Mark wrote:
> At every local region I've heard about, lots
> of new blood is coming in.
Then you haven't heard from Texas Region recently. We're not so
terribly far from you, and we've been rumored to put on events of
reasonable size from time to time. Here's a breakdown of our
attendance at Regional events in "other" classes after the first
8 events this season:
STS: Average - 2.375; High - 4; Low - 1
SM: Average - 2.75; High - 3; Low - 1
Street _Tire_: Average - 12.625; High - 18; Low - 6
Novice: Average - 18; High - 40; Low - 8
Now, look carefully at the above. Keep in mind that one of our
STS competitors is on the national committee for the class, and
he's made efforts to promote it here in Dallas. With the above
hard statistics in mind, I'll respond to what you say below:
> I thought that providing a class with rules that fit
> what they wanted to do, along with encouraging them to come out
an compete
> were some of the primary motivators.
Based on our experience, I would have to conclude (speaking
personally, BTW, not officially on behalf of the Texas Region)
that, by far, the best answers to "a class with rules that fit
what they wanted to do" are Novice and Street Tire classes, both
of which are inclusive of any car (even Street Touring cars!) and
PAX'ed for finishing position.
> I wasn't aware that all STS
> competitors couldn't handle getting beaten.
Again, referring to the above, it would appear that at a good
many novices prefer the idea of competing against others with
similar levels of experience. It would also apear that the
concept of "real street tires" is more attractive on its own
merits than the specific set of rules that constitute STS.
>_That_ must be why STS is doing well on a regional
> level as well as the nation scene!
Let's see some actual numbers, including those for regional-only
classes like Novice and Street Tire. I see nothing to indicate
that you're correct so far. I believe our program gives the best
indication of the true potential (or lack thereof) of STS as a
recruitment tool, because we offer two other viable alternatives
for new players. It would appear that they've voted with their
entry forms and that both Novice and Street Tire classes are
successful, whereas STS and SM are not.
Jay
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