25 replies to this topic

[speedengineer]

*Edit.  Nevermind.....lol

 

 

Not sure when this was released, but in case you haven't seen it yet:  https://www.scca.com/pages/schedule

 

It says two events to be added yet for Northern conference.  I'd be surprised if at least one of those wasn't a 2nd Mid-Ohio event???

 

Also happy to see Grattan on the list this year 

 

Southeast Conference 
Jan. 8-10 â€“ Homestead Miami Speedway, Homestead, Fla.
Jan. 15-17 - Sebring International Raceway, Sebring, Fla.
March 18-20 - Road Atlanta, Braselton, Ga.
April 15-17 - VIRginia International Raceway, Alton, Va. (With Northeast)
At least one event will be added at a later date

Northeast Conference
April 15-17 - VIRginia International Raceway, Alton, Va. (With Southeast)
April 29-May 1 - Summit Point Raceway, Summit Point, W. Va.
June 24-26 - Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, N.Y.
Aug. 13-14 – Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pa.
Two events to be added at a later date

Northern Conference
April 30-May 1 - Blackhawk Farms, S. Beloit, Ill.
June 3-5 - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio (pending track date confirmation)
July 9-10 - GingerMan Raceway, South Haven, Mich.
Aug. 13-14 â€“ Grattan Raceway, Belding, Mich.
Two events to be added at a later date

Mid-States Conference
April 9-10 - Hallett Motor Racing Circuit, Jennings, Okla.
May 14-15 - Gateway Motorsports Park, Madison, Ill.
May 28-29 â€“ Pueblo Motorsports Park, Pueblo, Colo.
July 2-3 - High Plains Raceway, Deer Trail, Colo.
At least one event will be added at a later date

Western Conference
Jan. 29-31 - Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, Calif.
Feb. 20-21 – Willow Springs Int'l Raceway, Rosamond, Calif.
April TBD - TBD
April 29-May 1 - Buttonwillow Raceway Park, Buttonwillow, Calif.
May 28-30 - Pacific Raceway, Kent, Wash.
July 2-3 - Portland International Raceway, Portland, Ore.

[Johnny D]

Not sure when this was released,

A long time a go.

http://mazdaracers.c...ips/#entry83515

J~

[speedengineer]

hahaha.  oops.  Until now I literaly did not realize the paddock section of this forum existed.  Thanks for showing me 

[Johnny D]

Did you know we have a "view new content" button, upper right.

You can also sort on the left, set it for "Content I haven't read" , "Past 24 hours" , etc, whatever.

In this case, it was the 6th in line, at the time you posted.

Just saying.
J~

[Johnny D]

TOPEKA, Kan. (Nov. 13, 2015) – Five additional dates have been confirmed for the 2016 SCCA U.S. Major Tour schedule. The additions will complete the six-event schedules for the Mid-States, Northeast and Northern Conferences.

The Mid-States Conference gets two additional events added to the calendar. Competition in the Conference will open at NOLA Motorsports Park, Feb. 27-28, for the third-consecutive year. The 2016 edition of the event, held just outside of New Orleans, will serve as a dual-conference meet with the Southeast Conference like it was in 2015. In addition, MSR Houston will host its inaugural Majors event, April 30-May 1. This event will serve as the third event on the Mid-States schedule.

In the Northern Conference, the WeatherTech Chicago Region SCCA June Sprints at Road America will count toward the championship chase. This will be the fourth-consecutive season that the nationally-renowned event will be a stopping point on the way to the end of the Northern Conference trail. The event will run June 17-19.

The Northeast Conference slate of events was finalized with the addition of a pair of race weekends. Pittsburgh International Race Complex, in Wampum, Pennsylvania, is on the schedule for the second-straight year, moving to May 14-15. New Jersey Motorsports Park, in Millville, New Jersey, will serve at the penultimate event, July 22-24.

With the addition of these five events, the only outstanding item on the 2016 calendar is the information regarding the April event in the Western Conference, which will be announced as it becomes available. For 2016, four of the five Conferences will have six events, with the Southeast Conference counting five race weekends toward its championship.

2016 SCCA U.S. Majors Tour Schedule of Events

Northeast Conference
April 15-17 - VIRginia International Raceway, Alton, Va. (With Southeast)
April 29-May 1 - Summit Point Raceway, Summit Point, W. Va.
May 14-15 – Pittsburgh International Race Complex, Wampum, Pa.
June 24-26 - Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, N.Y.
July 22-24 – New Jersey Motorsports Park, Millville, N.J.
Aug. 13-14 – Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pa.

Southeast Conference
Jan. 8-10 – Homestead Miami Speedway, Homestead, Fla.
Jan. 15-17 - Sebring International Raceway, Sebring, Fla.
Feb. 27-28 – NOLA Motorsports Park, Avondale, La. (With Mid-States)
March 18-20 - Road Atlanta, Braselton, Ga.
April 15-17 - VIRginia International Raceway, Alton, Va. (With Northeast)

Northern Conference
April 30-May 1 - Blackhawk Farms, S. Beloit, Ill.
June 3-5 - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio
June 17-19 – Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.
July 9-10 - GingerMan Raceway, South Haven, Mich.
July 30-31 - Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.
Aug. 13-14 – Grattan Raceway, Belding, Mich.

Mid-States Conference
Feb. 27-28 – NOLA Motorsports Park, Avondale, La. (With Southeast)
April 9-10 - Hallett Motor Racing Circuit, Jennings, Okla.
April 30-May 1 – MSR-Houston, Angleton, Texas
May 14-15 - Gateway Motorsports Park, Madison, Ill.
May 28-29 – Pueblo Motorsports Park, Pueblo, Colo.
July 2-3 - High Plains Raceway, Deer Trail, Colo.

Western Conference
Jan. 29-31 - Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, Calif.
Feb. 20-21 – Willow Springs Int'l Raceway, Rosamond, Calif.
April TBD - TBD
April 29-May 1 - Buttonwillow Raceway Park, Buttonwillow, Calif.
May 28-30 - Pacific Raceway, Kent, Wash.
July 2-3 - Portland International Raceway, Portland, Ore.

Majors Conference Staff for 2016
Additionally, there have been some staffing changes for the Northeast and Southeast Conference. Earl Hurlbut, who served as the series chief steward for both conferences in 2015, has decided to step down. Steve Pence and Ken Blackburn will take over the reins as Race Director (formerly Series Chief Steward) in the Northeast and Southeast Conferences, respectively.

“We’re excited to announce the addition of Steve and Ken to our U.S. Majors Tour team,” SCCA Sr. Manager of Club Racing Deanna Flanagan said. “On behalf of the entire Club Racing staff, and everyone that worked with him throughout the 2015 season, I would like to thank Earl for his hard work and dedication and look forward to seeing him at events in the future.”

2016 SCCA U.S. Majors Tour Series Staff
Northeast Conference: Steve Pence (Race Director), Gayle Lorenz (Series Administrator), Bill Etherington (Series Tech Chief)
Northern Conference: Costa Dunias (Race Director), Tony Brown (Series Administrator), Dave Kettler (Series Tech Chief)
Mid-States Conference: Ken Patterson (Race Director), Neil Cox (Series Administrator), Frank Diringer (Series Tech Chief)
Western Conference: R.J. Gordy (Race Director), Ceci Smith (Series Administrator), Chuck Knox (Series Tech Chief)

Series Registration Garmin VIRB Drawing
In another reminder to drivers, the Dec. 1 early deadline for Majors car number reservations is fast approaching. Those racers with series registrations in by the deadline will have their name entered into a drawing for a brand new Garmin VIRB action camera. One camera per conference will be awarded to a lucky driver. Make sure you don’t miss your chance to get in on the action.

For additional news on the SCCA U.S. Majors Tour, including an updated schedule of events and number reservation forms, visit SCCA.com/Majors.

[Johnny D]

Pocono Drops Off 2016 Majors Calendar, Mid-Ohio Added for Northeast

TOPEKA, Kansas (January 28, 2016) – Sports Car Club of America announced today the cancellation of the August 13-14 U.S. Majors Tour race at Pocono Raceway.

"Pocono is a place that we really want to be with the Majors," SCCA Vice President and COO Eric Prill said. "The ownership has made a number of great improvements in the last several years, the location is close to a huge population of our members and the venue lends itself perfectly for a blended event including many of our different programs, from track to Solo to RallyCross.

"Unfortunately, a crowded schedule on and surrounding that weekend pose some significant challenges in putting on a successful event, and we have made the difficult decision to cancel it for 2016. We appreciate the support and enthusiasm of both the track and Tri Region leadership and will work toward a potential event in 2017."

With Pocono dropping off the schedule, the June 3-5 event at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course has been added to the Northeast Conference Championship calendar. This marks the second-consecutive year that the Mid-Ohio Majors will count for both the Northern and Northeast Conferences.

2016 SCCA U.S. Majors Tour Schedule of Events (Revised 1/27/16):

Northeast Conference
April 15-17 - VIRginia International Raceway, Alton, Va. (With Southeast)
April 29-May 1 - Summit Point Raceway, Summit Point, W. Va.
May 14-15 – Pittsburgh International Race Complex, Wampum, Pa.
June 3-5 - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio (With Northern)
June 24-26 - Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, N.Y.
July 22-24 – New Jersey Motorsports Park, Millville, N.J.

Southeast Conference
Jan. 8-10 – Homestead Miami Speedway, Homestead, Fla.
Jan. 15-17 - Sebring International Raceway, Sebring, Fla.
Feb. 27-28 – NOLA Motorsports Park, Avondale, La. (With Mid-States)
March 18-20 - Road Atlanta, Braselton, Ga.
April 15-17 - VIRginia International Raceway, Alton, Va. (With Northeast)

Northern Conference
April 30-May 1 - Blackhawk Farms, S. Beloit, Ill.
June 3-5 - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio (With Northeast)
June 17-19 – Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.
July 9-10 - GingerMan Raceway, South Haven, Mich.
July 30-31 - Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.
Aug. 13-14 – Grattan Raceway, Belding, Mich.

Mid-States Conference
Feb. 27-28 – NOLA Motorsports Park, Avondale, La. (With Southeast)
April 9-10 - Hallett Motor Racing Circuit, Jennings, Okla.
April 30-May 1 – MSR-Houston, Angleton, Texas
May 14-15 - Gateway Motorsports Park, Madison, Ill.
May 28-29 – Pueblo Motorsports Park, Pueblo, Colo.
July 2-3 - High Plains Raceway, Deer Trail, Colo.

Western Conference
Jan. 29-31 - Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, Calif.
Feb. 20-21 – Willow Springs Int'l Raceway, Rosamond, Calif.
April 8-10 – Thunderhill Raceway Park, Willows, Calif.
April 29-May 1 - Buttonwillow Raceway Park, Buttonwillow, Calif.
May 28-30 - Pacific Raceway, Kent, Wash.
July 2-3 - Portland International Raceway, Portland, Ore.

[FTodaro]

I was looking at some of the Majors I was thinking about attending, and noticed that it appears that our comments about not wanting to make a Major weekend a 5 day event was ignored. The schedules I have reviewed thus far have practice on Thursday, two qualifiers on Friday and One qualifier on Saturday Morning. 

 

I won't restate my entire prior RANT but do we really need 3 qualifiers for a Major Race. That makes the weekend start on Wednesday to travel. Just not going to do as many of these as i would like, till i retire.

 

ALSO

 

Was not aware of an SM compliance fee decision being made but this is from the Supps on the VIR Major

 

 

 

ENTRY FEES: Entry fee for the three-day weekend is $615. Each SRF, SRF3 and FE and SM entry will be

charged an additional $20.00 compliance fee per entry for the weekend. Entry fee payments by

check/money order or credit card for online registrants not received by the Registrar by 04/13/2016 may

result in a delay in processing your registration at the track.

[Butch Kummer]

Not sure which events you're seeing, but all the three-day events to date (Homestead, Sebring, Road Atlanta, and the Left Coast events) start with a practice session on Friday, then a qualifier Friday afternoon, a second ("Money") qualifier on Saturday morning before two races. Starting with a practice session on Friday greatly reduces the need to run the Thursday test day, but obviously some will still avail themselves of that opportunity.

 

The only other event posted is NOLA, and it's a two-day event.

[FTodaro]

Not sure which events you're seeing, but all the three-day events to date (Homestead, Sebring, Road Atlanta, and the Left Coast events) start with a practice session on Friday, then a qualifier Friday afternoon, a second ("Money") qualifier on Saturday morning before two races. Starting with a practice session on Friday greatly reduces the need to run the Thursday test day, but obviously some will still avail themselves of that opportunity.

 

The only other event posted is NOLA, and it's a two-day event.

Butch You are right, Can't explain it but as i checked it again the first session on Friday is a practice. That is on me.

 

My apologies.

[Butch Kummer]

No problem, and I'm guessing you're looking at VIR's Supps?

 

I'll be the first to admit I'm not a fan of everything that's gone on in Topeka since I departed after the 2014 season, but I definitely support their suggesting (which is all that can really be done) the regions make the first session of the weekend a practice. Having the first session on Friday be a qualifier when it was most likely going to be the fastest session of the weekend made it almost mandatory to do the Thursday test day. As I said, the really serious guys will still run on Thursday but it's much less important since Saturday morning will in most cases be faster.

 

I like the new plan better.

[davew]

From my conversations with the people who put on events, The schedule is set by the locals. And is based on cost of track rental per day versus expected income. Topeka has minimum track time requirements. And maximum number of cars allowed on track at one time. Thus popular events have 7 or 8 race groups, while smaller events only have 6 or even 5. When you multiple number of race groups times minimum track time requirements and factor in daylight and any quiet hours, you sometimes need 3 days of official track time to fit it all in.

 

Day before test days are usually put on by the track and not the local region or Topeka.

 

Dave

[FTodaro]

So referring to Post #9 is there a plan regarding the $20.00 compliance fee? Did I miss that memo too? Is that fee going to be to pay the competitors who have to tear down or is that an SCCA Fee?

[speedengineer]

So referring to Post #9 is there a plan regarding the $20.00 compliance fee? Did I miss that memo too? Is that fee going to be to pay the competitors who have to tear down or is that an SCCA Fee?

Just came out recently:  http://cdn.growasset....pdf?1454713241

 

I'm sure it'll be used to buy everyone that goes through tech gatorade and sandwiches. 

 

 

SM
1. #18140 (David Dewhurst) Spec Miata Compliance Fee
Thank you for your letter. Effective 2/1/16, there will be a $20 compliance fee for every Majors event. The CRB and SMAC will work with SCCA to administer the use of the funds collected.

 

SM
1. #17843 (Jim Drago) Compliance Program
Thank you for your letter. Please see the response to letter #18140.
2. #18143 (Kyle Webb) SM Compliance Fee
Thank you for your letter. Please see the response to letter #18140.
5. #18305 (Thomas Berndt) Compliance Fee
Thank you for your letter. Please see the response to letter #18140.
6. #18346 (Jeff Luckritz) Compliance Fee Implementation
Thank you for your letter. Please see the response to letter #18140.
7. #18394 (Jerry Rigoli) Spec Miata Compliance Fee
Thank you for your letter. Please see the response to letter #18140.
10. #18568 (John Harms) Establishment of a Spec Miata Compliance Fee:
Thank you for your letter. Please see the response to letter #17843.

[Jim Drago]

Not sure which events you're seeing, but all the three-day events to date (Homestead, Sebring, Road Atlanta, and the Left Coast events) start with a practice session on Friday, then a qualifier Friday afternoon, a second ("Money") qualifier on Saturday morning before two races. Starting with a practice session on Friday greatly reduces the need to run the Thursday test day, but obviously some will still avail themselves of that opportunity.
The only other event posted is NOLA, and it's a two-day event.

Butch
What do you think of one three day event per conference per year? Three day events are not three day events.. They are five day events in all reality.. For Most we have to leave Wednesday 10-12 and drive.. Test Thursday.. Run the event fri-sun.. Then drive home sunday night and get back Monday in most cases.. Just too long.. In Sm you cant "not" do the test day either or skip Friday if you have any intention of competing.

Jim

[zoomzoom22]

Were my eyes fooling me or is there a 4 or 5 day majors triple at Thunderhill this year?  Full page ad in latest Sportscar.

[Butch Kummer]

Butch
What do you think of one three day event per conference per year? Three day events are not three day events.. They are five day events in all reality.. For Most we have to leave Wednesday 10-12 and drive.. Test Thursday.. Run the event fri-sun.. Then drive home sunday night and get back Monday in most cases.. Just too long.. In Sm you cant "not" do the test day either or skip Friday if you have any intention of competing.

Jim

 

The problem with making such a mandate is some events simply cannot be run in just two days. Granted it doesn't affect SM since y'all are almost always a stand-alone run group, but once you get over 200 cars you pretty much have to have (at least) seven run groups and there isn't enough time over two days to provide everyone the track time they (think they) need. Add in things like the two-hour Quiet Time at Road Atlanta or the "can't start before 8:30 and mandatory shut down for an hour at 11:00 on Sunday" at VIR (and it's not just SEDiv - many other tracks have similar restrictions) and it just won't fit.

 

An alternative is to just invite selected classes and have four/five run groups with maximum track time over two days, and that's still an option using the Festival concept. But it didn't work at all during the pilot in 2012 and thus getting a region to take a chance on hosting such an event is an uphill battle. I also don't think anyone in Topeka is pushing that concept since I left.

 

You could always make a gentlemen's agreement (at least among the front-runners) that no SM driver could test on Thursday. I wonder how well THAT would work out? 

[FTodaro]

In the recent survey that SCCA sent regarding the Runoffs options, I recommended that they buy extra track time its only 1,525 per hr at Mid O, with the number of cars they will have not a budget buster and also hire if need be, a small additional corner worker crew so they can rotate corner worker breaks and run through lunch.

 

When we Rented Indy last year for a PCA event, Indy runs from 8 am to 6 pm non stop as a matter of course. that is how they are used to doing things and have the crew to do it. We will not struggle at Indy like we will at Mid O.

 

To Jim's point, is there a way to just use Friday for practice and run one qualifier on Saturday morning. The only change I see is you get one vs two qualifiers. Most of the the time that morning qualifier is going to be the most important.

 

I applaud SCCA's efforts to accommodate us, I am not bitching, just pointing out that it is a problem for some of us to take that kind of time off.

 

Not only do i have to take the time off for racing, I have to give equal billing to my wife..., always a price to pay, lol.

[Butch Kummer]

I'm guessing that the PCA event had hired workers for the entire day? And also remember there's much more to putting on an event than just manning corners. Since most SCCA events use volunteers (who are also members) to work corners, work T&S, run the Tower, and all other specialties, that makes hiring paid staff just to work through lunch more problematic.

 

And yes you can certainly ask the regions to make both sessions on Friday practice sessions, but then people will complain about (1) spending money to be on track but not getting "credit" for it or (2) having only one qualifying session for the weekend. Not every car is as robust as a Miata and very often people need two sessions just to get one good lap.

 

As you say, in most cases the Saturday morning qualifier will be the best time to set that killer time. Instead of thinking you need to do the Thursday test day (because "that's the way we've always done it"), why not approach Friday as having two test sessions to get the car right, but that the second one also allows you to bank a time just in case Saturday morning goes to hell in a handbasket?

 

Granted my class is not nearly as competitive as SM, but that's the way I'll approach three day events in 2016...

[davew]

From my understanding, the biggest issue is the "required minimum track time" as mandated by Topeka. At big events like Florida, Atlanta or Mid Ohio, it is physically not possible to get the minimum track time with 7 groups, in the allotted time frame, over 2 days. We either need to change the minimum time, extend track hours or eliminate run groups.

 

Would you be in favor of going back to single race Majors over 2 days. Less time invested, but less track time also.

 

Extended track hours may work at Mid Ohio. Most tracks have a noise requirement that is a long standing local agreement or a legal requirement.

 

Eliminating run groups would be nice. I personally am in favor of combining many classes into a single class. Maybe get down to 17 Runoffs eligable classes. BUT, I do not wish to eliminate any competitors. For example, if we combine FC (8 cars) and FB(7 cars) into a single class, I still want 15 cars to show up to race the new combined class. Fewer cars at the event means higher entry fees for the remaining cars. So combining classes does not give us the result we want.

 

We could go with open wheel/formula weekends and production based weekends. This would give everybody plenty of track time over 2 days as we would only have 4 race groups each weekend. But could it be profittable for the regions with only 50% of the cars showing up. Would you be willing to pay 50% more in entry fees to get the same track time over 2 days, that you currently get in 3 days? I have a customer who runs a Formula Atlantic car because he loves driving the car. He also runs an SM because he loves the competition. This would double his expenses. And, can the regions get the tracks for the extra weekend? Can they get workers for the extra weekend?

 

Or, we could eliminate 50% of the Majors and make them BIG EVENTS. Looking at last years Majors participation data at https://www.crbscca....n.php?year=2015  

I see 5 events under 100 cars and 7 more between 100 and 150. Is 65 cars really a premier event? We had 10 events over 200 cars, now that is a Major event! How about reducing the number of Majors to 12 weekends. All 3 days. Scattered accross the country. Based on past participation and geographic location secondarily. Admittedly, SE Conference would get the most. Then go back to the locally based Regional and National format for Runoffs qualifications. Majors would be by definition a National. Keep the "minor" Nationals as 2 day weekends.

 

I am not promoting any of these options. Although my last idea sounds best to me today. I reserve the right to change my opinion. After all I am from Chicago, where we vote early and often.

 

Flame away

Dave

[Jim Drago]

. Instead of thinking you need to do the Thursday test day (because "that's the way we've always done it"), why not approach Friday as having two test sessions to get the car right, but that the second one also allows you to bank a time just in case Saturday morning goes to hell in a handbasket?
 
Granted my class is not nearly as competitive as SM, but that's the way I'll approach three day events in 2016...

 
I think many of have tried this and found that you simply cant start 3-4 sessions behind most of the others we are racing. I know it doesn't sound like it and it is hard for even me to believe.


 

Would you be in favor of going back to single race Majors over 2 days. Less time invested, but less track time also.

No I actually asked for a SMB run group in ST?touring as most of us would run it.. We will see but I am not holding my breathe


 

 
 

Or, we could eliminate 50% of the Majors and make them BIG EVENTS.
Flame away
Dave

I like this as well. I "thought" that is what the majors was supposed to be.