Originally Posted by
Marshall Mauney
Cost!
Let's think about the lowest-cost possible approach, with someone buying a "junker" old car at $5K that barely runs - but can be made legal. For a new entrant who has yet to turn a wheel on track, before they can enter the first event, they have to purchase:
Helmet
Suit
Gloves
Shoes
Nomex undies / balaclava
HNR
School entry
License
Medical exam / signoff
How many schools are actually available for the low-$$$ beginner? Telling them to go spend a bunch more to run a weekend with one of the "pro" schools just tells them to go elsewhere because they can't afford to run SCCA. If there's only one school in their area, and it happens to fall on a weekend that they can't attend, we've lost them. Meanwhile, the more sign-offs we accept from other organizations, the fewer entrants we have to support the schools....that's a spiral downward, IMO
Now, let's compare those costs to the guy who runs a local track day. Helmet - check. Not much else. Lots of date options from various marque clubs, right? Tech inspection consists of......??