21 replies to this topic

[Sean - MiataCage]

Hello Everyone,

I am working with the powers that be in Oregon region SCCA to help make some changes to the race weekends for 2013 for two very simple reasons. One is to increase entries and the second is to have more fun which will hopefully also help increase entries. This is not just SM specific it is Oregon region specific.

Andrew Foley. Todd Butler and Jim Weidenbaum among others are all working very hard to champion this cause and are doing an excellent job. Most of you who know me, know that I really don’t have time to be involved in this, but I have such great respect for what Andrew, Todd and Jim have done and what they are working on that I need to make time to try and help.

So..... In the Oregon Region, SpecMiata represents a large portion of the weekend entries and we have the choice to help drive the changes we want, or we can sit back and accept whatever changes are forth coming. Below are some of the things that are being discussed to achieve the above goals. Noting is set in stone yet.

Please take the time to think about these ideas and ANY others you may have and get those thoughts to myself, Todd Butler, Jim Weidenbaum or Andrew Foley. You can certainly respond here on the forum, but to really be heard you need to please respond via e-mail to one of the appropriate people so that your thoughts can be shared in future planning meetings.

• Number of Races - We are going to drop a race at PIR and go from 6 races to 5 races. With the addition of the Ridge we will probably move the dropped race to the Ridge. If you look at this years schedule for SCCA and Conference there were quite a few races and we are really asking a lot of our workers. Both SCCA and Conference share corner workers and I am told that with all of the racing around with the new tracks the worker contingent had to work 10 straight weekends this past summer. Car counts are down this year and eliminating one of the early races and working more closely with the Vintage organizations and Conference on having a collective schedule we hope to spread some of the racing out a little bit and give our workers a break and try to eliminate back to back weekends for the racers. Please remember the workers are volunteers and without them we do not race. There are some regions in this country that as drivers you have to work the corners when your cars are not on track. We need to respect their time and schedule. We are very lucky!

• ​Combining race groups - We are looking to eliminate classes and consolidate some of the run groups so that we can have larger fields and free up time for either more racing, special races or whatever we choose. It looks like the natural groups to consolidate will be groups 3, 6 and 7. There are over 60 classes of cars in OR region and 18 of them never had a car show up at all this year, so we will be eliminating several of them based on historical participation. Its confusing for someone new who wants to get into racing, so eliminating the classes that no one runs should help. CSM is a class that will more than likely be eliminated.

• Saturday Enduro - By combining race groups above we will be able to run a 60 or 90 minute mini endurance race. These are a lot of fun and it promotes 2 drivers sharing a car. This would be less about winning and more about fun. There will more than likely be a mandatory stop of somewhere between 3 and 5 minutes to safely allow for driver changes and fueling if necessary. Conference did this twice this year and it was a lot of fun and very well received. The thinking here is 3 run groups (red, yellow, green) based on displacement or speed. Not sure which yet. The emphasis here being on the fun and not on winning. We are not looking for people to build purpose built cars but to take an existing car and share it with a buddy. We will more than likely award a trophy for winning each group, but will also randomly award something for anyone entered and finishing the race.

• Driver Awards - Currently driver awards are given out at driver services. We are looking at giving out awards at an awards ceremony of sorts at the end of the day on Saturday for the Saturday races. For Sunday races you would still be able to go to driver services to get them in an attempt to not keep people at the track any longer than they need to be at the end of the weekend. The intent of getting the drivers together for a Saturday awards ceremony is to start to build some awareness of our fellow drivers in other classes as well as interact more with the officials and corner workers. At the end of the race day on Saturday and Sunday there is typically a social event that is usually only attended by the workers. Combining the worker gathering and an awards deal on Saturday we hope to build on the awareness and recognize the achievement of winning a race. We are also looking into getting the workers involved in this by allowing them to vote on a “Racer of the Day” a “Pass of the Day” etc, to be awarded during that gathering.

• P, Q, R every day - We are looking into changing each day to its own event with Practice, Qualifying and Racing all in one day. This would allow people with family commitments, work etc to be able to make a race in a single day and not have to skip an entire weekend. This type of format could effect the length of the enduro or could jeopardize it all together. In this scenario, every weekend would be a double.

• Driver Podium - For the BFG Super Tour event we rented a stage/podium that was located just outside the impound area that allowed for pictures with a trophy and and a brief word from the winners. We could build a podium and do this on a consistent basis if people thought it would be well received. Cars are typically impounded after the race for a period of time anyway, so it would not add to the time in impound, but just effectively use some of the down time.

• NW Challenge - Now that we have 3 primary tracks (PIR, SIR and Ridge) we can expand upon the NW challenge race and try to bring in some sponsor dollars for a payout of product, cash etc for winning the NW Challenge.

• Dedicated paddock space for SpecMiata. We will be receiving our own designated paddock space for each event. SRF already has theirs, so we will be adding some for us as well. Likely near the SRF guys. It will be written into the supps and any competitor who chooses to park in the SM designated are who is not an SM will be asked to move and if they don’t they will be asked to leave the event. The intent of this is to build on existing class camaraderie as well as make it easy for someone interested in going racing to really get a sense of the cars and people in each class all in one area. It will also eliminate the need for everyone to try to sneak into the test day to mark off space for their camp.

• Spec Miata / Spec Ford Racer Challenge - The Spec Ford Racer guys are a great bunch of drivers and Todd Harris and I are talking about a friendly challenge between the two race groups throughout the season to measure our driving talent and crown a champion at the end of the season. The details are being worked out now, but we are thinking about measuring us versus them based on how close we get to the existing track records for each group and assigning some form of point system. Todd and I also talked about a pre-season go kart challenge and then also doing some sort of timed autocross competition in the ProDrive skid car on the school or first event weekend to kick off the challenge.

• SM BBQ - We are going to try to re-instate the SM BBQ. We have not done it for a while and need to start doing it again. The hardest part for this is the logistics of making it happen. MiataCage will sponsor it, but we are going to need people to help put it on. Maybe we can do some kind of revolving weekend responsibilities or maybe we can ask for volunteers (2 or 3) to handle the BBQ for a weekend. Saturday is my vote

• Scaled Entry Fee Program - We are looking to keep this plan in place. We had 2 weekends this year with over 20 entries that earned us some entry credits.

SCCA is a club. It is our club and we can make it what we want with positive involvement from our members. Please feel free to be a part of this process by giving your thoughts to myself, Andrew, Todd or Jim Weidenbaum.

Thanks..... Sean

[Jim Boemler]

Lots of good ideas here, Sean. You mention that in many other regions drivers have to also work events. As you know, this is common in the autocross world. and I'd see it as a real plus. We still need to allow for some relaxation time, and time for wrenching, but working corners is a real benefit for both the driver and the club.

Also, you mention competing between SM and SRF -- great to mix the groups. A few years ago Todd and Ken swapped cars, and both learned something and had some fun. If you could work out a program of car swapping, I think a lot of folks would be interested.

[Sean - MiataCage]

If you could work out a program of car swapping, I think a lot of folks would be interested.

Thanks Jim.... I know some of my guys are interested and willing and there are a few guys in SRF that are also interested and willing so we may do a car swap thing at some point in the season. I think Ken's performance in Todd's SRF really gained our group a lot of respect.

[William Bonsell]

Great ideas Sean. One of the reasons I have not run SCCA as much as Conference is the number of events at PIR. With the exception of the Memorial Day event at Pacific, everything has been down at Portland. This increases my weekend cost by $300 minimum in towing expenses. With The Ridge coming on line there is no reason why SCCA racing in the Northwest should not encompass all three tracks. I'd like to see at 2 SCCA events each at both The Ridge and Pacific. I'd do those for sure. As a relative newcomer to racing, I have often asked the question why don't SCCA Oregon and SCCA Northwest merge into one SCCA body representing the entire Pacific Northwest? Would that scenario also help bring down the costs of entry fees which always run 60-100 higher than Conference.

Also, just for informational purposes, Conference is trying to reduce the number of overall race weekends for many reasons, one being the demands on a shrinking worker pool. And I think a SM dedicated paddock is a great idea. Sort of a "one for all, all for one" mentality.

Bill-

[Sean - MiataCage]

I have often asked the question why don't SCCA Oregon and SCCA Northwest merge into one SCCA body representing the entire Pacific Northwest? Would that scenario also help bring down the costs of entry fees which always run 60-100 higher than Conference. Also, just for informational purposes, Conference is trying to reduce the number of overall race weekends for many reasons, one being the demands on a shrinking worker pool. Bill-

Thanks Bill........ I too have wondered about the NW and OR SCCA deal and I am told that it is 30 years of politics that neither side is willing to get over. With the new blood in OR SCCA I know they are way more willing to forgive and forget relative to some of the previous members. I am actually investigating to see if we can get SCCA National to force the merger. It's crazy that we are not operating as one unit. It will only benefit the workers and racers and make us stronger. I'm not holding my breath on it, but I am at least asking the questions.

On the Conference side I have heard that they are discussing the same thing schedule wise and the SCCA guys are actively working with the Conference guys to work out schedules that are beneficial to both so we don't hurt one another's entries. Just as a point of reference I often hear that Conference is cheaper and if you look at the fact that most SCCA weekends are doubles and if you calculate the track time per minute, both sanctioning bodies are almost identical price wise.

To be clear..... I am not, and will not ever suggest that a racer choose one over the other. I personally race with both organizations and appreciate things about both of them. I do encourage people to try both. Dave Dunning came out and ran the SCCA triple with us and had a great time and drove extremely well. At the end of the day regardless of who we run with, we need to be having fun.

Seattle.... This one is a little more difficult. As I understand it the track rental at Seattle is out of hand and very difficult for either OR or NWR to hold an event and not lose money. I love that track and hope we continue to race there.

Thanks.... Sean

[Kyle Keenan]

First off, a huge thanks to Andrew, Jim, Todd, and Sean, as I can only imagine this is NOT an eaasy job. In the little time I have spent talking with Andrew, I get a really comforting feeling knowing he's really working hard at it and looking for any which way (no matter how big or small) to make the weekends better for all.

Sean, would like to chat with you about the BBQ stuff sometime, I know Jan stated she'd love to help out, perhaps we could help with that.

I think the podium thing would be a great idea. Anything to bring drivers together (not just for our group, but vintage, SRF, etc) is a good thing in my book.

I also like the idea of the SM paddock, but what if I have two cars, one not being an SM? We still allowed to pit with the gang?

[Keith Novak]

I like the way this is heading. Due to various outside factors, I picked races to attend based on a mix of location, format, and participants this year.

It’s hard to do much with location but living up north, swapping one PIR race with a Ridge race is a plus in my weighting system.

I didn’t really like the 2-day double format with no practice. If I want to bed brakes, cycle tires, check over something mechanical it’s a logistics problem. Rather than drive down and do an expensive test day in addition to the race, or find out something unpleasant during qual #1, I’ve opted to run a local T&T instead or a different race. Keeping a 2-day double format, I don’t think a 2^nd practice is needed on Sunday though and it would allow more time for stuff like the enduros without.

The enduros sound like a lot of fun. I have friends in Portland who only race conference that I bet would come by to split a seat in my car in the afternoon, have some laughs and burn up some old tires before grabbing a few beers. It wouldn’t take up much more of their weekend than the grabbing a few beers part.

Resurrecting the BBQ is a great idea. I always looked forward to them. There’s more of a sense of community than when people are scattered all over the paddock and you barely see many people. Other things being equal, I’d pick a race where I also hang out BSing than one that’s just a race. I don’t think having them sponsored is as important to making them work as is having people help coordinate them. Before I knew Sean sponsored them I was asking who I could donate to.

Just my

[Jim Boemler]

I always kick in to the workers fund, one of the reasons I wasn't shy about attending their BBQ on occasion -- I recommend both, BTW. I think the same would work for the SM BBQ. That is, having a fund to kick into would be a good way to foster community, as well as making the whole effort more sustainable for the long term. Sean has been terrific about sponsoring the thing (THANKS!), but we shouldn't base the tradition entirely on his generosity. Also, I don't recall anyone else ever being turned away, and those folks might appreciate a way to contribute as well. At minimum, put out a donation jar.

[Derrick Ambrose]

Being relatively new as I am I have a few comments.

I have wondered about the run groups and the idea of keeping the faster cars together when I have the Porsche GT3 blow past me in the Mazda 2. I don't really care about having the very fast cars in my run group, it keeps you on your toes but why don't they merge the run group 3 in with 6/7 on some of the weekends when the attendance it low and give a bit more time on the track for the rest of the groups.

The podium was a lot of fun at the Supertour this year, having one would be a great idea.

Having the NW region and the Oregon region really struck me as an odd setup when I sign up for the drivers school at the beginning of the year. Merging the groups seems logical from a management aspect and allows the best of both to be made into one.

-Derrick

[Randy Thieme]

Something else to think about is making it easier to get your SCCA license logistics-wise. Only one SCCA school a year in OR with a two school requirement can make some think twice. If we could merge OR and NWR SCCA maybe a new schedule could be worked out with two schools a year, one in March and one in April or May.

[Terrell Garrett]

What do we want to look like next year?

Bees in a beer can!

(quoted from a track worker)

The qualify, race, race, race format is fun. By the end of the weekend you can generally see where you sit in the field as more of a moving average (it rewards drivers who stay on track and don't wreck (consistency)).

Pro-Drive is doing half-days for $225.00 which can fulfill the practice needs. After all, how much time do we really spend on track at a Pro-Drive day?

[Dani Ferrara]

The BBQs were always a highlight of the weekend. It's a great way to get everyone together and builds more of a community. In the past, we always had the families help set up the bbq so the drivers can walk over, hang out, and eat when it's ready. My mom, sister, and I have helped set it up many times and it is really simple if we just have 5-6 people who want to lend their time for about 15 minutes (plus whoever wants to do the actual BBQing). I think it will also be much easier to coordinate this having our own SM paddock since everyone will be close by.

I think the enduros are a great idea! The 1-hour enduros with Conference seemed to be a big hit this year, and I'm sure everyone would look forward to more similar events.

I ran a race weekend last year with NWR at Bremerton using the P,Q,R set up for each day, and I liked it. It is a simple layout and makes it easy to get into each day (that is of course coming from a newer driver). I also think practice is important. I had a blast at the Sept Triple this past weekend, and love having 3 races in one weekend, but a practice session would have been nice. I don't think a practice session for each day is neccessary, but it does make sense for people who are only planning to run one day or the other.

I think these changes will make for a great year!

[Kyle Keenan]

I wouldnt mind seeing shorter qualifying sessions (15 mins) and a hair longer races (30-35 mins).

[Sean - MiataCage]

All great thoughts and comments.... Keep them coming.

[MPR22]

I'm not in your region/division but I think its great you are taking input from the racers in the area and trying to make it a more enjoyable experience.

[Terrell Garrett]

Randy has a good idea. Instead of the March race let's all go invade Thunderhill! Ken, Will, and the fast gang have already paved the way for us mid-packers. It might be fun and probably won't rain.

Maybe in turn they will come up later in the season for an attempt at retribution which helps revenues and makes it interesting.

You have to admit that even us slow guys are probably pretty fast outside of our pond. It's just that the Northwest pond seems to be extremely deep and big with some really big fish.

[Randy Thieme]

If it's a Regional or Rational at Thunderhill I'm starting to make plans to go. Probably won't skip the Oregon March race though, can't miss the season opener even if it's almost always a rain race. Speaking of which how come Topeka put us on those really nice (so I've heard) Hoosier wets this year when we had the driest summer in ages? Definitely should see if we can't spread the racing with NorCal throughout the pack, not just the pointy end, and spur them to come up to Oregon.

Back to what Oregon should look like.

* Cooperate with NWRSCCA to help drivers get two SCCA schools in one year.
* Bring back practice sessions, but maybe only one session per weekend.
* Shorter qualifying, longer races.
* More of the Qual-Heat-Main format similar to what we had in September.
* 60 minute or 90 minute mini-enduro(s) with a SCCA vs. Conference Challenge theme.

Just my two-cents.

[Brian Ghidinelli]

FYI - odds are good that SFR opener will be a Double Rational at Thunderhill, don't have the date yet, but that's where we're leaning.

[Kyle Keenan]

If it's a Regional or Rational at Thunderhill I'm starting to make plans to go. Probably won't skip the Oregon March race though, can't miss the season opener even if it's almost always a rain race.

I thought sean said at the meeting that Oregon SCCA was NOT going to have a March regional/School and instead the April race would have the school.

[colin.koehler]

I oppose the SM dedicated parking spot as something that's in the sups, where somebody could be "asked to move". I understand the comraderie but the flipside is that it creates the "There's us and then there's everyone else" mentality which I don't view as healthy. The PRO3 group in Conference has something like 72 cars now and they haven't seen a need to do this, nor have I ever got the vibe from them having non-PRO3 cars pit amongst them is a problem or a nusance. Sure they paddock together a lot and everyone in a non-PRO3 race car gets that but to make it part of the rules or to have someone forcibly moved is pretty weak. I think this type of exclusionary mentality is negative, not positive.
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I 2nd the comments above about how cool the last race schedule was at PIR with (3) 25 minute races in 2 days. While that did spark a large conversation in Conference I don't think we'll see much for changes in that regard soon as the structure of Conference and the individual clubs complicates the logitics and lengthens the timetable. However, that schedule SCCA had was so good-looking to me if it shows up again next year I will plan on attending my first SCCA event and hopefully I won't be the only guy there in ITA!
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I participated in one of the Conference Mini-Enduros and they are a load of fun and I expect them to be back next year. I also really like the idea of deleting non-subscribed classes. Absolutely tremendous idea as well as combining groups where entries are low to make room for "more fun" with special races.