Kent wrote:
>I don't think Novice and Street Tire are classes in the
traditional
>sense -they're similar in concept to a PAX class that pulls
>cars/drivers from the standard classes. If a region has Novice
>and Street Tire categories, then it's just diluted much of the
intent
>and attraction of Street Touring.
Well, yes and no. If Street Touring is just a class for autox
novices, then it really shouldn't become a Nationals class. ST
was originally brought into existence to (sort of) fill a gap
between S and SP. As the idea evolved, it became something else
altogether. It now appears to me that ST is, in the Denver frame
of reference, a possible sponsorship/contingency magnet more than
a grassroots participation enhancement.
Given that hypothesis, I'd say that both novice and street
tire-only indexed classes have a purpose that is not served by
ST. Novice is for, well, novices. Street Tire is for
"semiserious" autoxers who care about bragging rights but don't
want to fool around with sticky tires. Both classes accommodate
the full range of Solo II-legal cars (although I don't know what
would happen if someone entered an F500 in Street Tire ;<) and,
in our neck of the woods, both classes are well-subscribed.
Jay
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