Four race format. Every day, every time.

[nasa-rm]

I figured I wouldn't hack up the other thread, so started a new one here so we have lots of room to work on it.

I'm in for the charity race and vote for shorter practice to augment the race time. I'd like a 40 minutes "shootout". It's better for folks to learn patience and car/tire conservation.

For those planning on ever going to Nationals, this is a HUGE thing. Prepping for a 40 minute race versus the short 25's is a big difference. There's a reason why I was running Glenn down in 2009 in the final laps and then passed Liebbie on the last lap in 2010. LOL!


Texas AI/CMC should consider evaluating "this is how we've always done it" and start trying something different once in a while. Can I give you guys a 3 race format with a 40 as the final at TWS in Sept? Or the ECR race would be even better as we KNOW the championships usually go down to the last last of the last race of the season.

Did you realize that in RM, the driver's don't really have a say in their race formats? They ENJOY getting things mixed up. We even do chase races for points. We throw in hour long "sprint" races once in a while. Inverts, standing vs flying, etc aren't figured until the Saturday meeting. I'm just sayin....


There's nothing wrong with doing it the same every time, but there's a sanctioning body out there that sticks to what they have done the same since the 50's and it's really turning off their competitors. Easy to manage, but not creative. Businesses that don't stay innovative are usually destined to fail.

[Suck fumes]

I'm all for the 3 race format. That's what I've been used to anyway. The 4 race deal wastes soooo much time on Sunday and I don't get home till late. 40 min races really make you drive and learn how to manage tires!

[rleng1]

Concern is if you are driving in a team environment. Other than that, I can see the impact of tire and management.
In a 30 minute, you begin to see degradation of tires, car and driver. Many times with Wade and Wayne on my tail, I am wishing for the white flag. My tires are hot, and I'm wore out.
Like I said, the 3 race format will affect the 2 man teams.
For now, I'm in for 4.

[Suck fumes]

Well how many "teams" are there actually? Like one or two out of 12-18 cars?? You could always run in two classes if you're concerned about not getting enough track time. I just think it would be nice to have a change up every once in a while.

[GlennCMC70]

Well how many "teams" are there actually? Like one or two out of 12-18 cars?? You could always run in two classes if you're concerned about not getting enough track time. I just think it would be nice to have a change up every once in a while.

Even if it is only 1 team, it is reason enough to keep it as is. They are no less important because they are a team. It also isn't a matter of track time. They both want to race in CMC.
If you want to go home early, pack up at any point Sunday and head home instead of telling them to sign-up for 2 classes.

[Suck fumes]

I'm ok with either one, I was just agreeing with Dave that it would be nice to have a change up every once in a while. Not saying it has to be like that every weekend. But I guess nothing will ever change without a lot of opposition.

[GlennCMC70]

One thing to keep in mind is each region grows w/ different people. I'm sure RM CMC grew in an enviroment of random formats. Therefore people who liked that aspect likely stayed and those who didn't moved on for those reasons and likely others. Here in TX, CMC has never had that. To introduce that would likely cause a sudden drop in participation. Would it recover? Possibly. Would there be an impact? Sure.
Thing to keep in mind - if random'ness is part of the season, the season needs to start that way. In a way, the random'ness needs to be the constant. If not, the tried and true format needs to be used.


I also didn't realize there was an issue posting a clip from Dave's email about the change to the Summer Shootout format. I found it shocking that a format change was decided based on feedback from the customers. This change affected folks who I know didn't feel that way. I never saw where CMC's input was requested. Had I been asked before the change, I would have been able to tell Dave that this change would not go over well w/ our group. The email was not about asking for input, it was about informing us of a change. I felt it was important for you all to know beforehand (as early as possible) and provide the input others were afforded the oppertunity to provide prior to showing up at Hallett.

[kbrewmr2]

If that's what you guys want and keeps you guys happy - cool go for it. Just don't let it affect the other 3-4 race groups, and the rest of the other groups too. We can make everyone happy-ish that way.

[AI#97]

There's nothing wrong with doing it the same every time, but there's a sanctioning body out there that sticks to what they have done the same since the 50's and it's really turning off their competitors. Easy to manage, but not creative. Businesses that don't stay innovative are usually destined to fail.

LOL! TX has always done it differently than the other regions with 4 races instead of 2 races, yet you are telling us we should consider doing it like all the other regions do because the SCCA doesn't hasn't changed in 60 years. Sounds like TX is the innovator here?!

and for reference...the scca runs 2 races per weekend....

[AllZWay]

We did try the three race per weekend several years ago, but it wasn't liked very well. The theory of tire management sounds good, but realistically didn't change much...except make the last half of the race a HPDE session when the cars got all spread out.

I love the Hallett format and the one 40 minute race. I wouldn't be opposed to another 40 minute race ... But not at tracks like TWS where we already get separated in a 25 minute race.