SCCA has come up with an interesting new take on endurance racing. It's designed to be physically less burdening on teams, but still balance the field with a unique scoring method.
The events will feature 4 classes. The first will be an "open" class: whoever goes the farthest the fastest wins. However, the other three will use a format that …
I don't know why... but this sounds like a sandbaggers dream...
Is this intended to be a form of racing to pull drivers from Chumpcar/Lemons? It would seem yes because of a) the format and b) no need for a competition license.
I think it's also to give a place for owners of safe but uncompetitive non-crapcan race cars a place to race. Or for guys who have stopped racing because they own a car in a class that nobody races in their region and got sick of racing nobody. Cars that are "too expensive" or "too nice" to race in crapcan, but "too old" or "too cheap" to race competitively in classed SCCA or NASA competition.
I think the format is pretty brilliant. Sandbagging isn't rewarded. However, consistently driving at 95% is, which if you're enduro racing a club racing car is what you should be doing anyway.
The old boys club has noticed with some alarm that they are loosing market share.....
This will be interesting. I'm looking for a place to road race in the next couple of years and I actually like where things are going.
Are lemons and chump car taking that big a bite out of SCCA? Or is SCCA trying to take away some of there market share? Interesting. Never thought I would see SCCA do this.
In my region, SCCA, NASA, vintage and many other forms of racing are alive and well so not really about market share. It's more about more options for existing members and attracting new members.
If they can combine this with other event going on during a weekend when they rent a track so they can make it cheap, I'm in. It's all about inexpensive track time to me... Chumpcar and Lemons do a good job with that. If SCCA is competitive in that regard, I'd gladly run with them.
I went to the Great Lakes Division SCCA training last weekend in Findlay. Yes, they realize they have to grow with the times and be more open. They realize Chump and LeMons are getting popular, so they're trying to open up a bit. From what I've read they're trying a few different new things this year, like some kind of Track Night during the week.
The enduro thing seems to be growing. Last year MCSCC tried a 2.5 hour race and it proved popular. This year there are 3 scheduled. Most will be either Sunday morning or Monday as two of the races are scheduled over holiday weekends, such as Memorial & Labor day. All are set to take place the day after the regular sprint races so most racers can run both. A link: http://www.mcscc.org/
drdisque wrote: I think it's also to give a place for owners of safe but uncompetitive non-crapcan race cars a place to race. Or for guys who have stopped racing because they own a car in a class that nobody races in their region and got sick of racing nobody. Cars that are "too expensive" or "too nice" to race in crapcan, but "too old" or "too cheap" to race competitively in classed SCCA or NASA competition. I think the format is pretty brilliant. Sandbagging isn't rewarded. However, consistently driving at 95% is, which if you're enduro racing a club racing car is what you should be doing anyway.
WRL
I know personally I have wanted to try Enduro and that some friends talked chumpcar like you guys mentioned its all about cost but I think a lot of people would love someplace to "race" without having the hassle of fitting a 500 dollar budget. Can I just make a car I can afford that isn't a crapcan and have a place to race it where I won't feel totally outclassed? If that is where this is going awesome.
In reply to Jaynen:
I do believe that is what SCCA is trying to achieve. I personally have never raced with SCCA—grew up on a monthly dose of NASA road racing. But this could bring me over. I think it's brilliant.
Take a look at the Chump Car rules. It's a points based system now, not based on actual dollars.
Jaynen wrote: I know personally I have wanted to try Enduro and that some friends talked chumpcar like you guys mentioned its all about cost but I think a lot of people would love someplace to "race" without having the hassle of fitting a 500 dollar budget. Can I just make a car I can afford that isn't a crapcan and have a place to race it where I won't feel totally outclassed? If that is where this is going awesome.
The SCCA Improved Touring and NASA Performance Touring represent that - production based cars of all budgets and levels of competitiveness with some rules to limit mods to control costs and offer a level playing field.
The problem with racing is that it is a competition and people want to win. Some people have more money than others so the costs are not easy for a race organization to control once human nature and competitiveness kick in. Read this: http://www.racer.com/more/viewpoints/item/112703-de-ferran-raceconomics
There are more than a few sub 2, 3 and 5k cars out there in Improved Touring. I see a bunch of a 1st gen RX7 race cars for anywhere between $2-5k that will get you racing right now. That is comparable to what you'd spend on your typical LeMons or Chump car for a much better, already prepared car with higher quality racing than dodging traffic on a track full of people who don't actually know how to drive on track - or race.
bearmtnmartin wrote: The old boys club has noticed with some alarm that they are loosing market share.....
Right? This seems like a shot aimed square at WRL, which is growing in popularity.
What is WRL?
WRL = world racing league.
I like the concept. I like that it lets you drive slower than 100%. I was offered a spot in a fast BMW, and I was very nervous about jumping into wheel to wheel with a track full of people in a car I didn't know and my team expecting me to drive 100%. If you could use the slower levels to get your feet wet and decrease the learning curve, this would be a great series.
Beat me to it. More and more people racing in chump, lemons, WRL etc and SCCA is shrinking. Someone finally figured out to copy the guy thats stealing your customers.
I agree about the 90% thing, it also means as Keith is fond of saying stuff like turbo cars won't blow up as easily.
Looks like WRL isnt anywhere in california tho :(
This seems boring. I mean, its basically a navigational rally without the navigating. Might as well call it "extended aggressive lapping"... 
Are bracket drags boring?
I like it a lot aside from the "no license required" part. That works fine if you have a $500 car on the line; not so much with a car worth 10-20x more than that. They need an easy and inexpensive way for new people to enter the club (the rules change from a year or two ago was a huge step in the right direction) but it shouldn't be a matter of dropping a check in the mail and you're allowed right on the track.
ross2004 wrote: Take a look at the Chump Car rules. It's a points based system now, not based on actual dollars.
that, and you can still race in Chump races out of budget....you just race in EC, which is not directly competing against the "legal" cars.
atm92484 wrote: I like it a lot aside from the "no license required" part. That works fine if you have a $500 car on the line; not so much with a car worth 10-20x more than that. They need an easy and inexpensive way for new people to enter the club (the rules change from a year or two ago was a huge step in the right direction) but it shouldn't be a matter of dropping a check in the mail and you're allowed right on the track.
Having spent a decent amount of time around SCCA road racing, and Chumpcar....I've never really noticed much difference in driver skill. There are good and bad drivers in every kind of racing.....enduro, sprint, rally, etc. The main difference is in driver money, and that in Chump the bad drivers are driving slower cars that are easier to avoid. I've seen much more paint-swapping and aggressive/dangerous moves watching Spec Miata than I have in Chump. YMMV.
Last Chump race I ran in also had 3 NASCAR drivers and Randy Pobst driving in it.
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