Karen, you just outlined for everyone how the progression goes in the
current order. I and many of us, like it fine the way it is. It is
never too early to run with the biggest fish you can find if your goal is
to be a big fish. Boxers who want a shot at a title are not happy
fighting local guys even if it means there's a chance they'll bet
whipped. Each whipping is a lesson and a step toward the goal(or dream
as it truly is for many of us).
Pro Solo-the most "elite" level of our sport. I want to go someday but
not for a while until I am at least comfortable with myself as a driver
and my car.
National-the pinnacle of the sport, but accessible to everyone. I plan
to go just for the experience, even though as a driver I know I won't be
ready. The experience is as valuable to me as the competition.
National Tour-a foreshadow of Nationals. Lots of excellent talent to
learn from and as a rookie, an extremely impactful experience. I would
never work in the rain until 11:00 and get up at 4:30 the next morning to
try to get my underprepared car past tech for a regional event. But I
did for the NT. The intensity of just being in grid is a new and
valuable thing for those of us looking ahead and aspiring to improvement
and growth.
Divisional-I haven't been to a divisional but it is shaping up to be a
real shootout among the big dogs from several regions. Again, the
heightenned level of intensity is due to be a real experience. Who cares
that I nor my car will be at the level of the class? I will learn things
about how the good guys prepare, their cars and their minds. I will have
a chance to feel the tension and the adrenaline, and learn how I need to
prepare myself to deal with it. Trust me, in case you have forgotten,
the pressure is no less if you know you aren't going to be in the hunt as
it is if you expect a trophy. The nerves and stress and lack of sleep
and freneticism is the same and it is a great experience.
Regional-we all have fun, we learn a lot from one another and we build
friendships. There are those who have no aspirations to national level
competition and there are those who do. I knew what I wanted from Solo 2
after 10 events. Some race locally for 10 years before they decide to
move into the bigger waters, some longer. Regional races can be serious
competition for one guy and simply a practice session for another. The
great thing is that people like Joe who just wants to drive his BMW fast
once in a while can rub shoulders with Kurt Janish and Gary Kramar, learn
from them, watch them drive.
You already have your elite events in Solo 1 and Pro. As you climb the
more open event ladder, they become more elite by their very nature. Why
do some people want to move the bar down and make the top level of Solo 2
less accessible? Do I, slow and underprepared in my Datsun, gridded
beside Tom Holt in the car he has developed for 12 or more years, somehow
tarnish his accomplishments? I don't think so, and I resent that some
people seem to think that I have less right to grid my slow car up than
Tom just because I haven't been through the wars as he has.
Finally, in your comparison to drag racing: Grassroots drag racing is
effected too strongly by the presence of cash, and sometimes very large,
cash prizes even at the local level. Operation of a drag strip is a
monetary affair, from entry fees to corporate sponsorship to admissions
to purses. Autocross is not. We race for fun. Even those who race for
money and prizes would race anyway if there were no money and prizes.
Restructuring the way national level events are registered with the
purpose of making them less accessible to those of us who are working our
way up would be unfair and _not_ in keeping with the 1000 year history of
SCCA. Trust me, Solo 2 would suffer.
Jon FP 73
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