer money.

I have fielded a lot of cars over the years but I was always been able to justify it by keeping the expenses to a minimum. When I start having to pay to play, I have to decide whether there is something or somewhere else I would rather go.

This year we did Seattle, Portland, and flew in and took a start at Michigan in a borrowed car. It was way cheaper than doing the Sopac races.

If there were races at Sears, Willow Springs, Laguna, we would get a little more excited to do local stuff. We are kind of burnt out on the Runoffs determining which tracks we run.
 
It's very simple. If 8 races are counted, let me import points from 3 races outside my division. Local participation will still be important, but I also have the ability to hit some different venues.
 
I am very close to purchasing a car to begin my new chapter in my racing career (as I have been racing oval track stuff since '07), but after reading all of this, it begins to make a Newb such as myself, very skeptical about what I may be getting into. I do understand that there is no way to make everyone happy (it is this way in every realm of racing that I have observed) and in this age of keyboard warriors, it is very easy to make ones self heard whether or not there is justification behind the content. With that said, I hope I am making the right decision to begin this new endeavor of road racing.
 
Speedyk, keep in mind, that this discussion as about the Run-Offs, and has been very political for a long time. If you just getting started, enjoy Regional racing with your local folks, and once you step out of that environment, that's where the politics starts.

It also depends where in the country you're located. I'll just leave it at that.
 
People wouldn't get so upset over things if it wasn't something they enjoyed. The racing and the people can be/are a joy, the admins not so much.
 
Speedyk - I second Tim's comments. You will find the people in the Club very helpful and friendly. Racing around the country is well organized and focuses on the fun. By and large the discussion on this and any other message board that has a gathering of long-time SCCA members will have these impassioned discussions. I say get your program together and come have fun. Once you have navigated a season then you can evaluate what will allow you the best bang for the buck, all things considered.
 
Ilike the rotation to various tracks , even to bucket list tracks. Having fewer drivers at their home track is an advantage to all of us ,keeping the hope alive of a good finish.
I hate that the ROs takes the entire week. Waste of time, waste of many days away from work . Elitist schedule. 4 days max. fewer classes .
 
" If you just getting started, enjoy Regional racing with your local folks"

exactly!!



all this talk of tracks versus bucketlist? they are one in the same! one mans bucketlist is anothers 'not interested'. they're all just tracks. when the Nat'l office uses the term they refer to tracks that are iconic from either a historical perspective (Daytona, indy) or a 'buzz' (COTA). my original goal when I pushed the annual move was to come up with a rotation similar to what NFL does with superbowl sites. To be in the rotation a track must be high quality in infrastructure and layout, and have sufficient support surrounding it in terms of hotels, etc. and fulfill a geographic requirement as we move around the country. you also have to leave room for the occasional wildcard. on the west coast we are sparse with laguna and Sonoma being primary. I don't think Portland or fontana have the iconic box ticked and unfortunately thunderhill and BW though well run, probably lack in the local infrastructure thing. but who knows. its for others to figure out now. im sticking to driving from here on out...

I also agree with tim that the laguna and Daytona runoffs are showing the trend that the event is more regional than we'd like to admit. all the more reason to move it around probably if we want all club members a chance to go at least once. to be fair the west coast guys have continued to travel as they always have over the past 40 years but the east coast guys just hardly showed up in laguna? as to the disappointing turnout at Daytona I don't know? someone will have to take a deep dive into the data.
 
I don't like the week long schedule either but having a hard time figuring out how it's 'elitist'?
 
Miller is one of the few tracks that could hold a shortened Runoffs. Run 2 classes concurrently on the split courses, then open up the long outer loop for the faster cars. Everybody gets a track suited to their cars strengths, and it only takes 2 days for all the races.

Since the track is pretty simple to learn, chop off one day up front and one day of races.
 
racer_tim":cpzp01d4 said:
Well, it's official, Indy for 2017. Now, what layout will be using?
Click to expand...

The event is unprecedented for both the Club and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, pitting the amateur National Championship event on the fourteen turn, 2.439-mile road course that hosted the Formula One World Championship and the Verizon IndyCar Series’ Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. The road course, of course, utilizes part of the famed oval that hosts the Indianapolis 500
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top