What's it gonna take to get 10-15 SoCal 944's at 1 event?

[Tim Comeau]

I have my own ideas for fun incentives.

Strippers.

Beer.

Fireworks.

Cash.

............................ but let's hear yours.

[PeanutinCA]

You driving your car 1 handed?

[David J Marguglio]

Good question (strippers). I am sure it will come down to (strippers) finding the right weekend and (strippers) venue. It seems like we haven't been able to put (strippers) it all together for one big turnout (strippers). No need for incentives though (strippers) as I am sure that the good close racing (strippers) and camaraderie is all we need. And strippers!

[Trevor Myrus]

I like your idea Peanut. Hey Tim, want to drive my car with you using the hand controls?

 

Trevor

1988 944

[uberklasse]

You know my feelings on this....more run sessions. I liked that we were out early on both days, but even if there was a Post-Race fine tuning session or the chance to run with HPDE? Just a thought, but guys like me who need as much seat time as possible would love more track time...even if under "no passing" or other restrictions.

[PeanutinCA]

Yeah, I too would like some more time/sessions for tunning the car? Even taking the current 90 minutes track time and changing it up a little some how? Perhaps 3 20 min practice/qual sessions to try different setup. Then the 30 mins for the race? You first session is spent seeing what the car does, you make a change for the qual session and potential benefit from it or screw yourself up? Then, I'd prefer not to make changes pre-race, that can have bad ramifications?

 

P.Dilly.

[Spec-944#70]

Use Friday's Test and tune day. Best bang for the buck!!! Get your car ready Friday then just drive Sat/Sun.

[AZ Coupe Jason]

how many were at Fontana in Mar?

[PeanutinCA]

Ha, your right Eric but, with my recent Mechanic issues, I used up 2-3 Friday's in an attempt to be there for test and tune. DOH!!

[nkwright]

Touring Car Club. WSIR 5/29 - 30 $225.00 racing both days for member, $235.00 non-member. Good crowd (not too big) especially in the race groups. They have a red and orange group. Qual race on Sat determines Sunday's main race lineup. Use AMB system. Same corner workers as usual at WSIR.

 

NASA, PCA, POC will all be honored. Excellent bang for the buck

 

Their next event after WSIR is CA Speedway 7/30- 8/1. Full course, race groups only. They also have 2 more Willow dates as well as a BTN Willow race.

 

I think they had the makings of a spec group last year but it never happened (they needed Timmy!!). They would definetly let us have our own group.

 

I've run with them many times and have never been disappointed. I will go if others (5 or more) can make it.

 

Thoughts?

[944-Spec#94]

Az NASA typically runs 4 sessions. 2 morning practice sessions. 1 after lunch qualfying and mid-late afternoon race.

 

[Candi]

TCRA is a great group to run with. We enjoyed their hospitality at BW. Great bunch of guys, nice trophies andgreat visiting with several driver's we had not seen in ages. Their July event @ Fontana is one we will be discussing. Guess I best check out their site and get the data. We can leave this heat for some of your heat...

 

We just finished our season with _ _ _ _, and can rest till the school here in October. We already have 5 cars rented out for the _ _ _ _ school, so needless to say we are growing by leaps and bounds. This past weekend @ PIR we had several inquiries from here and your region. One more race with another organization at the end of this month, then a break untill Sept. and some cooler weather @ TH.

 

When is NASA running @ Fontana?

 

Maybe we will get together sooner than later! Really looking forward to meeting you all.

[944-Spec#94]

Candi,

NASA so-cal is NOT running at Fontana for the rest of the year. Fontana looks to be expensive to rent so entry fees are higher and I'd guess that Ryan F and his crew figure once per year is about it. There may be schedule conflicts as well. POC is running their Tribute to Le Mans there pretty soon however.

 

Here is NASA SO-Cal Schedule

March 6/7- California Speedway (Long Course)

April 3/4- Buttonwillow Raceway (Nor Cal Crossover)

May 1/2- Willow Springs Raceway (Added 2/1/04)

June 5/6- Buttonwillow Raceway

July 10/11- Willow Springs

Sept 11/12- Willow Springs

Oct 9/10- Buttonwillow Raceway

Nov 6/7- Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Outside Track, Limited Groups- AI, ASC)

Nov 13/14- Buttonwillow Raceway

 

 

Looks mostly like Buttonwillow and Willow Springs. Two nice tracks.

 

 

Glad to hear you had good season Candi.

 

Well I have said it before and I will say it again...

(gets on soapbox )

The best way to get the max cars out to an event is to focus on ONE organization.

 

Be it org X or org Y, if the entire 40-50 racers between AZ & California all know that there is one event per month in during the racing "season" then we all know what events to plan for. Most guys can't allocate time or money to more than one event per month and for some guys it is less. So if you have 2 events per month one with org x and the other with org y what happens is that you will get some split between the group. A few guys do X only a few guys do Y only a 2-3 do both. So from a potential 10-15 car group you get 5-6 at EACH event instead of 10-12 at one. That is not to mention events on the SAME weekend

 

I am not pickig on any group or person here, but just stating facts. So what do you do? Well it often hard to settle on just org X. Some guys love org y due to a number of factors. Some are easy to justify others are not. So to say we only run with org X will definitly irritate those that like X, but love y. These guys in turn may just not want to run with us at all then we lose a car and driver. That stinks too.

 

So what do to...

 

In Az we have 4 organizations that allow 944's to race. In spite of the risk of being moderated I will state all of them and if they have a designated 944 class

 

Arizona Sport Racing Association - ASRA - No 944 class, but offered if we have the numbers

National Auto Sport Assocation - NASA Az - Yes 944-spec

Professional Autosports Assocation - PAS (or PASA) - Yes under spec-944

Sports Car Club of America - SCCA Az - yes Regional under Spec 944

 

So just in Az alone you can pick from 3 944 classes and 4 orgs. Often there are two orgs running an event on the same weekend at different tracks so that natually splits fields.

 

In so ca there are

National AutoSport Assocation - NASA So Cal - Yes 944-spec

Porsche Owners Club - POC - Yes 944-spec

Sports Car Club of America - SCCA- No 944,but maybe in the future

Touring Car Racing Club - TCRA - No

 

So even in so cal there are at least 4 orgs. Most guys on this forum race NASA and POC.

 

That is not even to mention PCA Club racing that allows 944-spec prepped cars albeit in a poorly classed fashion.

 

So given the right time of year there are 9 places I as driver could race a 944 spec type car. That is ALOT

 

So there is no wonder that it is very hard to the entire group together without even bringing up some of politics about one or vs another org or one ruleset vs another.

 

So what to do?

 

Well I think the best way to get large fields is to focus on one org that "we" run with. Which one? It would be nice to have a rep from all the of the sides of 944 racing in the southwest come together to decide on something. I honestly don't expect to see it happen, but in lieu of that one of two things will happen.

 

1) One org will eventually come to the front as "THE Org" to run with. (probably one in so cal and one in Az) They will be clear leader in things like car count, driver hosptiatlity both from org to driver and among drivers, rules, driver skill and friendly competition. This will be the "defacto" place to run and people will use the other orgs for testing. I call this survival of the fittest. May the best org win.

 

2) This will all collapse due to excessive fragmentation and the inability to have more than 3-5 cars at any one place at any time.

 

I sure hope that #1 happens rather than number 2. I would also hope that those who have love for org X or org Y realize that #1 is really best for the class even if the winning org is not "their" org. There really is no fun in racing where you are the only one out there even you get all the (add what you want here) that you can get.

 

So time will tell how this all plays out.

 

BTW... I hope the message of this post is taken back to the "leaders" of the different "orgs" so that they understand. Then again the good ones already understand this point well.

[David J Marguglio]

Well said Joe; you make some very good points and I hope that we have this sorted out by the end of this season for all of the reasons that you enumerated. My only question is...how did we get off the topic of strippers???

[Candi]

Joe,

 

Thanks for the CA NASA sched.

 

As for your comments on other organizations, car count etc. Freedom of choice is a good thing. It has been around a very long time. We are very fortunate to be in the USA!

 

I guess I should have addressed my question to nkwright, who mentioned the California Speedway event in July.

 

Take care!

[nkwright]

The TCRA was a suggestion for the So Cal guys. They go to the tracks that are relatively close.They offer a lot of track time for the money. In fact, I would say it is likely the best bank for the buck. Most other credible club race licenses are honored. They state on their homepage 944 Spec as a class. I'm sure our rules would prevail if their's are different. Especially since we could go in numbers.

 

I've heard So Cal NASA offers limited track time. I don't know since I've never attended. It's just what I've heard from some that have.

 

I suggested TCRA based on the cost (225.00 both days race), timing (AMB), tracks, and I personally like their format. They take the best time from the three morning sessions on Sat and use that as your starting position for the Sat Qual race. Qual race race finish determines starting position for Sunday's main points race. Trophies right after race.

 

Again, cost, tracks, timing, track time, and format are attractive.

[Tim Comeau]

1. Hey Trevor! You're alive! I'll drive your automatic 944 and still kick all these SoCal wusses' butts! With one hand. And only 3 wheels. Backwards.

2. NASA AZ has great track time and a friendly org. We love to visit.

 

3. Fridays or other test days are powerful. Get the tuning/ tweeking done then. We can get together at Willow if we have enough guys to make it affordable. I'd love to drive some other 944's to feel the difference.

 

4. I'm with Joe on the 944 class splitting. It's unfortunate that the class split occured at all, but that's life. We're dealing with people here. Let's bring all the 944's back together for the biggest starting fields.

In SoCal, we've taken steps to ensure that whichever club a 944 chooses to race with, they won't be so different in car prep as to be excluded from other clubs the next weekend. This is good for the growth of the class.

ONE WORLD, ONE 944 RACING CLASS. Can you feel the love?

[Tim Comeau]

Ok, so here's what I'm hearing.

Dave wants strippers.

Jason and Dylan want more NASA track time for the racers. Maybe even splitting up a practice session to allow for more changes/testing BEFORE qualifying.

Neal has a good point for getting more practice in before a points event.

 

NASA does offer TOYO TIRES bucks. The more drivers that show up, the more that get a share.

NASA (Tim/SSF Imported Parts) offers door prizes that help with the cost of maintaining your cars.

NASA offers 2 30-35 minute races during the weekend, with plaques/medals handed out at the event.

 

In SoCal, we race with NASA and the POC. I belong to both orgs. and like the fact that the cars can now cross over if one race doesn't fit your life's (wife's) schedule.

But how about we pick the June 5-6 NASA event at Button Willow to really show up in numbers? (my 42nd Birthday) We can show with 10-15 cars easily. There are 22 cars in the SoCal group right now. If we get a few PHX cars in addition, maybe a field of 20?

BTW, it looks like Dennis Campbell's # 28 car will be coming to the SoCal Group soon.

 

SO CAN WE GET A GOOD STARTING FIELD AT BUTTONWILLOW?!

Edited May 5, 2004 by Guest

[PeanutinCA]

Agreed! And everyone I beat has to eat Vegemite, that might help em go faster Timmy?

[David J Marguglio]

I'm glad we're clear.

[944-Spec#94]

Ok, so here's what I'm hearing.

 

But how about we pick the June 5-6 NASA event at Button Willow to really show up in numbers? (my 42nd Birthday) We can show with 10-15 cars easily. There are 22 cars in the SoCal group right now. If we get a few PHX cars in addition, maybe a field of 20?

 

I will be returning from my honeymoon that weekend. I might be able to swing a BW trip this fall. Maybe Oct or November

[Spec-944#70]

O.K. Joe we'll take you on after the honeymoon!!( Guys he should be too tired to drive!! )

Joe I think you should have someone bring your car out here and just tell the wife you're adding 2 more days of fun to the honeymoon!! Arrive and drive!!

[944-spec#09]

David,

To get us back on topic, I am the "official" NASA-AZ Trophy Girl pimp. The babe that cuts my hair offered and Dan said bring her - I've been bugged ever since so now I have to keep searching for Trophy girls. You should ask Tim for the So Cal franchise. I have talked to Hooters girls and they must get permission from the region PR manager to participate in their outfits. You'd be surprised how many hotties volunteer (how many actually show up is a different story). Maybe I shouldn't tell them that THEY are the trophy

[TheWho]

Strippers? com'on were adults here Tim!. More driving time and reduced pricing like that of the TCRA, prize money other than Toyo bucks, driving time, driving time, and driving time. I could care less about al the above but DRIVING TIME.

[944-spec#09]

Hey

There's a difference between Trophy Girls and stippers. All of the big races have Trophy Girls so we're just trying to act like the pros. Actually, if I have a choice of getting my trophy from a sweet young face with a pretty smile plus a hug and kiss or from Tim's or Dan's ugly pusses, I know who I'd choose.