Jump to content

Photo

Sealed Spec Miata is "where it's at"

- - - - -

  • Please log in to reply
26 replies to this topic

#21
LarryKing

LarryKing

    Veteran Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • 2,659 posts

Well Ron, Maybe your division is different than mine. The Great Lakes has cancelled several scheduled events in the past couple years due to lack of entries. Many regions that use to host club races no longer do. The 2015 GL schedule has a grand total of 6 regional events. When I started racing SM I could have gone to an event almost every weekend May through October.

 

If you don't get enough entry fees to pay the track rental - that's a problem.

 

I look at the attendance of the 2014 Majors. With the exception of a few "marquee" events, 10-12 car SM fields seem to be the average. If that's a good turn-out to you then no worries.

 

Now turn of the f'ing Fox news and Lush Turdball - they've been scientifically proven to lower IQ.


2017 - SMSE SEDiv ECR Champion
Donor - Made PayPal donation Bona fide - A bonafide Spec Miata driver

#22
CruzanTom

CruzanTom

    Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 295 posts
  • Location:SC
  • Region:Southeast
  • Car Year:1999
  • Car Number:44

Interesting discussion in Racer on Raceconomics by Gil de Ferran, former IndyCar champ. His views apply to amateur racing as well as pro racing.

 

http://www.racer.com...an-raceconomics

 

Some highlights: "Frankly, a lot of the commentary I've seen shows a lack of understanding of how the economics of motorsports really work."

 

"So when someone says a series is low cost, you should ask yourself, which cost is low? The cost of winning, or the cost of just being on the starting grid?"

. . .

"If you're a full-on competitive animal (and if you're serious about succeeding in racing, you should be), what do you do if you get beaten on a consistent basis?

Well, you either go home, or you invest. Invest in speed: find a better driver, better engineers, mechanics, parts; more testing and development. You have to do something. You can't be accepting of defeat.

"How much do you invest? As much as you have, or can afford, until you get the desired outcome. As in life, not all investments yield the desired return, but you have to try!"

. . .

"In fact, think about how the cost of going racing has evolved. Through the years, people got better and better, learned better ways of doing things, understood better where to find performance, be it driver or car. Mostly, that learning has led to more expense.

"But you can't unlearn what you've learned, and you can't forget how to go faster. If the money supply is there, you'll invest in applying all the lessons you know. You'll try to be efficient and effective in your investment, but you'll still invest all you can afford."

 


  • Ron Alan, Cnj, Jim Drago and 2 others like this

Tom Hart

#44 SM and T-4

2014 SC Driver of the Year

2015 SE Championship Series Spec Miata Champion

2016 SE Championship Series Spec Miata Champion

We have a Winnah! - Won their 1st race... Congratulations! Bona fide - A bonafide Spec Miata driver Donor - Made PayPal donation

#23
Pat Ross

Pat Ross

    Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 100 posts
  • Location:Friendswood, Texas
  • Region:Southwest
  • Car Year:1999
  • Car Number:72

Walter, 

 

When the Majors are in areas where the drivers want them to be the attendance is large.  When the Southwest Region Majors are just outside Denver or in Pueblo the attendance is low because there aren't many SM racers in that region and the rest of us are unwilling to drive 1,000 miles to participate in a Majors event where the turnout will be low. 

 

We just attended the NOLA Majors in New Orleans and there were over 45 SMs there this weekend, with the majority of the top drivers from the Southeast and Southwest regions attending.  The competition was fierce. 

 

BTW out of the 45 entries less than 5 were NA1.6 or NA1.8 so there were about 40 '99/2000 and VVTs at the event.  That sure doesn't seem like a sharp decline in the class since the cost to be competitive has gone up. 

 

People need to forget about the "good old days" when we drove carbureted cars that got 13 miles to a gallon and live in the present.  IMO the NA1.6 is dead in SM (we have one BTW along with a '99 and VVT).   99% of the top drivers have already migrated to the NB platform.

 

Pat



#24
Ron Alan

Ron Alan

    Veteran Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • 3,732 posts
  • Location:Northern CA
  • Car Year:1995

99% of the top drivers have already migrated to the NB platform.

Pat

 

Out West, maybe not 99%, but most top drivers drive or own a NB car. The 1.6/NA1.8 is not dead by any means out here but not the weapon of choice if the event is a big one.

 

Brian Williams called and is still pissed about the donut you left on his car Walt! :)


Ron

RAmotorsports

 

Donor - Made PayPal donation Bona fide - A bonafide Spec Miata driver

#25
LarryKing

LarryKing

    Veteran Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • 2,659 posts

Alberto, sorry for my part in f'ing up your thread. SSM does look like a lot of fun. Maybe if there is enough interest the Great Lakes Division could do something similar.

 

I use to think that splitting the class would be bad for it - the class is already split.

 

An NA only class might be a good thing.


  • Ron Alan likes this
2017 - SMSE SEDiv ECR Champion
Donor - Made PayPal donation Bona fide - A bonafide Spec Miata driver

#26
Pat Ross

Pat Ross

    Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 100 posts
  • Location:Friendswood, Texas
  • Region:Southwest
  • Car Year:1999
  • Car Number:72

Walter, 

 

I think you are right, the class is already split.  I think it would be good to have SSM as a regional class.  It could run with SM just the way that we had Nationals and Regionals drivers in the same event several years ago.  I watched several of the mixed classes this weekend at NOLA, especially the SRF and SRF Gen 3 class.  The cars look similar, but that is the end of it, the SRF3 are much faster than the SRFs and most of the top drivers are moving to the SFR3.  If the SM and SSM classes were to run together the SSM winner could still be the winner of his class even though he didn't win the group he was racing in. 

 

I would think that this would be good for the class because new drivers could begin in the SSM class and then transition to the SM class if they wanted to go to Majors Events.  If their desire or pocket book could not support moving up to SM, so be it.  They could be competing for their regional SSM championship.

 

Pat



#27
LarryKing

LarryKing

    Veteran Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • 2,659 posts

 

If the SM and SSM classes were to run together the SSM winner could still be the winner of his class even though he didn't win the group he was racing in.

 

?

 

(and if there were enough SSMs to have their own group [like with MARRS] then the SSM winner could be the winner, even if he wins)


2017 - SMSE SEDiv ECR Champion
Donor - Made PayPal donation Bona fide - A bonafide Spec Miata driver




0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users