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2009 Nationals in Utah?


116svvh

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When I look at the GTS Challenge website, the GTS region furthest west is the Texas region. The list is Great Lakes, Mid Atlantic, Southeast, Northeast and Texas in no particular order.

 

Did GTS get thrown under the bus? What should we do about it if anything? Can we run with NASA all year and then secede from the union for Nationals?

 

Who is contemplating making the trip?

 

Discuss.

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I had heard that 944 cup is doing there nationals elsewhere (or at least it is in discussion).

 

Can we buddy up with them and do our nationals durring a regional race out this way.

 

I guess my assumption is that there is a GTS following on this side of the country and there is not one out west.

 

If there is a big west cost group, maybe make a west cost national and an east coast national.

 

Or, we can do a mid year race that is important to us like 944 cup did at hyperfest and that S something something A group does with the June Sprints.

 

Ed Baus

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The quick answer.....Yes, there will be a 2009 GTS Challenge Championship east of the Mississippi. There are no details yet. But I can tell you one thing for sure, it will take a lot of work, work that can't be done by one or two people.

 

I'm kicking around a couple of ideas.

 

 

1. Use the current format...one event at one track over one weekend.

 

2. A Championship series...maybe three or four events and different tracks

 

3 A Championship series that would require scoring points in 4-6 out of your home region races. Those 4 or 6 races plus your best 4 or 6 home race points would be your toal championship points. Just as we did in 2004, each region would host a "Superevent" where points would be doubled, this would encourage maximum attendance and competition against other National racers.

 

In all these scenarios, the events would be at NASA regional events, and would only include regions where there is enough GTSers supporting it.

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Wow, this is too bad. Believe me my heart sank when I heard the next 2 years of Nationals will be held out at Miller, for various reasons, but I'm still willing to do it. I couldn't do Nationals this year which drove me nuts but I'd sure like to participate next year. The idea of combining points from several races is very unappealing to me, too much like BMW CCA, a series I love and have participated in a lot. But having a real national championship event is one of the reasons I like racing in NASA. And though there are several things about it not appealing I'd still rather go out to Miller and run with the entire event than do anything else.

 

Of course, if no one in GTS was going to show up then that would be different.

 

If we have to do something else I certainly would prefer it be a national champ style event....meaning one weekend, come one, come all, run for the gold.

 

My $0.02.

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The biggest problem with Utah is that there are really isn't many GTS west Denver, and 95% of GTS cars East of Chicago. I only had 3 entrants at MidOhio say they would go to Utah. Everyone else (30+) that I spoke with said that it was out of the question. It really doesnt make sense for anyone to drive 2000+ miles to race against the same folks they would race against with a 500 mile drive. At Mid Ohio, we truely had a National Championship. Unlike other series, we don't have left coast drivers that were overlooked. A Utah Championship would only include those that had the funds and time to make the journey.

 

As far as format for a 2009 is concerned, my last post was only throwing out some options.

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The biggest problem with Utah is that there are really isn't many GTS west Denver, and 95% of GTS cars East of Chicago. I only had 3 entrants at MidOhio say they would go to Utah. Everyone else (30+) that I spoke with said that it was out of the question. It really doesnt make sense for anyone to drive 2000+ miles to race against the same folks they would race against with a 500 mile drive. At Mid Ohio, we truely had a National Championship. Unlike other series, we don't have left coast drivers that were overlooked. A Utah Championship would only include those that had the funds and time to make the journey.

 

As far as format for a 2009 is concerned, my last post was only throwing out some options.

 

Yeah, absolutely. If there are no participants out in that area and the rest of us would just be spending more time and money to race each other out there then yeah, not really worth it. Like I said, I have no particluar interest in going out to Miller. If I was going to go that far I'd rather just go further and run at some place like Laguna. But that's besides the point. I'm more concerned with GTS having a legitimate championship event vs where it's at.

 

Other than 944C are there other groups that feel this way? What about SpecE30? I think there are a few cars out that direction but once again it seems the bulk of them are over this way.

 

Cheers.

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I agree. No point if there arent GTS drivers out that way. But I do like the idea of a different venue... VIR!

 

I also wouldnt make the trip out to Utah unless there was going to be a nice field. It would be no fun to go out all that way to race 3 in class.

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I agree. No point if there arent GTS drivers out that way. But I do like the idea of a different venue... VIR!

 

I also wouldnt make the trip out to Utah unless there was going to be a nice field. It would be no fun to go out all that way to race 3 in class.

 

Yeah, exactly. I don't really want to go to Miller but I would if the field was large and representative of a National event. No point in driving that far to race against a handful of people, some of whom I might race against locally anyway.

 

VIR...sure. ; )

 

Cheers.

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If I was going to go that far I'd rather just go further and run at some place like Laguna.

That's funny.... I had 4 or 5 say the exact same thing yeasterday,

 

I'm more concerned with GTS having a legitimate championship event vs where it's at.

A GTS Championship doesn't require the NASA stamp of approval. We can absolutely hold our championship where ever we want, but I want to make it at a NASA event because NASA is where we run week in and week out. I'm sure the NASA regional director wouldn't mind have 50 GTS cars register for one of his/her events.

 

Other than 944C are there other groups that feel this way? What about SpecE30? I think there are a few cars out that direction but once again it seems the bulk of them are over this way. Cheers.

I'm sure several may be interested in doing so, but they may have to call theirs an "East Division Championships" so not to conflict with their National Championship in Utah. I would image that something will happen just to keep the fields built up for when the NASA Championship comes back east.

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Northeast has an October weekend at Watkins Glen.

Mid Atlantic has a Summit Point date in October.

SE had a date at Barber in October last year.

 

I have to say, a "Nationals" at Watkins Glen could be pretty awesome. Would the NASA's northeast region give us any extra track time to sweeten the pot?

 

If 944cup, 944supercup, and Spec E30 would work with GTS, could we have a track to ourselves for a weekend at some track that is centrally located to people east of the Mississippi?

 

What about getting the GReat Lakes region to rent this in October next year? http://www.drivebluegrass.com/road_course/track_rental.html Is it any cheaper than VIR, Road Atlanta or Watkins Glen?

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Mark,

 

I'll be wherever our core group of GTS drivers is going. Just need to find an orange car. Great job coordinating everything this year Mark. I missed racing with you guys but will be back.

 

Brad

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N

What about getting the GReat Lakes region to rent this in October next year? http://www.drivebluegrass.com/road_course/track_rental.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Is it any cheaper than VIR, Road Atlanta or Watkins Glen?

 

Watkins Glen is not very forgiving on cars but is great fun to race at. I would love to see an event at this new track in Kentucky. I wonder if we could still supersize if there is a seperate event, in other words could I run spec E30 all year and run in GTS1 at the proposed championship?

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I am running CMC this year, but hope to have my GTS car built by the beginning of next year. I would love to drive Miller at some point but not my first full year of racing. There is no point in going if I will not be at all competitive. I think having a GTS nationals closer to the east coast at a track I do not normally drive would be very interesting. Watkins Glen, Road America, and Road Atlanta are all tracks that I would go to even if I was not competitive. They are great tracks with tons of history and on my list of 'must drive' tracks. Out of that list, I think Road America would be my top pick since I am more likely to make a NE race at WG or an SE race at Road Atlanta (and MA already drives VIR 3x per year). Of course some of the Great Lakes people probably have the same thoughts about VIR, Road Atlanta, Watkins Glen, and Lime Rock.

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Well,

I do hope some of you make it if you can. After 3 years of watching Nationals from the outside I have chance to go. Miller is only 12hrs for me instead of 30 to Mid-ohio. So I will be there in 944 spec. I might supersize to GTS1 as well.

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Road Atlanta, VIR or Watkins would all be great choices. Not saying that I am burnt out on Mid-Ohio, but we have been going there a lot.

 

Agreed, I wouldn't mind it being somewhere other than Mid-Ohio. I just want to race where we will have the full field. If the only GTS racers out west are "supersizers", then it makes little sense for all of us to tow all the way out there. I'd make the tow (1400+ miles for me) if that's where everyone is going to be, but I'm not going to spend $2k on gas to race 4 guys

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I really like John's suggestion of the Bluegrass track as a single National Race.. It's central to almost everyone in the eastern half of the United States. No one would have to drive an outrageous amount! Everywhere on this circle is less than 8-9 hours from that track.

 

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I had heard that 944 cup is doing there nationals elsewhere (or at least it is in discussion).

 

Can we buddy up with them and do our nationals durring a regional race out this way.

 

Ed Baus

 

With the 944 Cup series being almost exclusively an East Coast series, would make sense for the 944 Cup to select an East Coast track to have the 944 Cup Big Event for 2009 and 2010.

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I had heard that 944 cup is doing there nationals elsewhere (or at least it is in discussion).

 

Can we buddy up with them and do our nationals durring a regional race out this way.

 

Ed Baus

 

With the 944 Cup series being almost exclusively an East Coast series, would make sense for the 944 Cup to select an East Coast track to have the 944 Cup Nationals for 2009 and 2010.

 

The consensus among Cup racers would also be to change the format, a 3 day event, to reduce the cost and time to participate with the hope of expanding the field size. Tracks making sense for the Cup would be VIR, Watkins Glen, Thunderbolt, and Road Atlanta.

 

The more series particpating would give it more of a National feel. An all German marque national could be marketed in conjunction with some type of Deutch Fest having the intention of developing a larger sponsor/spectator/media interest in the event.

 

Agreed. We should probably bring Carter Hunt/SpecE30 into this discussion.

 

Things to consider:

Weather...the farther south we have this event, the later in the season we could do it.

 

Location.... we should pinpoint a center of the populous and make a logical decision.

 

Car count...the more the merrier! The more entrants we have, the easier it will be to make this happen.

 

Volunteers.....to make this happen, it will take a lot of work.

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I had heard that 944 cup is doing there nationals elsewhere (or at least it is in discussion).

 

Can we buddy up with them and do our nationals durring a regional race out this way.

 

Ed Baus

 

With the 944 Cup series being almost exclusively an East Coast series, would make sense for the 944 Cup to select an East Coast track to have the 944 Cup Nationals for 2009 and 2010.

 

The consensus among Cup racers would also be to change the format, a 3 day event, to reduce the cost and time to participate with the hope of expanding the field size. Tracks making sense for the Cup would be VIR, Watkins Glen, Thunderbolt, and Road Atlanta.

 

The more series particpating would give it more of a National feel. An all German marque national could be marketed in conjunction with some type of Deutch Fest having the intention of developing a larger sponsor/spectator/media interest in the event.

 

Agreed. We should probably bring Carter Hunt/SpecE30 into this discussion.

 

Things to consider:

Weather...the farther south we have this event, the later in the season we could do it.

 

Location.... we should pinpoint a center of the populous and make a logical decision.

 

Car count...the more the merrier! The more entrants we have, the easier it will be to make this happen.

 

Volunteers.....to make this happen, it will take a lot of work.

 

I would love to see a GtS , 944, E30....... I would be there and glad to help too

 

Fc

944 SC

914

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