Most of us who are involved in FB/F1000 really love the class. It is exciting to see and hear the cars run.....to say nothing about the thrill of driving one. The class is still relatively new, and it is growing. Several drivers have moved over from other classes, and perhaps more importantly, it seems to be attracting new members to the club.
So.....how do we build on that success? Decisions made at this point can make or break the future of the class. We must think carefully about what is really best for the class in the long term. Every dicision should be guided by the disire to encourage partictipation by those who currently have cars....and attract more drivers to the class.
To that end, here are some of my thoughts:
1. The rules for FB and USF1000 need to be the same. To do otherwise will reduce participation in both. Smaller fields could kill the class in scca, and small fields in USF1000 will not be attractive to series sponsors (which are sorely needed....unless we want all the cost and prizes to come from increased entry fees).
2. USF1000 races need to be run on Majors weekends. That way competitors can compete for both championships.....which will incourage participation in both series. Running on regional weekends will not attract series sponsors. Running on other "pro" weekends will increase entry fees and relegate us to the worst paddock spaces.
3. Newer engines will be needed in the class as the supply of older engines becomes scarce in the used marketplace. HOWEVER, the horsepower wars between motorcycle manufacturers results in big gains in power every few years...with different brands being the choice in different years. This could result in an "engine of the year (or 2)" battle and the cost of that could drive people out of the class and scare new drivers away. Some way to bring some parity between the various engines seems like a good idea to me. The proposed restrictor rule will achieve that better than any other method anyone has come up with. It will bring the engines closer together...never equal.....but close.
4. USF1000 prize money should be combined into a year end purse spread over the top 10 cars. That will be an incentive to run more races.......which will be good for participaton numbers (Both Majors and USf1000....if ran together).
5. USF1000 series needs to remain at least 5 or 6 weekends to attract sponsors. Drop to 2 or 3 weekends as some suggest.....and the series will die. Sponsors will not be interested. REMEMBER, IF PRIZE MONEY DOESN'T COME FROM SPONSORS, IT WILL HAVE TO COME FROM HIGHER ENTRY FEES......and that will hurt participation.
6. Everyone would like to have our own run group at each race.....but until our numbers increase, it is difficult......so lets do what we can to increase the participation numbers!
7. Some have suggested a dedicated tech person. We would have to pay that person.....and it is unlikely anyone could get to all the races. As much as we don't like it....SCCA tech can handle the usual wing measurents, etc..... and a protest is the method for enforceing compliance.
8. For this year, with the runoffs at Daytona, the USF1000 final east vs west national championship race should NOT be at the runoffs. Let's face it, west coasters will not be at Daytona in large numbers.
Let's here your thoughts.
Thanks,
Jerry Hodges