The point a lot of people seem to be missing is that autocrossing is
supposed to be grassroots oriented. That means that if I have a track
car I should be able to run it in Solo II without being cast into EM. In
my case it is a 944 Turbo that is set up for PCA club racing in the
STOCK class. Now, stock to PCA club racing means any suspension mod as
long as the suspension type remains the same and the suspension
attachment points remain in the same place. Besides the welded cage, the
other thing that causes me immediate grief is that the OEM 944 Turbo
control arm ball joints have a tendency to break if you lower the car.
The PCA in it's infinite wisdom allows a special compensation for this
well known problem. I know how this runs contrary to the philosophy of
SCCA Solo II to just screw anybody whose car has a particular weakness
that has been remedied with aftermarket parts, but I'd just as soon have
my wheels stay attached to the car when I am on the track.
Not everybody is SBW who can afford a competitive SCCA World Challenge
car, a competitive SCCA T1 car, a competitive SCCA ASP car, and a
competitive SCCA BSP car - all set up to the appropriate rules. But a
lot of us want to do essentially the same thing - to be able to race and
autocross competitively.
I call on all of you to at least think about minimizing the chasms that
develop with different prep rules when drawing up these rules. I for one
do not like pretending that my car is an SP car (where it belongs) when
it isn't according to the strict letter of the law. But the hell if I am
going to bolt in my cage when it is simply not as strong as when it is
welded in just to appease some goofy rule.
Paul Foster
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