Once again, false premises are being used to arrive at faulty
conclusions. First, the premises:
1. Showroom Stock is, or has been in the last twenty years,
"grassroots." Think about this for a few seconds. In a series that
outlaws cars more than four (or is it five) years old, how much use is
anyone gonna get out of a race car? If you buy new now, AND if your car
stays competitive for its entire eligibility period, you STILL have to
buy new again after a relatively short period of time.
2. Road race classing decisions and/or prep rules are directly connected
with Solo II prep allowances. While there are some accommodations and a
handful of direct connections to the GCR in the Solo II rules, neither
Stock nor Street Prepared is directly connected with any road racing
allowances. Nor should they be. Racing is racing, autoxing is autoxing.
3. Political pressures on SCCa decisions about road racing are the same
for Solo II. Anyone who's been paying attention has seen a number of
Solo II classes "dominated" by specific models, only to have the balance
of power shifted when new models inevitably appear or someone
"discovers" potential in a previously-ignored car.
4. Classes are always won by the "best" car in that class. Gimme a
break. I've seen talent overcome inferior equipment more than once. At
Nationals. And, even in Stock, car development is essential. If nobody
takes enough interest in a car to seriously develop it, then nobody
really knows the potential of that car. OTOH, if mfr's contingency money
attracts hordes of talented drivers and serious resources to develop
that car, guess what happens? I knew you could.
False conclusions:
1. No car has the potential to win a class at Nationals other than the
one that did so most recently.
2. Cars that become popular and therefore appear to dominate a class
have been given unfair favoritism.
3. It is possible, or even desirable, for every car that could possibly
be entered in Solo II competition to have the same chance of winning as
every other car in its class.
4. Life is fair. It ain't.
Jay
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