"Sportscar" magazine

neon4891 wrote: wow, looks like i have a lot of BS to sort thru once i try to start AutoX this year

Not necessarily. There are good regions, some totally awesome regions, and some regions that need more help.

Keep your expectations from the club in line with your contributions to the club and you'll have a great time and meet lots of cool people.

jde said: In reply to maroon92: So are the workers at registration better versed with the First Gear program, or whatever Speed Freakz is now called? I often had all sorts of fun trying to register when I had my phat yellow all-ate-up-with-extreme Speed Freakz comp license. "Got a minor...need a cold pass!" "Uh, I'm 21, and running in ITS..."

I haven't had any trouble at all, but our registrar of events is one of the best to have ever existed...

Considering it costs me $100 more to run a NASA event vs SCCA, AND Spec Miata at a NASA event MIGHT be against 3 other cars vs. 50 at the SCCA event, and I'll stick with SCCA any day.

Much easier to buy a subscription to Grassroots than be run around in circles about how my NASA Instructors License and my SCCA Regional License were not good enough to get me a NASA Race License too.

Sports Car is not that great...but the Classified ads are great for a sunday evening if your bored, and Randy's writing is good.

Anybody know about the NASA organization in Ohio?

Chris

I've seen "Sportscar" occasionaly at Books a Million and Barnes and Noble. Certainly cheaper than a membership, if you're looking for an occasional read of the mag.

maroon92 wrote: I haven't had any trouble at all, but our registrar of events is one of the best to have ever existed...

Cool. I took the confusion I faced to be National's problem for not making the Regions and their workers aware of what the SF program was.

In reply to 1966stang:

Yes we started the NASA Auotcross in Dayton. There is a link on the club page for MVSCC. They use the NASA TT rules to class cars. You see alot of other cars classed together that are very competitive.

In reply to racerfink:

At least the 3 NASA regions I have been with recognize SCCA license for a NASA license.

racerfink wrote: Considering it costs me $100 more to run a NASA event vs SCCA, AND Spec Miata at a NASA event MIGHT be against 3 other cars vs. 50 at the SCCA event, and I'll stick with SCCA any day. Much easier to buy a subscription to Grassroots than be run around in circles about how my NASA Instructors License and my SCCA Regional License were not good enough to get me a NASA Race License too.

I'm curious, which NASA region does this post apply to?

Keep your expectations from the club in line with your contributions to the club and you'll have a great time and meet lots of cool people.

Quotable.

poopshovel wrote: I'll play devil's advocate. While "sportscar" is an easy 90% boring junk, they've had some REALLY good auto-xing articles over the years. The ones on course walking and visualization immediately come to mind.

The mag itself is, yeah, about 90% boring.

+1 about the AX articles. The bit about some people walking as if they were the car and others walking as if they were in the drivers' seat immensely improved my comprehension of courses. Not that it has really helped me all that much, I still drive like a squid.

Moparman wrote: The SCCA is (mostly) made up of wonderful people. However, it is an organization with multiple personality disorder. There are the down to earth weekend warriors (most members) who compete on their ownn dime and are willing to help out a fellow competitor in any way. Thenn there are those who compete as though SCCA club racing or autocross is the F1 championship, In my decade-plus expericne with the club, there is a tug-of-war between the two groups. One group wants a venue for tthe Walter Mittys of the world (sorry for co-opting the title GRM) and the other wants to make the club the NASCAR of sports car racing (NASCAR is trying to acomplish this itself). I actually won a pair of Piloti racing shoes for writing the "letter of the month" two years ago. It was in response to a letter stating that the SCCA should become more professional and less about amateurs. I took the opposite view. The fact that the editorial staff picked my letter, a defense of the little guy, as letter of the month indicates to me that the grassroots competitor has friends at the top. However, the tug-of-war continues.

And not just the pro vs. clubman thing. SCCA is also having an identity crisis in regards to the kinds of automobiles they wish to hold races for. They really don't want to kill off some of the older classes, since there are a lot of guys that have poured tons of money into the cars (take a look at something like Kent Prather's MGA or Steve Sargis' Spitfire), but they see this whole "sport import craze", and want a piece of it.

A lot of the younger guys I know aren't interested in Improved Touring because of engine rules they see as restrictive. And the regional "catch-all" classes (SPO, SPU, ASR, etc) leave them chasing NASCAR stockers, and old Speedvision Cup cars. Heck, here in SEDIV we even used to have a guy show up from time to time with an old Camel Lights car! (let me be the first to admit that if eight of `em showed up on a regular basis, I'd get my old Corner Worker whites out of mothballs..)

I think in autocross, the SCCA's got some good ideas with the STS/STX classes (finally, my coilovers and urethane doesn't get me kicked up to Modified!), but when it comes to road racing, it seems that NASA is trying to create classes for what young folks actually want to build (yes, I'm talking Honda Challenge here). I've been an SCCA member off-and-on for 20yrs, and I love the club, but IMO there's good reason some folks choose NASA.

And if they ever create a class for Nissan S13s that resembles the 944 Cup, I might join them. I may be a VW guy, but I've always wanted an excuse to bring one of those home.

One point against NASA is if you want to play with formula cars.

That would be the Florida Region of NASA

gjz30075 wrote: I've seen "Sportscar" occasionaly at Books a Million and Barnes and Noble. Certainly cheaper than a membership, if you're looking for an occasional read of the mag.

Actually, I'm interested in data. I want to start researching lap times/trap times for various courses and classes. I should probably just start contacting the tracks in question to see if they have that info...

stroker wrote: Actually, I'm interested in data. I want to start researching lap times/trap times for various courses and classes. I should probably just start contacting the tracks in question to see if they have that info...

Most Region sites would at least have qual times/fast laps posted with results after events, I would think.

Tom Heath wrote:

neon4891 wrote: wow, looks like i have a lot of BS to sort thru once i try to start AutoX this year

Not necessarily. There are good regions, some totally awesome regions, and some regions that need more help. Keep your expectations from the club in line with your contributions to the club and you'll have a great time and meet lots of cool people.

Very well put! I am a 7 year SCCA member now, and STILL can'y believe the Solo rules!? ( Stock : Shocks are OPEN? )

The rules are HUGE for a reason ( folks like me who will use any and every advantsge!)

And the whole huge convention and sending our region to Las Vegas on my dime...

But they are the best game in town and You gotta love the people.

1966stang wrote: Sports Car is not that great...but the Classified ads are great for a sunday evening if your bored, and Randy's writing is good. Anybody know about the NASA organization in Ohio? Chris

Chris, I am in Columbus and been trying to gather NASA , auto X support. Any other Ohioans here?

There's at least a few: http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/community/map/