2024 rule proposal: force slow cars out of TTU

[Tansar_Motorsports]

My unpopular opinion / proposal:

 

At least in great lakes region, and probably elsewhere, there are a million cars in "TTU".  I put it in quotes because the only reason they are there is because they dont want to submit a dyno sheet.

Meanwhile, TT1/2/3 struggle to hit contingency numbers.

Many of these TTU cars are running tt1/2/3/4/5 equivalent lap times, and their cars are clearly not making crazy HP.  They just don't want to spend the $150 or deal with the paperwork, and a TT session is more like an HPDE for them.

Regional TT directors need to have the ability to use common sense to reclass these cars / drivers into lower classes, based on their historical lap times and an approximate understanding of their weight / HP.  Obviously, this reclassing should be conservative.  Someone without a dyno sheet shouldn't be competing for the podium in TT3.

For these drivers, this change would have zero effect.  they'd still grid based on their lap time.  they could still use TT as an HPDE, and not worry about paperwork or dyno graphs.

For everyone else, this would help drastically increase car counts, and improve contingency.

Increased car counts and contingency would then help attract new TT drivers to come to our events, further increasing car counts.
 

[Kelse92]

I think there are many people that would agree with you, but what exactly is the mechanism you suggest? 

Just Up to decision of the TT director? Certain delta from track-record lap time? Requirement for all TT cars to submit a dyno? Something else?

Re-Classing them at an event with their supposed “correct” TT class only rewards them for not getting in compliance and shouldn’t be the way to “increase numbers for contingency” in the other classes. Maybe try helping or encouraging those people you notice to get their dyno’s done?

If they are treating the TT group like HPDE 4 then regional directors should be having a discussion with them.

[Christian944]

Easy solution to this is have NASA bring a dyno to the track and get people on the dyno to put them in their proper class. Have people come in and dyno friday or saturday afternoon. They will just have to run TTU till they get their dyno done on saturday.

Edited January 20 by Christian944

[silents1ick]

On 1/20/2024 at 2:13 PM, Christian944 said:

Easy solution to this is have NASA bring a dyno to the track and get people on the dyno to put them in their proper class. Have people come in and dyno friday or saturday afternoon. They will just have to run TTU till they get their dyno done on saturday.

Solid Idea, But its hard to get Dyno at every event.
As Kelse Suggested up top,  helping or encouraging people, especially folks are are Frequent every events, in NASA SE thats we had to do, and # in slower classes like TT4-TT6 have been on increase, especailly once they realize that they can be competitive in right class.