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Lotus run...

We should solve one issue at a time vs a larger overhaul. Right now, our events are so good that they fill up and people can't get in. Let's try and make it more equitable for people to be able to register.

Huge thanks and kudos to Amanda Hitt for her working documenting and sharing our fun at the last event. It was all smiles, laughs and fun in Time Onlys as the eight of us took turns beating on each other's cars trying to best each other's overall time while Super Dave Schotz called out all the fun on the Mic. Can't wait to do it again next year! Maybe next time we'll include more late model car drivers and see what they can do in our old manual activated rides while we try our hand in some newer nanny aided cars?

Here is my best comp run. Thanks to the Wongs for the great handling ride.

As the title states... this is getting out of hand... that we have 70 club members 'Pre Registered' before an event even open to the 'club' for registration. While I'm on the Waitlist... and probably high enough on the list (literally completed registration within first 3 mins of Track Cross being open)... This ABSURD that half our club is almost 'Workers/Staff/Board' whatever we want to call it... It's FLAT OUT WRONG... Either remove the limitation on Entrants... or remove the 'Auto Register' for people who are 'entitled' for supporting the club... When AT LEAST HALF of these 'CLUB WORKERS'... are not doing anything DIFFERENT than the rest of us... If you SET UP COURSE... SO what... other people take it down. EVERYONE WORKS at SOLO EVENTS!! No Job is different than another!! Unless you are the actual Board (which I'd sure hope is less than 10 people)... NO ONE ELSE should be getting pre-registered just because they are doing a 'different worker position'. This needs to get fixed... or we should be VOTING OUT THE CURRENT BOARD!! ELIMINATE THE ENTITLED PRE-REGISTRATION... We hear this from all neighboring clubs... they think it's RIDICULOUS and it FLAT OUT IS! Rant off... TO BE CONTINUED... Club needs to make changes and start by looking within!

Here's the spin from the red Tesla's front camera. I hope you enjoy as much as I did 😁

Results from the 01/19/2024 autocross and 01/20/2024 trackcross have been posted to the results page. Please report any corrections in the thread. Also, the official 2025 SST pax was recently updated from 0.832 to 0.837. Results from both events have been updated to use the latest number (0.837).

Here is the course for the January 19th PASR @ AMP. As always, changes maybe made due to safety, flow and visibility. PASR at AMP January 19, 2025 (wog).pdf

https://www.motorsportreg.com/events/2025-tire-rack-scca-phoenix-national-tour-arizona-motorsports-park-solo-684563 Should be a fun event! Registration opens at 2PM MST!

I believe the three Region's (Cal Club, San Diego, and for sure San Francisco along with its two Chapters) in California, you pick your worker assignment when you check in at registration, and that includes the Safety Stewards and Timing & Scoring positions for each Worker group. If the Safety Steward Position was not filled for a particular work group during the signup, the designated Event Safety Steward of Record for the Event would have to fill-in or reassign as necessary. However, it gets covered. The worker assignments were first come first serve. The sign up sheets were kept in binders at the registration desk/table. There was never a problem getting the spots filled except occasionally the announcer position for certain work groups. When that happenes, the Run Group Coordinator would usually pick/assign an unwilling volunteer and it got done. Those Region's and Chapters don't use Observers nor do they need to call in the car numbers at the start. All the cars in the same class run together as one group and the class rotates to a different run group for the next event. PAX was a secondary class and collected PAX class points, but the drivers still run with their respective primary class and collected the usual primary class points. The difference with running early or later in the day usually evens out since the PAX competitors rotate in their respective primary class throughout the season and that would even out. For PAX points and year-end awards, you have to pay a little extra fee to sign up for PAX points for each Event. Every car has to have numbers and class designation on the cars per the Solo National rules and each driver are assigned permanent numbers. With the exception of Cal Club and San Diego, San Francisco Region and its two Chapters, allows the same number be reused/duplicated in other classes whereas the number assignment can only be used in one class for the San Diego and Cal Club Regions. In San Francisco the numbers are first come first served by class and are permanently assigned. In San Diego and Cal Club Regions, the driver's have to renew their numbers every year and pay a small fee for what they call a "Points Card". As for first timers and/or drivers without a permanent number, they are given a set of paper numbers, for each side of the car, and masking tape. There was never a shortage or the unwillingness for people to help setup or teardown at each. They just announce for workers and the newbies usually are always willing to help. Also, each Event had a different Event Chair assigned to coordinate and make things happen. The Event Chair would be the only person that did not have to pay for their registration. And, there was never a need to have pre-registrations. Each member, regardless of their Region assignment or status, still had to sign up for the event and pick the class they intend to compete in. Depending on the number of entrants in the classes and if the run group numbers in end up not balancing out the run group evenly, the Event Chair would make the necessary adjustment and move the entire class accordingly. However, that very seldom happens and if a few key worker positions need coverage, the Run Group Cordinator would make that adjustment. I have run at numerous local events in other Regions for many years/decades throughout the country. Some Regions had permanent numbers and I usually had no problem with picking my own numbers as a visitor providing it was not already assigned or conflicting with another driver. Some Regions assigned their workers based on your experience for key positions and some allow you to choose. Most of them had dedicated Timing and Scoring staff. I have feeling that the subject of pre-registration may go away once we start running at other venues whereas the maximum capacity limit is no longer an issue.

No Chris… all these clubs are built on volunteers… Step 1… treat all members equally. “Chiefs saying… be a chief… is not how the world goes round”. Everyone works at these events… Everyone!! The fact is… we are limiting the participation numbers to make a select group of 50-60 happy. And “Chief of Tech” probably the most laughable of “guaranteed registration”… 100 different people can do that role… and more than 1/2 our region is on Annual tech… yet 4 “Tech Positions “ pre registered automatically every event… We can go down the list on the gross misuse of “these essential” Chief roles. We have 1/3 to 1/2 of our events being “pre registered”… to put this in perspective to a National’s Solo Event… that would be equal to 100+ Chiefs for a “Solo National Tour”… and would be over 400 Chiefs for “Solo Nationals”… Your response however Chris, is exactly the “entitled” response anyone who’s not a “Chief” is accustom too! Dave

Fun course... my best run placing me in the middle of the pack in 73/151 drivers

I would absolutely not volunteer to do this event support job anymore if I didn't get at least a trifling preregistration out of it. There are other event jobs that demand a lot, but just to inform those who have never done it, this is what course setup is like: For me, it's about 0.5 hour of counting squares and writing out course dimensions on critical parts of the course map beforehand, then a 2-hr. drive down to AMP, then 2 to 3 hours of setup, then a 2-hour drive home. The day before an event, I devote approximately 7 hours total of my time, buy gas, and buy 2 meals. Setup is both physically and mentally demanding. You need gloves, muscle strength to carry stacks of cones, and a basic understanding of geometry. It is nothing at all like course pickup. Every course cone except the laydown pointers and finish chute is placed very closely, most within a foot or so, to the course map using a survey wheel. They are not just tossed around by eyeball. You get a high-quality layout pretty close to what you studied using the online map earlier in the week. It is also necessary to do a layout accurately in order to spread the course out to utilize as much of the available pavement while at the same time meeting the legal edge of course and section-to-section separations. We could lose our insurance coverage if there is an accident, and we did not. Event before this, there were only 3 of us to do setup and we had to wait until a CA based driving school picked up their course and we couldn't start setup until after 4 pm. We were also told we had to be gone when the AMP guy was ready to leave. It was getting dark when we finished. I was totally beat and stressed out from trying to get it done in time. I was not up to driving the event the next day. I stayed home to recover.

Here is the road course for MLK 1-20-25 PASR @ AMP. As always, changes maybe made at the time of set up due to safety, flow and visibility. This is the course designed by Nick Sloan for the '23 event. AMP Road Course v2.pdf

I don't expect anyone to care about my thoughts here, but as someone who has participated with the club on and off for the last 20 years I've almost given up trying to attend the events. I tried to register a handful of times last year with no luck obviously. I definitely took note of how many people were registered before it was even open which was strange to me, and then non members have to register a few days later and there are never any openings by then. Was there always a later registration date for non members? I sincerely don't remember. I can hear people saying "then just join the club", well I agree but is there even a point if members are fighting to register on time? I've been road racing and karting to get my fix and I understand there's more demand these days but its just a huge turn off for someone like me, and I'm sure for many others who have never even attended an event and want to start racing and gave up.

Hello everyone, We would like to invite any members of the Phoenix AZ Solo Region to attend the upcoming steering committee meeting at 6pm on Wednesday, January 8. Because we have a very full meeting agenda, we do have some ground rules for attendance: You must contact me (Chris Groppi) by PM to obtain the zoom link. We will not publicly distribute the link on the forum. Attendance is limited to members of the Phoenix AZ Solo SCCA region 117. We ask that you attend as a listener. Our meeting agenda is full, so time for discussion of items not on the agenda is not possible. If you have a specific topic you would like to bring up, please let me know and we can consider adding it to the agenda. If time is not available for this SC meeting, we can include your request in the agenda for the next SC meeting. We are attempting to hold SC meetings every two months. We will be discussing our current pre-registration procedure and ideas to improve that procedure at this meeting.

Hope to see some locals sign up Ted

I can't make it tonight, but I will post again here my thoughts on who should be Pre Registered in order to allow our events to run smoothly. Chiefs all get Pre Registered (no Assistants, unless they are Chief for the event as the Chief is not attending) Safety Stewards that are Required get Pre Registered (need to be designated as acting safety steward) Set up Team gets Pre Registered Tear Down Team gets Pre Registered Registration Team gets Pre Registered Morning Waiver gets Pre Registered Tech Team gets Pre Registered People that are assigned to be pre-registered need to confirm they are attending prior to opening registration and should be subject to the same financial consequences for non-attendance.

Respectfully Scott, I disagree wholeheartedly on run groups. As a previous committee member and Chief of Course (among other things - Novice Chief and Tech included) at a significantly larger region than AZSolo (before they lost the site - WDCR), there is nothing special about AZSolo that would make it any more difficult to balance classing, run groups, or work assignments on a rolling basis. No challenge related to run groups, classes, numbers are unique to AZSolo. Excluding national events, I've run with more than 20 autocross clubs across the country and the grand majority have grouped classing (scca or otherwise) and numbers. I'm actually struggling to think of one that DIDNT group by class of some sort and wasn't a test and tune or school format... Worried about too many novices in the same group? I wonder how many novices are in A and D compared to C or B? It would be an odd day indeed if all the novices showed up driving the same class. Work Assignments? Choose one or two preferred, then leave it up to the worker chief to reconcile. Either way, I'm not a Chief anymore nor do I think I want to be one again. I don't know how much longer I'll care enough to be serious about autocross... so I'm just dropping my 2 cents and letting those in charge make their decisions.

Take a look at Brian Miller's Pylon Press covering the Dec event Pylon Press -- Dec 2024 -- FINAL.pdf

This has affected me recently as I've missed registration for the last 2 events and almost missed registration for the 19th and ended up with A group as the only group left while registering 30 minutes after it opened... My 2 cents: Eliminate Registration by Run Group Get rid of the ability to choose run group - A good amount of the preregistered attendees get some prime real estate when it comes to run groups. These people end up with a season's worth of prime conditions while the rest of the folks get stuck cleaning the dust in A Group all year. Run group can have a huge impact on competition - classes should all run within the same run group. There can be some flex when it comes to SPM (though I'd argue SPM can run together), but open classes should all run with their class. Rotate class run groups.

Finally sat down with Mat Beck after a few weeks on the road racing with Doug Rowse in his C7 Z06. Excited to release the next few eps over Christmas with some awesome guests as we talk about the exciting new ways to experience National Time Trials and Auto Cross at the same event! https://open.spotify.com/episode/6JbbnLRSGeOQMumRC5m1N5?si=5U7T_eWnQ-WDae9TMhPwYQ

Battery has found a home.

Yes, Mark is right. The car is likely EM. But it's worth looking at all the rules for EM in the rulebook to make sure you meet all the requirements: https://cdn.connectsites.net/user_files/scca/downloads/000/073/830/2025 Solo RuleBook January.pdf The mod class rules start on page 153. If you don't meet all the EM requirements, the car would then go to AM.

Yep, no body work kills you, that's a Mod car.

Waitlist is tough. I've been on the waitlist 3 times in the last few months: I got in I made other plans before I got in I was too slow to respond to Lance and missed the opportunity to get in

Corner Captain Worker Guide Before each session the Corner Captain will: Unfurl the flag but hold the flag bottom to the flag stick to make it ready. Acknowledge to the observers to confirm the corner radio is working and on the correct channel. Provide the following general instructions to their corner workers on procedures and safety: i. Only proceed to check or reset a cone if there appears to be sufficient time before the next car to complete the reset and return to safety. This may be after the next car passes. ii. If the cone is lying on its side but should be upright, this is a penalty. If the cone is still upright but 100% out of its box, this is a penalty. If the cone is upright but still touching any part of its box, this is not a penalty, but the cone must be reset into its box. iii. Pointer cones (cones normally on their side) do not count as any penalty but still must be reset. iv. Explain that both observers and Corner Captains are monitoring for penalties. Therefore, upon checking a cone, if there is a penalty always raise it above your head before resetting to indicate a penalty (even if it appears obvious since it may not be obvious to both the observers and the Corner Captain). If it is not a penalty, reset the cone and then waive your arms horizontally to indicate no penalty. One or the other must be performed on every cone reset. v. If near the start/finish gate, do not cross the timing lights, go around the gate to reset any cones. vi. Corner worker locations are suggested safe locations. If the corner worker believes there is a safer location, with Corner Captain and SSS agreement, worker(s) may move to that other location. vii. Corner workers may spread out to provide more effective coverage with the Corner Captain’s agreement. viii. While resetting cones, always keep your eyes towards incoming cars. Abandon the cone reset if the next car will arrive too soon before all cones can be reset and you can safely retreat. Watch out for your fellow course worker. ix. The area of safe retreat is generally to the inside of a corner and not to the outside. x. A Corner Captains primary responsibilities are safety and communications, and cone resetting is performed by corner workers. xi. No cell phone use while working. Other Corner Captain Guidelines The Corner Captain will be the operator of the corner radio and the red safety flag. Once a penalty at a station has been determined, the Corner Captain will radio the penalty with a message formatted like: “Corner two, one cone on the blue BRZ”. The observers should acknowledge the message repeat if not acknowledged. Corner Captains will monitor the oncoming drivers in relation to their corner workers and notify the worker to abandon a reset if a car is too close. This is a secondary safety measure to the worker’s own responsibility to monitor incoming cars. A Corner Captain will reset cones if sufficient workers are not available. The Corner Captain will red flag an incoming car if the captain believes a corner worker will be unable to retreat to safety before the arrival of the car and communicate red flag on the radio.

It is on the website but a bit of a challenge to locate under news https://www.azsolo.com/corner-captain-worker-guide/

I'm not saying to not put experienced people in T&S, but why do they need to be pre-registered? Who makes the decision as to who is qualified for the job? With the system that Jason has built, it is not nearly as difficult as it used to be.

Just a procedural note...The pre-registered entries are capped as to how many can be in each run group because if not, the opposing work group would not have enough course workers. C sells out so quickly because so many entrants trying to register at 8 pm choose it first. And remember this, if there were less overall pre-registered entrants that doesn't automatically equate to more available spots as each one of those not pre-registered entrants just becomes one more person hitting the "register now" button at 8 pm.

Some good points brought up in this thread but also some things that I see as somewhat inaccurate, misleading or out of context. I am intentionally not going to engage in any sort point by point back and forth in the forum on this as it’s not the format/approach best suited to making meaningful change on a subject like this. I will however cover some elements in this post that I think are important to keep in mind. Also I’d like to remind everyone of the SCCA Member Conduct guidance as discussion on topics that people are passionate about can get unintentionally heated. The SCCA has been highlighting this guidance in region meetings over the past year but I don’t think they have really pushed it out to the general membership much. Info is available at https://my.scca.com/ via: Member Resources > File Cabinet > Region Development & Services > SCCA Misconduct Report also under Regions Development & Service: >Member Conduct Tools List                                                             >Member Conduct FAQs >SCCA Foundations of the Club Pre-registration is something that was implemented to make sure some critical roles were staffed in order to address different issues in smooth event operations. This evolved over time and along the way was coordinated and tweaked with the input from the SC/the various chiefs and that process continues to this day. It’s always been and will always be a balance between helping the events run smooth while giving everyone a fair chance to participate. It’s also a balance of what different people want out of their club/experience. As our events have been filling up quicker and quicker over time and the fact that we are constrained by limits imposed on us by our contract(s) with AMP it’s become more of an issue. For example, I was approached at the last event with a request from a general member to become more involved in running the club and for the first time I can recall I am having a hard time find a role that we can use them to fill. In all my previous time I’ve been involved with this club we always had the opposite issue, difficulty finding enough volunteers to take on those roles that require extra work and/or commitment. What’s particularly ironic is that I even mistakenly called out for volunteers for teardown help during the drivers meeting at the last event and only had one person approach me but quickly figured out that shortage had already been covered. As a result of this evolution, already in work before this thread started and intended to be finalized at the upcoming SC meeting was documenting the guidelines that are followed in this pre-registration process. This is mostly putting in writing the practice that has been followed but will help keep everyone involved in this process on the same page and accountable. It will also be shared with the general membership to help with transparency to the process. We’ll also take another look the process to see what tweaks/changes can be made to better balance the competing priorities/goals and will communicate the outcome via meeting minutes that will be posted to the forum as usual. With the upcoming move from AMP to Phoenix Raceway I’m sure this won’t be the last time it’s further refined. We’ve followed the general practice of posting an invitation for general members to attend upcoming SC meeting, although admittedly I think we missed that step in the last meeting or 2. In our defense there is generally no one that expresses an interest in attending. For anyone that would like to attend the SC meeting Wednesday night Chris has posted info on the forum how general members can attend

I've been running in Cal Club and the San Diego Region for 6 months and I can attest that all of what is written above is true for those two clubs. And, I'll add: 1) for course set-up the course designer has a few guys he reaches out to to help on set-up. About a week or so before the event he reaches out on a post if one the regulars isn't available. When that happens there are many volunteers for offering help. I was one of the volunteers and am now a semi-regular for course set-up. Guys rotate in and out of this role based on their availabiltiy without any special privileges. 2) for course tear down, the event chief usually announces at the end that if we all (those still there), stay on for 10 mintues we can get tear down done, enough guys stick around and it happens. There isn't a dedicated crew for tear-down but it happens quick and guys rotate in and out of that. Most of the guys doing it are the guys from the last run group, whichever classes that may be. 3) for tech, they usually have about 120-140 cars, maybe about 1/3rd with annual tech. We typically have 2-3 people for tech and it lasts about an hour. The head of tech sends out a post for help if any of his regulars can't make it. I filled in once for tech but there were several guys offering to help. 4) on announcer, yes, it isn't a coveted role but if there isn't someone who wants it, that role gets assigned and that person typically just announce the times and if there is a cone. Few of them provide any running commentary (which I greatly miss!). 5) Work assignments are provided at registration, it just works. 6) there are no observers, just a radio call-in and I've only heard of one instance where there was a potential cone call error. I'm not saying these two clubs run better...they don't, but it does work. Phoenix is a model for having a smooth running event. In SoCal it is a little less organized and sometimes there is a small delay as things get sorted out. A couple benefits are there is a lot less coordination necessary to run an event and it is MUCH easier to get involved in different aspects of working at an event. I was never able to break into being part of one of the coveted "pre-registration" cliques in Phoenix but in six months I've done course set-up, been asked for my opinion on a couple course design questions, worked tech, done tear down, instructed novices, and I suspect I'll do more in the coming months. A benefit of the loose structure of the work assignments is there is a lot more interaction between members that a person wouldn't normally interact with because of the fluid work assignments. Phoenix doesn't need to change. The events are run beautifully. But, I think breaking up the pre-registration process for a lot of the work groups make sense so that more people can get involved, knowledge will be distributed among a bigger group of members, and there will be more interactions between members if the work groups change a little bit each event.

actually Chris Groppi is the person who should be contacted, Chris is the club secretary and organizes the meeting

This has been bothering me for a while as well so I am glad others feel the same way. I have held multiple Chief Positions as well. There needs to be some defintions of who gets Pre Registered, with the rest of the positions being open. Example: Chiefs all get Pre Registered (no Assistants, unless they are Chief for the event as the Chief is not attending) Safety Stewards that are Required get Pre Registered Set up Team gets Pre Registered Tear Down Team gets Pre Registered Registration Team gets Pre Registered Morning Waiver gets Pre Registered Tech Team gets Pre Registered Pre Registered for the other positions is really not needed IMO. Maybe the Club Leaders can get together on this before the Feb event and provide a written plan that can be posted for all to see.

I have skimmed this thread, so please excuse me if I am making points that have already been made or addressed. I think it's worth identifying the process differences between AZ Solo and a general SCCA region. We have two major differences from the majority of SCCA clubs across the country that I believe contribute to the pre-registration situation that @Dave Schotz and others bring up in the post. AZ Solo's Process Run Group Selection - Participants register for the event and select their run group at this time. If a group is full, they generally end up on the waitlist, even though there may be openings in other run groups. This creates additional work for our registration team. Worker Assignment - Worker assignments are completed well before the event by the registration team in coordination with the chiefs. General SCCA Club Process Run Group Assignment - Classes run in the same run group, so organizing the classes into run groups can be done in the days leading up to the event and refined after check-in if needed due to no-shows, etc. Worker Assignment - Worker assignments are typically completed the day before the event or after check-in once run groups are finalized. The run group selection process not only complicates the registration process for participants, but it is also often the source of additional work for the registration staff. Additionally, it creates an unfair competition dynamic, with an advantage often given to competitors in the later run groups. By eliminating the run group selection and moving toward an assignment process that mirrors that of many other SCCA regions across the country, we could simplify the registration process and create an environment for fair and unbiased competition. Removing many of the slots for pre-registration and assigning work assignments after event registration has closed (or the event sells out) would align our region with the processes followed by the majority of regions across the country. This would provide equal opportunities for all members and open avenues for additional members to gain exposure and training in the various roles required to run events. The vast majority of these roles, with the exception of registration, timing, safety, etc., can be done with minimal instruction or training. Overall, this discussion highlights that many within the region are dissatisfied with the current process. This feedback suggests that a review of our procedures is warranted to better serve all members.

I remember when you could sign up for starter, observer, grid, etc at registration. Now it is only coarse worker. I have filled in for coarse setup, grid setup, waiver, observer, grid, starter, I haven't done tech or announcer. All the jobs I have done were easy to learn, easier than chasing, setting and calling in cones. I have thrown my name out there to get one of these now special positions and then later see someone go and then a new face takes their spot. We are all equal members except at 8:00pm on registration night. Chris, I have only seen past meeting meetings on the website. Could you post the details for the next steering club meeting and who to contact to put an item on the agenda?

They are two different things but you are stating the wrong two. One of volunteering. The other is having the offer accepted. When the acceptance carries with it pre registration it means nobody gives up their work spot and so the next person who volunteers finds rare opportunity to have that offer accepted. So, the same people work tech every month, the same do set up every month, etc. You can think it is easy to volunteer in PHX but that isn't the case. It is a semi closed system.

Hearing it and acting on it are 2 different things.

Yeah. I heard that speech....

Step 1. Volunteer The End.....

I have moved out of the area so I am not part of a solution except to provide perspective from a person that was trying to be more involved when I was in the PHX region. The current structure is semi-closed to accepting more involvement. While racing in PHX I talked with a couple of chiefs and was never able to break in to doing a role other than course and grid. My experience was the chiefs had their preferred workers, and the “pre-registration” process cemented in place which staff will be working the event. There does not seem to be an opportunity to offer help or join a work team to gain experience. I understand why this happens as the chiefs want someone working for them who has proven to be reliable and someone they don’t have to train. But, it also stifles the growth of cross trained workers and fresh leaders. The issue of it being difficult to get involved in roles other than course work was not just my perspective but also voiced by other members I talked with on the topic. Could I have tried harder.... of course and I am sure I could have eventually made progress. However, the point I am making is the current “pre-registration” structure creates a waiting process until an opportunity opens and not a process where someone with an interest can jump in to help and learn. I have been racing in SoCal this season with Cal Club and the San Diego Region and they do things a little different. I am a fan of how PHX runs their events but some of what happens in SoCal may be worth considering by the SC. One of the differences is they often have two-day events. The first day is a TNT and the second day is the competition event. Some participants attend both days but many prefer and attend one day or the other, but not both. Alone, this change would allow more of the 500 members in PHX the opportunity to race which is a huge benefit. But, another big benefit is created because the event chief for the TNT is usually not the event chief for the competition event and most of the worker chiefs alternate and do not work both days. This creates the space for more people to get involved, and it also creates more worker chiefs with experience, more cross-trained workers, and it promotes more interaction between members by working together with different members each month. It is a more fluid structure of who will be working in a role at an event which is not ideal but that is a fair trade-off. I’ve not seen any of the SoCal events not come together. Sometimes they start late, etc. but they are still good days of racing. Another set of benefits to consider is the time-consuming processes of registration, tech inspection, course set-up, course cleaning, and course tear-down are minimized and/or distributed over two days. Plus, the TNT’s do not need as much staff as timing does not need to be recorded, cone counts don’t matter, etc. but the TNT’s do create the opportunity for fresh leaders to learn how to run parts of an event. Adding TNT’s and relying on the existing chiefs to staff them is not the solution as it will just overload the existing chiefs and does not create the space for the development of new leaders and more cross-trained workers. I suspect that if the SC scheduled TNT’s before some of the events and asked for new chiefs and workers to step up there would be volunteers to fill those spots. And, after a few mis-steps during the first couple events things would run smooth enough. Oh, and if we have a bunch of cross trained workers we don't need to have the pre-registration list except for the chiefs, SSS, timing, etc. 75% of the pre-registration list could be eliminated.

Lance, I believe the bulk of the ST shake-up is related to complaints of the ND Miata being the dominant car in STR while popular cars like the new gen GR86/BRZ, NC Miata, and S2000 are stuck without a class. The ND Miata (and some other less popular cars) went to AST while the remaining cars in STR went to CST. Appendix A of the 2025 Rule Book from page 202 onwards for Street Touring has the full list. SST = Largely unchanged (minus some cars going to the new AST) AST = STR ND and others that'll get buried under the ND BST = STU CST = The rest of old STR (Minus ND Miata) DST = STX EST = STS GST = STH

Hi Lance, Thank you for your thoughtful response and for shedding light on the rationale behind our current processes. I truly appreciate the dedication and countless hours that you, the Chiefs, Board members, and other key volunteers contribute to making these events happen. Your efforts don’t go unnoticed. That said, I feel there are areas where the club's current structure may unintentionally limit participation and inclusivity, which I'd like to address: Pre-Registration and Event Participation While I understand the importance of ensuring key roles are filled, the current pre-registration system, where a significant portion of spots are allocated before the event even opens, creates a perception of exclusivity. For many members, especially newer ones, this can feel disheartening and discouraging. Could we consider a compromise, such as: Reducing the number of pre-registration slots for volunteers while maintaining coverage for essential roles. Rotating these privileges among consistent contributors to share opportunities and foster inclusivity. Autocross: Participation-Driven Structure Historically, SCCA AX events have been built around participation. Lower attendance or faster courses allowed for additional runs, while higher attendance meant fewer runs, ensuring everyone could participate. Shifting to a mandated 4-5 runs per event, regardless of turnout, feels rigid and counterproductive to the broader membership. Participation should drive event structure, not the other way around. If events conclude early, additional runs can be offered as time permits, without the need to pre-plan "Fun Runs" or "Time Only" groups. Track Cross: Flexibility in Run Groups The current structure mandating two full run groups with four runs each may not always be the best fit. If participation increases, the focus should shift to accommodating as many members as possible, even if that means reducing the number of runs per session. For example, if 200 participants register, offering three or four runs in a single session would: Allow more people to participate, ensuring inclusivity. Provide a larger pool of workers, reducing the strain on individual members and improving the event’s overall workflow. Generate additional revenue or create opportunities to lower costs for members, making events more accessible. This flexible approach would allow everyone who wants to participate to do so while ensuring efficient event operations and maximizing benefits for the club. Balancing Access and Efficiency I understand the need for experienced workers to ensure smooth operations, but it's essential that we balance this with equitable access for all members. The current system may unintentionally prioritize a select group, which, while operationally convenient, could alienate others. If we focus on participation-driven decisions, we’ll naturally attract members who are committed to contributing and engaging. Moving Forward I hope these suggestions are seen as constructive. My intent is to help our club continue growing in a way that feels fair, inclusive, and sustainable. I’d be happy to discuss these ideas further and assist in any way I can.

1990-2005 Miatas minus the 2003 Club Sport…….E Street.

First event in the new car on 200TW tires. Lots of potential left in my driving and the setup, but really enjoying it! Comp - 45.8 TO - 44.9

Fun, Porsche friendly course 😉 And rare opportunity to make use of launch control in a non-ProSolo event!