The SCCA’s National Board of Directors has a National problem. I mean that both in nomenclature and in scale. National-level Club Racing is alive (National Racing), but it’s not well, and this is across all of the Divisions in the country.
Disclaimer
I’m going to over-simplify what’s going on here because there are far too many details and because frankly, I don’t know them all. And, for those of you who don’t know, there is Regional Racing, like our renown Mid-Atlantic Road Racing Series (MARRS) and there is National Racing, races that require the driver to have a National competitor’s license and qualify drivers for the Runoffs (Club Racing’s National Championship), among other things. Ok, back to our regularly scheduled blog.
National Issues
I learned at the National Convention that the SCCA National Office’s primary income comes from Membership Dues and, you guessed it, the Runoffs. Looking at that fact purely from a financial perspective, the reduction of the number of races needed to qualify for the Runoffs (at least 2 in-division with a minimum of 4 total) makes sense…it likely means more drivers will enter the Runoffs, and thus more income for SCCA National.
This business model presents another problem: quality (of racing) vs. quantity (of racers) at the Runoffs. Some people in the SCCA have visions of the Runoffs coming back to major prominence, with drivers from across the world flying in their cars to participate. Others have visions of turning away drivers at the Runoffs. Which does the National BoD want to see happen?
If the National BoD wants to embrace the “quality” result, then there will need to be a significant change in the National Office’s overall business model. The assumption here is that car counts will drop significantly, but the competition will be awesome.
If the National BoD wants to embrace the “quantity” result, the National Office will be financially stable, but it potentially dilutes the quality of the competition. Is that the message the SCCA wants to send to not only its own membership but also to other racing sanctioning bodies?
The National BoD has to make up its mind on what its goal is before it can entertain any solutions to the National Racing problem. This is no easy task, and I don’t envy the National BoD’s position one bit. They have a fiduciary responsibility to the club, but they also have to be cognizant that they don’t screw over the Regions in whatever decision they make since it is the Regions that are the lifeblood of this club/organization. Without the Regions, the National Office and the National Board of Directors have nothing to work for, and they know it.
Regional Issues
As the saying goes, the $#!+ always flows downstream, and this situation is no exception. Some quick numbers:
- The NorthEast Division (NEDiv) held 9 National races in 2009, with Pocono traditionally holding a double.
- Of the 450 NEDiv drivers who attended National events in-division, only 75 attended the Runoffs.
- At the impromptu NEDiv meeting at the National Convention, an informal poll was taken of how many National events were financially positive/negative. The split was down the middle, 50% financially positive, 50% financially negative.
So clearly, the Runoffs are not the motivator for National racers in the NEDiv to participate in National Racing, and the number of National races needed to qualify (both in-division and overall – VIR Double anyone?) for the Runoffs is not helping matters on a National or Divisional/Regional level.
Based on the responses I read from Tom Campbell’s Open Letter to National Drivers, the National racers really just want a racing experience that is cheap, fast and easy for them. Ok, but now you have to consider the Cheap-Fast-Easy triangle; you can only pick 2. It can be cheap and fast, but it may not be easy. It can be cheap and easy, but it won't be fast. It can be fast and easy but it won't be cheap. If one party gets all three, then the other party loses big.
For example, a double National (fast and cheap)at the racer’s home track (easy) is the racer not having to pick 2 but getting all 3. What incentive does the racer have to go elsewhere? Therefore, the other Regions hosting National races lose big.
This issue isn’t really what the National Drivers want; it’s clear what they want! The issue is figuring out how to make hosting National races profitable for Regions until the National BoD makes a change to the National Racing program.
Therefore, the Division needs to do something for the 2011 season, and the only way that the Division will overcome its collective inertia is to allow the issue to remain a massive pain point (i.e. No, we’re NOT changing the schedule so that certain Regions can have a double National in 2010). Then, the NEDiv Regions need to stop being selfish narcissists and realize that strength, and frankly, financial profit, comes in numbers, not by rabidly protecting one’s little fiefdom.
Take your blinders off, NEDiv Regions. It’s time to take the Red Pill and free yourselves.