The state of open wheel racing

[oldracer]

Now that SCCA has reinforced the notion that they are fools and introduced another failed class where does this leave the rest of the open wheel community? The only good news is that it stalled before they could achieve National status.

Yes, SCCA's action was a real body blow to other classes and it remains to be determined if they can recover. It hurt prep shops and parts suppliers...can they recover?

Ignoring the parts issues, will the FSCCA driver go to other open wheel classes or has they financial pain soured them on SCCA?

[ViatoVao]

Can you please share some more info about this? Your view for someone like me that just joined Formula racing is very vague and offers no information, just a personal attack of some sort against SCCA. In other words what is your problem(s) against SCCA or did you mean SCCA enterprises. I am 100% satisfyed with my FSCCA and looking forward to drive it for many years, your attack on this class and SCCA is not productive to the grow of the class which in my opinion will not only hurt my racing fun but my investment in the car. You want to help formula racing in general convert a tin top driver drive a Formula/sport racer.

[LolaT440]

You know this board goes round and round about these things. Such as 1600 motors etc... I started looking to buy a car after I sold my vintage FF. I was going to buy an IT car, or maybe even an oval modified.

But as I looked around, the labor to maintain and build an IT car was an issue. Crash repair of an IT car was also an issue. The oval guys crash each other too much.

How many cars can you buy that out of the box, are pure designed race cars? And for a 3K motor I can get close to 1 minute at Lime Rock? No big rig needed to tow. And so on...

Yes the car counts are not 30+. Yes the motor parts can be a headache...

But I have a purpose built, real race car for 8K, a CF. And when I drive it I am going to have fun. Screw everything else. If the class folds up, so be it, I made my choice.

God bless those that can buy the FSCCA. Drive it, enjoy it, hopefully it will depreciate so I can buy one for my son in 15 years.

If you want to be a pro...then you may have concerns with FSCCA. But outside of that, buy the car you like and love, and hopefully keep your wife happy at the same time.

[Allan Davies]

Lola, you hit the nail right on the head...buy the car that YOU want and have fun running it. You don't need a 30-car field in your class, all you need is a track, some cars out there running with you, a sunny day (or a rainy one if you're into it), and an opportunity to put yourself into that very special zone that only race drivers can go to.

Hope you have a great time.

Best regards,

Allan

[oldracer]

VV, You haven't done your homework...look at the past failures of SCCA. Now they bring a car to market that wasn't tested or suitable for the task. The Pro series is dead. Used FSCCA cars sit on the used market...where have you been? The SCCA mechanic of the year (past) calls it an "understeering pig" and worse.

There are only so many of us willing to race formula cars and it has simply hurt the other classes. Open wheel isn't a class for those not willing to leave the ground occasionally.

SCCA took advantage of you by promising great things. I do feel sorry for those that purchased this car, but the thread is inquiring as to what happens now. The class isn't growing and won't achieve the critical mass necessary to reach national status. I notice that most owners are sick over this failure and don't have many choices other than racing the car in FA.

The most ardent cheerleaders can't put a good spin on this issue.

[Jtovo]

First off "oldracer" if you want to post your theories, you should think about using a name and maybe you would get some credibility.


Until then, I feel comfortable finding joy in the fact that you have no clue what you are talking about. And then I can laugh at the fact that the Internet has allowed ignorant people to have a soapbox. Damn that Al Gore.

[ViatoVao]

Oldracer, your glass is half empty, and my glass is half full. My gearbox is great, the new update with clutch and flywheel is awesome. The fuel injectors are going to give me more power and I will be able to run 87 octane. As far as understeering I only have it on slow turns hairpin at sebring and turn 4 at VIR. The car is not perfect but what car is? I only see 3 for sale. Last SportCar magazine had 0 in the classifieds. The new ones are being delivered and I see the class moving forward, I am sorry if you feel remorse against SCCA but keep in mind that if it wasn't for FSCCA I personally would have never joined in, the class appeals to me, I want the spec, I want the sequential gearbox, I want to spend less than 35K for the car, and so far I have received awesome customer service from enterprise and my area rep. I just had to share this because I do not want someone who is looking to buy a formula car to shut down this options. There are many happy owners out there, and I am one of them.

As far as open wheel racing, we need to convince all the people that think spec miata is the best class that they have no idea how much better it is to drive a real race car. Perhaps then we will have more attendance in formula groups.

Merry Xmas to all

[Brian Good]

"Understeering pig?" Funny, the first day I was testing my new DB-1 back in 1984, some "expert mechanic" came over to tell me the same thing about my car. When I did some checking, I discovered that he sold a competing car; apparently the DB-1's real flaw was that it wasn't what he sold. It was at that point that I began to realize that a lot of people in racing have agendas which they may or may not be willing to admit, and which may or may not be grounded in reality.

And I guess that diabolical understeer was the fatal flaw that resulted in the DB-1's total lack of success and quick departure from the scene.

Plenty more I could say, but in the interest of not feeding the troll, I won't.

[dc]

Bravo Brian.

[Eric Cruz]

I second ViaVato as a happy owner. The only thing I'm sick over is ignorant people bashing a good car. If one was truly concerned about the success of this class, I don't believe they'd have motive to post such comments.

Merry Christmas!

Eric

p.s. My glass is too big...

[J Mabee]

I am in the same boat as V.V. FSCCA was the perfect "fit" for me on many levels. Price, maintinance, durability - which is great now that most of the bugs are worked out. Last season was my 1st ever racing anything and I had an absolute blast. Got faster every session and once I got closer to the limit my understeer went away in all but the slowest 1st gear corners - (exit only) which I can probably get rid of now with the injectors and lighter flywheel!! If I had it to do all over again I would still buy this car. Sure it could have been launched better but it wasn't and Enterprises worked / is working to make sure its right. The FA guys don't like us but we actually are helping their class to stay alive right now. Sure there is a chance that things might not work out but I'm betting the chances are much better that it survives. Look at the prices for almost any new formula car and this is still a good deal - even at the new price. FBMW - @$70,000, Pro Mazda $70,000 +! FSCCA @$36,000. Plus I'll probably run another FULL season on my origional motor and hopefully the one after that too. There is some negativity in the formula car ranks about this car but it is mostly positive. Lots of "band wagon" as$%^les. I think some of the guy's that have been in the club racing for a while forgot how amazing our hobby is. Jez - we all love open wheel racing - I didn't buy this car to kill another class. I probably wouldn't be running in it anyways. I like/love doing other things but there is only 1 thing that I live for - 10 or 14 weekends a year (hopefully). I'll be damed if I let someone ruin it because he doesn't like my car and he can eat my exaust through my spec enterprises muffler. I'm giving the finger right now to anyone who writes something negative about my post!! : )

Jason

FSCCA#66
2004 MID-AM FA champion

[SStadel]

I'm with Viato, Eric, Jason & Joe on this one. Yes, I was racing Formula Ford and jumped to this class, along with my partner. I did however sell the Ford to a guy that is running more races than we were. I'm sure he will be moving up to Nationals soon. The toughest thing for me was telling my engine builder as we had developed a good friendship over the last 15+ years. I've been through the "bumps" in this class, but to say I'm excited about the 2005 season would be an understatement.

I ran 5 races this year after getting a late start waiting for the trans update. Besides normal Formula car stuff like setup changes, bleeding brakes, changing oil, tires (2 sets for 4 weekends), etc. my major wrenching on this car consisted of swapping the pads from front to back. I'm still using the pads this car came with (11 races and some test days). Despite racing on a budget even the most frugal Formula car guy would admire I was the top finishing FSCCA car in 4 out of 5 races (had the poll for the other) and even was 1st overall in FA in one race.

I think the "feel good" stories are going to start outnumbering the "doomsday" stories very quickly. Would I be racing another type of Formula car had this car not come out? Probably, but not as often as my partner and I hope to race in '05 and beyond. We hope to bring more drivers into our mix by having lapping sessions at the Autobahn Country Club. We feel that after they drive a "real" race car, their Porsche's & Ferrari's will seem lame by comparison (and more expensive to lap, with the cost of brakes and upkeep of those exotics).

[Mark H]

At Road Atlanta in Nov. for the ARRC the SCCA boys had a good size field and put on a clean show?
The guy that won ,Frank F., came from a split start, doing 28's, passed a bunch of FM's and was at the front in the end.
The guys driving these cars have raced me clean all season and we have had fun dicing with them in the pack?
The only thing I may change on that car is add a diffuser, it would look a lot cooler with one.
Im sure they will get a Nat. class soon. Maby someday replacing the FM's?

[Eric E.]

Well if it wasn't for the FSCCA car, I would have been racing in IT or SM. This year was my first time racing... ever. Never even autox before I bought this car. If I could do it all over again the only thing I would have changed was buying the FSCCA car sooner. I love this car. Had no gear box problems, and now with the new gear box rule and lighter clutch/flywheel, should be even less of a chance of problems. This is a new car with a brand new seq. gearbox. If you think a new car is going to come right out of the gate with no problems, you sir are delusional. You need to beta test everything from software to race cars. If you bought this car right off the bat and didn't think you were a beta tester well like I said your delusional.

The good news oldracer is the beta testing is over and you can buy FSCCA v1.0 at your local Ent. CSR.

I'm giving the finger right now to anyone who writes something negative about my post!! : )

Ditto... Your killing me Jason.

[Scott Hutchison]

Good to see the positive, enthusiastic comments from you FSCCA racers. I'm a FC man, because I can afford the older cars and I like to tinker, but I think the FSCCA cars look great and ARE a good value. Hope you guys have a great season.

[Robert Mumm]

Well "Old Guy" sounds like someone who made a bad investment in a different car and wants to prop up his ego by slamming what is turning out to be a great group of racers and race cars. By the end of this month, there should be over 100 cars shipped. While we have the Sports Racer version of the FSCAA car, it is truly a well built and designed car and handles incredibly well and we can race it as either a Formula Car or a Sports Racer. Having raced Spec Racer Renaults and Fords for about 12 years, and then a very expensive few years in World Challenge, the decision to buy another Spec Car was easy. I wonder if he was referring to Spec Racer Ford as another SCCA failed class? We raced our Spec Racers for about 7 and 5 years each and still sold them for more than we paid for them! I expect that in several years we will be able to sell our SRFCCA for more than our purchase price. As far as the class stalling, new cars and sports racer body kits are being delivered to other customers who see what a great car and program this is.

[MarkM]

My FSCCA is almost here. I have waited over a year since placing my order, and I feel it will be worth the wait. I don't see many (any?) negative posts from actual FSCCA owners. In life, one will ALWAYS be able to find naysayers on anything. I ordered the car because it suits my wants and I feel that ultimately it will be as successful as SRF.

Am I still excited after a one year wait? Words can't describe it. If you want to race open wheel in a class where money and the "tweak of the week" don't determine the outcome, you need to give FSCCA a close look. IMO.

Mark

[Chet Zerlin]

Time for a FSCCA recap and status check now that 2004 is almost over:

Vast majority of current, actual (not virtual) owner's opinons: "Great car. Blast to drive."
Brighter and brighter future.
More cars arriving now and in the future.
New contract signed. Van Diemen now under Panoz's umbrella (do I need to mention that their headquarters is in Atlanta as in "US of A"?)
Bugs completely worked out of the transmission.
Upgraded engine injectors and EMC allows running on pump fuel - no more high gas bills each weekend.
New lighter flywheel and clutch improves transmission longevity and ups horsepower by 10+ bhp.
Brake pads that can last a whole season.
Hoosier tires readily avaialble and under $600 for a new set (mounted and balanced).
Tires lasting 9 to 12 heat cycles.
CSR with parts at tracks (usually) meaning no stockpile of parts to bring to (most) racetracks.
Same car, same engine, same everyrthing on everyone's car. No cubic dollars needed to be compeditive. If you are the better driver you win.

I have had my FSCCA for one year now and had held off selling my SRF that I had raced since 1986 until I was sure this was the class for me. Please note my advertisement in the general classified forum entitled :For Sale: Spec Racer Ford".

Nuff said?

FSCCA Chasis #70
Car #22.

[RS Motorsport]

The old guy isn't ignorant, he's just jealous. FSCCA is thriving in spite of the past (read again PAST) issues.