cabriniman
06-09-2008, 11:25 AM
I have noticed at every event I have participated in there are some first timers that seem to sign up for a less correct class. This happened to me in my first event when I raced in the B Stock class (this is technically correct for my car) on street tires and came in 6th when if I was in the more correct class (AT) I would have placed 2nd. I was pretty bummed out until I realized my mistake. If I didn't figure it out I may not have come back to race again as I have zero chance at winning or even being very competitive in B Stock without R compound tires which I’ll probably never own. I know I'm not the only one who makes this mistake.
I've had two or three people come up to me in past events asking what the AT class was and then realizing they signed up for the less correct class. The only reason they even noticed the AT class is because they happen to have the same car as I do and were wondering why I wasn't in B Stock.
I just looked at the novices for the season and found that 26 are currently registered in stock classes (not including those listed as “various”). I’ll bet that most of them are running on street tires and would be more competitive in the AT class. Heck, I see a lot of non-novices in stock classes with street tires. Guess who always rounds out the bottom of the class standings at the end of the day?
I think there should be more education given on what the AT class is and why it exists. This could be done through emails to new drivers or at the events (maybe at the novice course walk or briefly at the drivers meeting). If it’s ok I wouldn’t mind looking for and recruiting potential AT drivers during the events.
It’s no fun to feel like you’re on an uneven playing field and I think we could attract and retain more new drivers if the AT class was more prevalent.
I've had two or three people come up to me in past events asking what the AT class was and then realizing they signed up for the less correct class. The only reason they even noticed the AT class is because they happen to have the same car as I do and were wondering why I wasn't in B Stock.
I just looked at the novices for the season and found that 26 are currently registered in stock classes (not including those listed as “various”). I’ll bet that most of them are running on street tires and would be more competitive in the AT class. Heck, I see a lot of non-novices in stock classes with street tires. Guess who always rounds out the bottom of the class standings at the end of the day?
I think there should be more education given on what the AT class is and why it exists. This could be done through emails to new drivers or at the events (maybe at the novice course walk or briefly at the drivers meeting). If it’s ok I wouldn’t mind looking for and recruiting potential AT drivers during the events.
It’s no fun to feel like you’re on an uneven playing field and I think we could attract and retain more new drivers if the AT class was more prevalent.