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Totally and completely agree with this. I’d like to see numbers, but the process would need to be very simple and foolproof. Work course procedures need more work/training for all. Gotten sloppy.

We were out taking a bunch of pictures at the event. We don't know what we're doing but trying as part of our Homeschool routine. We wound up with a few good shots from each run group A-D and a few shots around the paddock. Feel free to download and use them as you wish. All I ask is if you like a pic hit my YouTube channel and drop a "like" on any video, it really helps. If you're feeling especially kind, a comment is awesome too. @DrivingForwardBuilds I should have my run video out this week sometime as well. If you don't see any of your car in the pictures, let me know. We have 725 we took! This folder is just the ones we thought turned out ok. My Boys wound up taking most of them. 🙂 This was one of our favorite shots by my older son, JJ. Link to Pictures...

@David 2 Please don't do this. All you'll get is reduced tire life. It won't make you faster. Also, TireRack doesn't shave tires, they only offer heat cycling. Not necessary. Just drive it. Signed - Miata driver. Edit: Just to add - no one at Nationals who is competitive shaves their street tires. At most, new sticker set, heat cycle on the test course, and drive.

Almost every other region and club in the country requires numbers. Static cling, magnet, vinyl, painter's tape, paper. This isn't some unreasonable requirement. Also to your other point about numbers being hard to read from the tent... that's not the point. The point is for corner radio workers to be able to see the number and call the cone by number rather than "gray miata - no the other gray miata".

For a while registration assigned "Corner Captains" who were more experienced racers and were in charge of the radio and cone calls for each station per run Group as a way to clean up the radio chatter and more accurately report cone calls. I personally liked the idea but there was pushback so eventually we stopped that practice. Maybe time to rethink that? We've also extensively discussed going to large #s on cars in the past and once the details of what all would have to be changed with our systems to accomplish this, the decision was made by the steering committee to not go that direction. One may think it is simple fix for one issue, but in reality it changes just about everything we do with our registration and timing & scoring systems and then on top of that requires everyone to now put tape or magnetic #s on their cars every event...correctly. In my opinion, the current system works very well for us. We just need to be better and course work, clean up the radio chatter and remind people to stay away from timing and scoring area.

Disagree with this not being feasible for a local region. San Diego region had a successful system for this where you registered your regional competition number annually (with a fee to have your Solo Card and ownership of that number). The SCCA magazine (which we should all be receiving with our memberships) has advertisements in the back for multiple vendors supplying numbers that fill this need. If people are spending $1000/year on tires, it's not a huge ask to improve the running of the event to have somebody spend $60 on numbers. Roll the annual number registration in with annual tech. For newer entrants, temporary 4 digit numbers were assigned and the paper + painters tape method was required. Eventually, they decide that they want to "look the part" at the events and buy numbers as well. This seems to come up every few years, and I haven't understood the pushback to improvement, other than just being resistant to change.

Thanks to the PASR for putting on another great event. TO Run - CSP 49.724 https://youtu.be/UzfQUxZKOgA

@Jason J There are some great shots in there! Thanks Jason and your boys!

We can still give grid spots in check-in as always. It can be set up so nothing is changed other than an additional column in MSR/timing with driver class and number. Numbers on the car just helps with penalty calls. If assigned grid spots are helpful, there's nothing requiring that to change.

The SCCA rule book specifies contrasting colors and minimum sizes for numbers and class letters. You can throw magnet numbers on the floor or trunk. You can store static cling numbers in a plastic notepad holder. Timing & Scoring enters the car class and number based on what's on the car. You can see the cars in line at grid. At typical events at other regions, your computer worker can see the cars going to the line and queue the cars visually without relying on the starter to clog the radio calling out cars by grid spot based on a small piece of paper on the windshield. Numbers on the car is easier. Regarding grid numbers, it no longer matters where cars grid. They can grid wherever they want in their group (unless two-driver car) because T&S will use the number on their car. Well that's unreasonable. How can you ask people to bring umbrellas if we can't ask people to bring numbers?

The issue with people hanging out at timing and scoring is probably shade. It was rather hot this past Sunday and most people can't bring shade with them in their track cars. It would be great if we had an extra shaded area for people to hang out and watch.

In my opinion, standing and raising the cone over your head exposes the cone chaser to danger longer as the next car is approaching. The course worker shouldn't be lolly-gagging just to get someone's attention that he/she is replacing a down cone. That course worker shouldn't need to worry about if that cone was counted or not. The only thing the cone chaser needs to worry about where is the next car and if it is safe to get that cone back in the square safely. It's someone else's job to account for the displaced cone. The cone chaser should never waste any time to replace the down cone. It's the corner station radio operator's responsibility to report the displaced cone and the observer's responsibility to relay the report to the timing person. Standing and raising the cone to get someone's attention will get you killed in a heartbeat. This practice needs to stop.

1) Workers should spread out when assigned to a station, not all huddled together. This reduces response times to downed cones & minimizes distractions. 2) Workers should watch closely the rear of the vehicle as often times they are watching the front of the car as it passes them and miss the downed cone. 3) Clipping the mic results in missed messages; hold then speak. In the moment, this is often forgotten. 4) As others have said, raising a cone briefly above the head is a great secondary notifier, same with the crossed arm over the head indicating no cone fault. 5) T & S should be familiar with worker stations #'s and workers with workers referencing those numbers; Station 3, Blue Miata, 1 Cone (for example). 6) Equipment will talk with the other Chiefs and see what mgt can do to reduce distractions at T&S, as this has been a distraction for a long time. Is it for the shade, the curiosity to figure out up to the minute PAX factors, old habits, seeking help / information? 7) There may be technology-centric approaches which can better support operational efficiency; barcode scanning is one that comes to mind, like at a national event. Maybe RFID, transponders, or maybe something as crazy as AI use combined with photographic tech (the later one is a far stretch, but open to ideas). 8 - Autocrossers seem superstitious and if one doesn't get their number - you'd think the world has ended, it causes a lot of drama. No numbers.

If the Region ever decides to host a National Event, numbers on the cars is a mandatory requirement, per the Solo rules. Cars with non-metallic body panels is not an issue, there are static-cling vinyl or sticky numbers and letters that resolves that problem.

Holding the cone helps soooo much for the Spoters at timing incase the callout is missed, couldn't be determined, equipment/tech issues, etc. I was out at Station 3 during D-Group and nobody seemed to hear our callouts. I told the others with me to hold the cone over there head briefly if its out of the box, as its good practice and since we could not radio in(but we could hear everyone just fine). Found out later that if I stood further down towards the timing, I was getting confirmation on our calls.

My best run of the day in group B. 53.5

My two thoughts: 1: There are too many Miatas. I know they're fast, but get something different. 2: The concept of a Corner Captain makes a ton of sense. When I first came out to these events, I was really surprised that there weren't any. If you have a group of relatively new people, of course you aren't going to get things called properly. The Cone School at the start of the day is good, but it doesn't really clarify the radio part.

Everything Lance said, but especially this:

Here's my group B run in the STR Miata. 50.4 https://youtu.be/GamKptPPKM4?si=LTmf9O4QtQ4N0nu5

So I got a little busy and couldn't get back around to this topic, and now there are even more people chiming in. It is a good thing that more people are chiming in, but I fear that some of my intent may get a little lost, so bear with me here. As Sid was the only one that posted 2 thing that he would want to work on after reviewing his own video/memory, I'm going to expand from that quote as well as drag a few others in. Lance and Mat, you will be referenced here well... Okay, here we go........ So the fundamental reason why I had said to pick two things that you noticed about your own driving has the side effect of being a faster driver, but that is not the primary reason. While looking at something like SoloStorm or Harry's Lap Timer is a great tool, it has it's limitations, especially between autocross runs (thinking of Mat and Lance). The primary reason that I said to pick 2 things that you can go back and see within yourself is to develop/hone the skill of detailed recollection. I cannot stress this skill enough. If you can only remember that you over-drove into a section 3 out of 4 runs on Tuesday, it doesn't help you. When you look at data analysis or videos, but still have a hard time remembering that portion of that run, it doesn't help you. If someone tells you that your line choice is off, but can only see it on video and can't recall it, it doesn't help you. See a pattern here. The best advice is worthless if you can recall it and repeat it in a meaningful way. Videos and data can help you recall certain aspects of your runs. I use video to do things like double check that I was looking where I wanted to and not getting behind. More recently I have stopped using data analysis for the most part, as I would spend way too much time seeing what the data could tell me, but for some reason it never told me that I wasn't looking ahead enough. Such is the way of analysis paralysis. Data analysis in the grid can be a wicked crutch if your not careful. My opinion on the matter is that it should be predominantly a double check for yourself. Now one thing that you may have noticed is that I haven't said anything about line choice, car control, or even where someone like Sid or Lance was looking in the videos that they posted. Fun fact, I won't while on this topic. This topic is all about the idea of practice with purpose, that is where the detailed recollection comes in. SOOO, lets get into the post that Sid is quoted in as an example. His 2 items were carrying too much speed and getting on the throttle too early. Now I am not going to say he is right or wrong in his analysis, because it doesn't matter if he can't recall what he did and where it was on course. This is where practicing with purpose comes in to play. Since there is another AMP event coming up, it's time to get a game plan. At Sid's next event, he should do his course walks with the intent on finding a section or two that can facilitate that practice with purpose. For the first issue, carrying too much speed into a section, he will need to look for a section or two that have maybe a 180deg corner after a reasonably fast section. Now once a piece of the course has been picked, it is his job to run the course as normal(ish), but immediately recall just that section once he comes back to grid. Things like car angle coming in, where was he looking on the way in, how did the tire grip feel, was the car starting to drift or plow, etc. Now if you come up with something like "I was looking straight ahead when I entered and the car plowed out wide," you can move forward from there. A correction might be as simple as reminding yourself to look where you want to go, not where you are going. I would advise not doing something like actively trying to think about what you are going to change while your driving, do it before your run, when you are reviewing the course in your head before your run. This is how the fastest drivers out here shave a little time off run after run. As this recollection becomes easier, you can slowly add more sections of the course. Take it easy at first if you have never tried this as it can be overwhelming, and we want to form helpful habits. Keep one thing in mind, people like Brian, Doug, or Jeff (he's new here) are not coming out to these events to just throw down a fast time and leave. They have things that they want to practice, specifically, every event. Sometimes they need to practice the same thing for 3 events in a row. Practicing with purpose is sort of like building with lego's. Everything is build one brick at a time and each brick needs the previous brick to base its self on. But every once in a while you'll find that hidden piece, in the carpet, in the dark, at like 3am, that leads to a sore wrist and a skinned knee. Otherwise known as a bad habit...