What are the chances........? (LeMons Content)

What are the chances SCCA or NASA would ever devolop a LeMonesque or Chump Car-like class with a team driver format at a low cost as a primary goal? LeMons is becoming incredibly popular with great turnouts at races, and foremost, people who have done it are having an absolute blast, myself included. This is after all why we get into motorsports right? After having been involved in several of these races, I can see it is drawing in enthusiasts from all backgrounds, old and young, experienced and noobs, as well as mixing people that have a variety of vehicle preferences, from spec miata guys, to Hondites, to old pony car fans. Half of the fun is the team atmosphere and seeing the same people and teams race after race. I would love to have a regional format with 2 or 3 races/year at a nearby track. If LeMons could do it, why not these organizations? Deal breakers for club racing for most enthusiast as I see it are COSTS, and lengthy process to get competition license. If LeMons can do it with very minimal (none, except std driver license) req.s to race, and do so with a great safety record, and become so popular they have to turn away multiple applicants for most races, why couldn't SCCA or NASA develop a similar class with perhaps just a bit more driver eval, say a 2 hr driving for dummies class on Fri before weekend race, and a little less silliness with the car decorations, costumes, etc (although this is a big part of the fun, and keeps everyone from getting all pissy)? It seems that there is a huge number of club racers "stepping down" to LeMons. It seems like these clubs, thinking ahead should try to appeal to this.

Because the SCCA would suck the fun out of it by regulating the H-E-double-hockey sticks out of it. Sorry, but those of you that have been involved with the SCCA know this to be some extent true.

Honestly, the SCCA has a regional class that could work for this: Super Production or SP (U/O) The problem is that you'd be competing against cars that only need to go fast for 20 minutes at a time with no budget cap. Part of the charm of the LeMons and ChumpCar races is that they are $500 heaps that have to survive for at least 7 hours, if not longer and the SCCA already has enough sprint races and a few endurance races that adding more would be difficult to do.

Honestly, let LeMons and ChumpCar handle things, promoting fun and thrift, while NASA and SCCA focus on "serious" amateur racing. Since the cars have to meet SCCA/NASA safety specs, there is no reason you can't enter a LeMons/ChumpCar in an SCCA or NASA race weekend and work towards your SCCA racing license. The Novice classes are about survival anyway, just like the LeMons/ChumpCar race.

Our ChumpCar was recently raced at a RallyCross event and will soon do a trackday. Next year it might do more local events after a few parts are swapped around (usually tires and shocks/springs)

It isn't that far fetched. Something along the lines of a crapcan enduro class with a $1,000 claim rule that let teams pull their wheels and interior safety gear from a claimed car. And successful completion of an enduro (or two) nominates a driver for a normal competition license, pending the sign-off of the event stewards. I'd be all over that, and I'm guessing that many, many other guys would be too.

I agree with turboswede, cost aside, the differentiator between Lemons and SCCA/NASA is that Lemons doesnt take itself seriously. They have fun, noone is trying to be a "real racer" and egos are checked at the door.

Even at an identical cost I wouldnt want to run with SCCA unless they could just learn to relax a bit. Lemons is about much more than racing, its an event, its a circus, its a drinking competition occasionally interrupted by racing.

My local paved oval track has a class called Spectator Stocks.
$800 engine and trans claim rule.
Required automatic transmision.
No cars newer than 1999.
Only 4 seat fwd American badged cars.
Factory stock wheels only, no aftermarket wheels.

Basically, Buick Century, Chevey Celebrity, Cavalier, Beretta, Neon, Sundance, Cirrus, Escort, Contour.
Pull out the interior and weld a cage into a junkyard special.
Sample:

Apples. Oranges. LeMons.

Sorry, but I don't think it would work. I agree with the "sapping the fun" comment. As soon as you get too serious egos get involved, committees and courts of appeals get formed, people get mad at each other, and winning becomes the "only thing."

LeMons is "run" (using the term loosely) by a benevolent dictator. One whose primary goal is to have a party during a race. I've already seen mega-cheating go on, but the organizers are smart enough to incorporate that into the fun. Making them into real races misses the point.

In reply to Basil Exposition:

You start out with a simple, basic set of rules. Someone with big money finds a creative way to win, generating complaints from the regular runners. New rules get put in place to limit the craziness. People find new ways to cheat. More rules to invalidate those mods. In a few years, your rulebook is a 100 pages and climbing. Happens in every class SCCA introduces for fun - check out the IT rulebook. Back when I had an ITA car, I put it together for about $4K and was in the top 5 every time. These days, it takes over $20K to put together even a basic ITA runner.

jrw1621 wrote: My local paved oval track has a class called Spectator Stocks. $800 engine and trans claim rule. Required automatic transmision. No cars newer than 1999. Only 4 seat fwd American badged cars. Factory stock wheels only, no aftermarket wheels. Basically, Buick Century, Chevey Celebrity, Cavalier, Beretta, Neon, Sundance, Cirrus, Escort, Contour. Pull out the interior and weld a cage into a junkyard special. Sample:

I like it, I like it a lot!

I am now checking what there is local to me. :-)