SCCA Solo Nationals- Who finished where?

Per has P3 in BMod - YEAH!

The leading car (shared between co-drivers) suffered a mechanical on the last run. Tomorrow is gonna be fun.

Go, Per!

Now this is some serious fun; currently sitting in 2nd and 3rd in EMod:

Javelin wrote: So it's okay to bash GM, NASCAR, Danica Patrick, and Lewis Hamilton but not okay to bash dropping a new set of $1500 tires every 45-second run in a parking lot? Puh-lease.

Just speculating, but there is a good chance he won most of those tires. Gotta use them somehow.

As oldsaw said: winners win, haters hate.

You hate. You have all the answers to "fix" the SCCA ruleset, great. You autocross with another club and are happier, berkeleying fantastic.

Go resurrect a different thread in which you complain about an activity that you don't participate in that does not affect you in any way. Please.

On topic. STR is interesting. Glad the S2K proved to stay competitive. Curious what top speeds were like and if the AP2s were into 3rd or not. Also curious if the upper MX5s are 5 or 6spd models.

oldsaw wrote: In reply to Javelin: It's OK to bash as long as one is willing to get bashed in return. OK?

Bring it!

(I don't actually hate the SCCA, I just thought it was funny to be accused of bashing them when answering somebody else's question on whatcha gonna do?)

My new answer is to replace the tires and engine every round. Gotta have max power, too!

oldsaw wrote: Per has P3 in BMod - YEAH! The leading car (shared between co-drivers) suffered a mechanical on the last run. Tomorrow is gonna be fun. Go, Per!

Berkeley yeah! Go Per go!

ProDarwin wrote: You hate. You have all the answers to "fix" the SCCA ruleset, great. You autocross with another club and are happier, berkeleying fantastic. Go resurrect a different thread in which you complain about an activity that you don't participate in that does not affect you in any way. Please.

Your sarcasm meter is broken buddy. I'll be sure to add more smilies next time though.

Meh. The guys who make the rules really try to do their jobs well. Never going to make everyone happy, but I know they really take it seriously and try to do what's fair. Can't ask for more.

wbjones wrote:

bludroptop wrote: On a completely different note - STX is running now and ST Civics are blowing away the STX cars.

and that's the reason SCCA has outlawed them starting next yr.... back to ST (C) for the Civic

Got that. My point (perhaps too subtle) was to vindicate the rule change to subjective classing - which I think is, in spite of the imperfections, the way to go with Street Touring.

oldsaw wrote: If you're seriously shooting for a national championship there are no excuses. The same rationale applies to regional and local competitors. Regardless of how rules are adjusted to "level" competition, there are those who will use/exploit the rules to achieve their goals.

I don't disagree, but I'm disappointed that the gap between the 'haves' and 'have nots' may have just increased by a significant tire budget factor.

I think the changing tires after every run thing needs to be considered separately from the no R comps in stock class idea. I already wrote a letter to the SEB proposing that barring rain or a safety issue, competitors in all classes must complete all their runs on the same set of tires. I can see it being difficult to enforce, perhaps, but I'd prefer to stop this trend before it starts. You want to talk about a lemming effect? The worst thing about it is that it looks as if it worked, so how long until we see more and more people trying it?

There is already a degree of truth to the notion that he who has the most money wins. But we don't need to make racing any more expensive than it already is. That's the best way I can think of to keep fresh blood out of the sport.

It was a laziness thing not to deal with OPR. Not because of peak performance of zero-run Hoosiers. I'm sure it's not that Braun is a berkeleying alien behind the wheel :rolleyes:

I thought the Hoosiers were faster after a couple of runs.

SpeedTheory wrote: It was a laziness thing not to deal with OPR. Not because of peak performance of zero-run Hoosiers. I'm sure it's not that Braun is a berkeleying alien behind the wheel :rolleyes:

I think this hits the nail right on the head. I'm aware of Braun and Borowski changing tires mid heat (the Borowski's did it for the last run). How many National Championships do the two of them have combined? How many times did they change tires before mid-heat, rain being the exception? These guys are so good that they are getting their tires for free; they might as well change it mid heat instead of getting rid of the OPR. There is no difference in a Hoosier from 1-10 runs (and that is probably being conservative). They aren't gaining because it is a fresh tire, they are gaining because it is a clean tire.

mtn wrote: These guys are so good that they are getting their tires for free; they might as well change it mid heat instead of getting rid of the OPR. There is no difference in a Hoosier from 1-10 runs (and that is probably being conservative). They aren't gaining because it is a fresh tire, they are gaining because it is a clean tire.

Excellent!

Mtn hits a nail on its' head. Hoosier pays contingencies by rewarding winners with tires. "These guys" have won enough tires that they can can change full sets between runs. Scraping off "Other Peoples' Rubber" takes more time/effort and distracts from concentrating on the goal - winning.

"These guys" earned their tires from the local, regional and national levels. Their mindset(s) and dedication is what separates the "some" from the "others".

Listening to the announce, I think some of the two driver cars were changing tires because of heat concerns. I know the Hoosiers only tolerate so much heat. I hear it was stupid hot today and keeping Hoosiers happy was an issue.

In reply to fast_eddie_72:

Today's temps were no higher than yesterday's. The biggest difference was the accumulation of OPR off the racing line.

Yesterday the idea was to shield the tires from the sun, wet them down and use at least four umbrellas. Today's idea was to say "berkeley that, we're changing the whole damn set".

Some people get to start the 2012 season with nicely scrubbed tires. A few get to see a new set of "stickers" for next year, too.

Reading through all 3 pages of this thread made me not care at all about SCCA nationals. Sounds like a terrible event for the average joe and really exemplifies what is wrong with autocross not what is right with autocross. For all of you who participate or dream of participating, please enjoy it, if it floats your boat, then so be it. I'm not knocking you, just saying that I have no desire to ever attend.

I'm hearing some bellyaching but am not hearing too many solutions. So, assuming that Solo Nats are broken--and with 1100+ cars it seems to be a healthy event--how would you change things?

T.J. wrote: Reading through all 3 pages of this thread made me not care at all about SCCA nationals. Sounds like a terrible event for the average joe and really exemplifies what is wrong with autocross not what is right with autocross. For all of you who participate or dream of participating, please enjoy it, if it floats your boat, then so be it. I'm not knocking you, just saying that I have no desire to ever attend.

That is the point. This is Nationals. These aren't Average Joe's, these are the best of the best. These guys aren't switching tires mid heat for every event, they are doing it for this event. And why not? It's not like the tires are a waste of money, they'll get used next year at local events. If you are going to be nationally competitive, you are going to use at least 2-4 sets of tires over a year anyways. Why not just have the first event for all of them be in Lincoln?

And a PS: Part of the fun of Nationals is just being there--seeing the cars, meeting the people. So maybe you're battling for 30th instead of first. So what, it's still fun.

Arg..... the live timing is messed up AGAIN.

Somehow i doubt that a Silver 2008 Audi TT is winning BMOD.

Was Clemens the one who had the mechanical failure?

David S. Wallens wrote: And a PS: Part of the fun of Nationals is just being there--seeing the cars, meeting the people. So maybe you're battling for 30th instead of first. So what, it's still fun.

One can easily say something about that, David. Especially the people.

But I wont.

mtn wrote:

T.J. wrote: Reading through all 3 pages of this thread made me not care at all about SCCA nationals. Sounds like a terrible event for the average joe and really exemplifies what is wrong with autocross not what is right with autocross. For all of you who participate or dream of participating, please enjoy it, if it floats your boat, then so be it. I'm not knocking you, just saying that I have no desire to ever attend.

That is the point. This is Nationals. These aren't Average Joe's, these are the best of the best. These guys aren't switching tires mid heat for every event, they are doing it for this event. And why not? It's not like the tires are a waste of money, they'll get used next year at local events. If you are going to be nationally competitive, you are going to use at least 2-4 sets of tires over a year anyways. Why not just have the first event for all of them be in Lincoln?

Sure that's the point for Nationals. My point was I am not interested in autocross at that level. Lots of folks are. I'm not saying turn National into a novice event. I'm just saying it doesn't appeal to me. If it appeals to you, then fine, enjoy it. It's just not my thing. I'd say that with 1100+ cars coming from all over the country they are doing something right. I'm not trying to change it or belly ache about it....just saying that it doesn't do it for me.

I want to go just because the difference between a normal local event and even a National Tour event was incredible. The bigger events is something that i want to be a part of. Partially because i'm a very competitive person, but mostly because i enjoy seeing the wider range and greater number of cars than i would ever see at a local event.

Plus locally... there's really no other SMF cars.

Oh, quit whining about tires or whatever and just appreciate the competition. I just listened to Nick Barbato lose STR by 2 THOUSANDS of a second on the final run of day 2. When that's the margin the titles are decided by, you're seriously going to fault someone for throwing on a set of tires that they happen to already have mounted up and ready? If Nick had taken his socks off before his runs today that might have won him the class.

Congrats to Nick though, that was an amazing drive in a borrowed car, and it sure makes me feel good about being a second or so off his pace when he co-drove my S2000 at a local event last year :). I hope next year I finally have the factors of money, time off, and a decent car to drive all come together so I can make the trip out there.