FB participation thru June

[Stan Clayton]

FB is in 26th place with 68 entries. That compares to 17 entries as of the end of June last year...for an increase of 400%. Keep up the good work!

[RussMcB]

Stan, what are some of the other classes nearby (24th - 28th)?

Thanks.

[Stan Clayton]

IIRC, the next class up is a Touring class on 110 entries, while classes below FB are way down (under 30?). I have only unofficial results, but the complete numbers should be posted on SCCA's website any time now.

[Mike B]

Since future Runoffs invitations are based on entries per race, where does FB stand in relation to the 2.5 cut off?

[MikeS]

Mike,

There have been 54 races as of 7/1 , looks like 1.25 ish

[Stan Clayton]

I get the same numbers as MikeS, so FB has not qualified for the '09 Runoffs. And IIRC, during yesterday's call it was pointed out that only the top 21 classes are meeting the 2.5 rule.

[carnut169]

FB is in 26th place with 68 entries. That compares to 17 entries as of the end of June last year...for an increase of 400%. Keep up the good work!

Fastest growing class?

[Stan Clayton]

FB is certainly off to the best start of the new classes and a good, solid start; but in the big picture the class is not really setting any records for growth (not that anyone set record growth as "the" measure of success for FB).

Spec Renault (now SRF) in 1984 = 0 Nat'l entries. 1985 entries = 714.

About 50 FEs came into the club in late '03 and early '04, and IIRC had ~100 Nat'l entries in '04 as Atlantics. They had about 200 entries their second year; are at 258 so far this year (6th overall), and should end the year comfortably over 300.

Still, FB participation is growing nicely and its growth is all the more remarkable in that it has not been propelled by SCCA capital or subsidies. Moreover, there are lots of new cars in the works to help fuel continued growth next year.

As far as earning a Runoffs berth is concerned, the criteria are simple: be in the top 24 classes, and average 2.5 entries per Nat' race. Right now any class that hits 2.5 is safely in the top 24, so aiming for 2.5 x 70 (races) = 175 entries seems a reasonable target. FB is averaging 1.259 entries per race so far this year, so if the class grows just 100% next year (after growing 400% this year), it should earn a 2010 Runoffs berth.

I really meant it when I gave that big *thumbsup* in the lead-off post. Keep up the good work!

Stan

[formulasuper]

I agree with Stan, this is a very impressive start for a totally new class that is made up of totally new designed factory cars & major mod conversion cars. Having built one of the very first formula cars to motorcycle engine power conversions myself I know from first hand experience how much design time & labor goes into a first time project like this. Once all the "in works" projects hit the track the numbers will start to increase even faster. I believe in a couple of years we'll be seeing large fields of these beautiful high tech cars playing their music around the tracks.

[Matt Conrad]

Although I'm a bit disappointed by the current FB numbers, I've spoken to many people who are either building, converting or possibly buying an FB car. There is a ton of interest and this is the most exciting NEW class in SCCA and I hope it becomes the most exciting class....period. As most of you know, we were one of the first manufacturer to commit to this class and we remain commited with the launch of our new 2009 car.

I haven't put this up on the website yet, but here's what we are going to do to launch the new F1K.09 and "put some skin in the game" to hopefully boost the FB numbers for 2009 so we can have a Runoffs race in 2010:

• The first two customers that purchase a "turn-key" F1K.09 will recieve free trackside support for the January Double National at Phoenix International Raceway AND the March Double National at Firebird Raceway....including the preceeding test days. That's a $3,000 Value!
• We will guarantee the delivery of these first two turn-key cars prior to the January Double National at PIR and deliver the cars to the track in "race-ready" condition.
• Free storage of the cars between events.
• Race preparation between events at our cost.
• Our 2009 contingency program will be announced later, but there will be cash payments for track records and National participation.

This offer provides benefits for everyone involved. The owner gets to come down and race with us while many others are shoveling snow and scraping windshields, plus they get free "hands on" help to learn about their new car from the people that built it. But the biggest benefit is that we can put multiple FB's on the track to help make the numbers in 2009...not to mention putting on a really good show. My goal is to have 8 FB's for the January races...as opposed to 2 this last year.

Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Works, LLC

[carnut169]

Way to go Matt. Other constructors should be as interested in the success of the class...

[RussMcB]

Way to go Matt. Other constructors should be as interested in the success of the class...

Awesome deal, Matt. Your continued support for the class is a great example and appreciated.

[RussMcB]

Not really a serious proposal, but something to consider:

Since there isn't a snowball's chance that the 2008 FB participation numbers will be enough for FB to compete at the 2009 Runoffs, all FB competitors should put their 2008 entry fees in the bank and use them instead to go to more races in 2009.

That thought occurred to me when I was looking at the remaining 2008 races and what my budget might allow. Going to a 2008 national wouldn't help anything, right?

[Sean Maisey]

Russ and Matt,

Both great ideas.

How about this for an idea? As Russ suggests we all agree to abandon Nationals for the rest of the 2008 campaign (the cause is lost for this year as very few races are left).

Instead we agree to focus on meeting at the ARRC. Where we stage a good time communal class-promoting preview of the 2009 National Season. We should start today to work together to get EVERY single car out that we can.

If we really work at it, I bet a 25+ car field is possible. That would be cool! Almost like seeing F1 race at RA. Can you guys imagine strings of 4-5-6 cars battling by at 13000rpm?

Finally we agree to work as a group to run as many National races as possible in 2009. This is esential for the survival of the class, and needs to be a big priority. If we don't do it next year, we will be perceived as loosing our momentum. It should be obvious now why we need the BOD to see us as an 'up and coming' class.

Thoughts?

Sean

[Nicholas Belling]

Use the ARRC to build and regain forward movement and interest in the class.. Even though by NO MEANS has the class lost momentum.. if anything it has gained in a big way.. so many people are just on the sidelines still waiting to come into the class and waiting to decide which way to get in.. But the arrc race seemingly gives answers to some looking for answers of which manufacturer or conversion process is the way to go and spend there money.

After the ARRC for 2009 simply Nationals, Nationals, Nationals,.. Forget the regional days, and local testing .. spend it all on nationals and national test days.. we should be able to make the 2010 without a doubt if we double current participation + and I feel majority of F1000 owners this year either bought a car early or mid year or went through conversion processes or teardowns and redesigns and got there cars either just working or will be just working so defintely a huge amount of new nationally capable running cars by next year...

we should run some statistics on a list of F1000 competitors we know of and or can build on the list.. find out there honest commitment and expected minimum capibility and maximum capibility for running national races next year.. then start to run some numbers to see where we sit on runoffs elegibility with minimum expectations.. This should really let us know if we can reach our target easily or if we are close and need to move participation to the next level.

[carnut169]

I would be willing to run only Nationals in 09....

Mike B has a decent list of FB owners, so contacting them to get participation estimates would not be all that difficult. It would be hard to say that I will be running 2 or 10 events at this point. Kinda depends on the 08 bonus...

[Mike B]

I could get behind this, although the 2008 ARRC is only tentative for me. Anyone know the dates for this year's race?
Can one of the smart guys (Stan, Sean, hell, even Russ) tell me if FB mathematically doesn't have a snowball's chance for the Runoffs in '09?
I'm still going to enter races this year because we need to continue to work out the bugs so we can hit the ground running in '09. In Cendiv, we still have two nationals and two regionals left. The car doesn't know if it's in a national or a regional race, nor does the credit card. If FB is mathematically out of the running this year, I'll enter whichever races fit the family schedule.

[carnut169]

We would need to average 2.5 cars per race, right? I don't think that is going to happen in this year... by next spring we will have a bunch of cars completed that are currently under construction. With the success of the Nova kit, the Phoenix contingencies, plus Stohr, Piper, and Speads all building cars I'd bet on some new players as well....

09 should be great for FB.

[Matt Conrad]

Based on my math...unfortunately....not a snowball's chance in hell for making numbers this year. There's only a few Nats left and I would think we'd have to have 7-8 cars at each of them to even come close to the 2.5 per event needed.

We're going to do everything we can to encourage people to come race with us down here. I've already announced the contingency program, as well as the free trackside support deal for the first few buyers of our F1K.09 cars.

We'll also try to help ANY FB competitor that comes down here any way we can. Just let us know you are coming and what we might be able to help out with.

We have 7-8 Nationals from January to April in SOPAC and the run groups have been fairly anemic the last few years. It is a great way to get your out-of-region races in (and I believe the rules now allow for 3), prop up the FB numbers, and get a head start on the season.

Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Works, LLC

[RussMcB]

I could get behind this, although the 2008 ARRC is only tentative for me. Anyone know the dates for this year's race?

November 07, 2008 - November 09, 2008

Hope you and your crew can make it. You did well last year and probably better in 2008 since you know which way the turns go now.

[ghickman]

Matt and all other FB competitors
The car being built by Gary Hickman and Tony Moore is finally done. I'll be posting pictures of the car this week. Well be testing throughout the months of August and September. We'll run 2 on board cameras so everyone can get a look at what we've come up with.

We'll be fully tested and ready to race at the ARRC.

We'll have our car at all of the Phoenix area races...so Matt you can add us to your list.

Gary Hickman

[Matt Conrad]

Gary,

I already had you on my list. Check the AZ Region website as they now have all of the Regional events listed. From memory, 7 Regionals (starting in late Sep.) prior to the January Double National at PIR.

Really look forward to another FB to race with.

Matt