To illustrate the point(lessness?) of allowing _category wide_ changes in
Stock to level the playing field. I used to run in a local region that
allowed certain specific minor modifications in stock. For instance, you
could choose one of the following: add a sway bar, different diameter
wheels, relocate the battery, go to a lightweight seat, or add a limited
slip diff.
The result? Folks with the fund$ and who wanted to win began tweaking their
cars. Swaybars worked better on car X, LSD made car Y faster, removing
weight gave car Z the edge. At the end of the season guess which cars
dominated:
Neons in D/S, Miatas in B/S, MR2Ts in A/S. Gee, big surprise??
Point being, all the changes did was temporarily restructure the balance of
power. Once everyone sorted their cars out, the relative competitiveness
was not much different than before, and the fast drivers still won. The
rest of us simply weren't running up front, or spent $$$ trying different
parts only to discard them when it didn't work. Add to that the members who
also ran in the neighboring region (under National rules)... we usually had
two sets of race wheels and tires.
Then why not an allowance for specific cars? Say in the '99 season, Yugos
were allowed wider wheels to be competitve. Then the '00 model comes out
with a better chassis and is immediately faster than the Skodas. Does the
SEB retract their previous allowance? Now the Skoda drivers lobby for yet
another allowance to their cars to catch the '00 Yugos. Carrying that to
it's conclusion you end up with yet another category wide change. I can see
it now, a future discussion at Nationals: "Hmm, lessee a 98 Yugo.. you get
to change X, uh a 99?.. nope, no X but Y is legal.. a 99 1/2? uh anyone
seen the latest FastTrack?" Do we really want the administrative and
impound nightmare?
SCCA Pro racing is different. Their rules are marketing driven. To ensure
an audience and exposure for manufacturers and sponsors, they have to make
their series competitive, hence the car-specific changes like trunk kits
and restrictor plates and weight limits. We in SOLO aren't driven by the
same motive. To allow changes for "equalization" increases our cost at very
little real gain, opening the door to the whole "I-class" discussion.
Just my opinion, YMMV (your mods may vary)
-Jeff
Colorado Region
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