----- Original Message -----
From: <Smokerbros@aol.com>
> Roger makes a good point. When I started, a rear swaybar, or different
carb
> would put you in Prepared. In '83, we created SP, and thought at the time
> that we were including the things that an enthusiast would do to improve
> their car.
>
> It's clear that SP doesn't currently reflect some of the things that
> enthusiasts do. Mostly due to enthusiasts having even more options now
than
> ever. Should SP be changed to reflect these changes? I'm guessing the
> current SP competitors would say "no." They did when surveyed a few years
> ago.
They didn't just say no, they said "hell, no" and threatened to hunt us
down, stake us down next to an anthill and smear us with honey. That led to
the "Improved Street" proposal you and I and a bunch of others hacked out,
which, at a somewhat watered-down scale, became ST.
> So, we have STS, STR and SM. Hopefully, they will satisfy the needs of an
> additional group of people. To me, the bottom line is this. 99% of our
new
> entrants start with some car they already had. MAYBE 1% say "I think I'll
> start autocrossing. What car should I get to do it with?" It's also just
> about a universal truth that people change cars.
>
> To me the question becomes: IS SM a class in which you start, or a class
to
> which you go later? After we answer that question, then and only then can
> you decide what cars/modifications you allow. If you're trying to attract
> people by having the class, I think it's a bit narrowly constructed as it
> stands, by the way...
I think there's a slight disconnect between what the National Office has
publicized ST and SM as, and what the people who proposed them intended.
Both proposals were attempts to capture the current crop of street-legal
enthusiast modifications, for which the SP rules no longer provide a good
fit. Certainly, they could be viewed as means to bring in new members
(which is what the marketing guy in Denver grabbed onto), but IMO, neither
proposal was designed with that sole purpose.
Jamie
'92 Prelude Si
Speed Demon Racing
http://www.mindspring.com/~jsculerati/sdr
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