Optima Events Are Fun But,

[1966mustangconv]

I really like the concept of the optima events. They are really fun as opposed to a regular boring SCCA Solo event. I think SCCA needs to rethink their position in the solo world on how to make their events less boring. At SCCA national events you only get three runs. I'm hoping that the SCCA CAM program takes off and does well but, they need to do away with their silly rules and stop excluding cars. They need to have just the minimum requirements of just a licensed street car with insurance, and V8 powered american cars and allow all american V8 cars run. According to the rules, A Maverick has to run with a Cobra. Their Cobra only class only has had one to three cars at each one of their CAM events.

At optima events not only that you get a lot more than 3 autocross runs, you have the start/stop segment, the design and engineering segment where you can show off the car and brag about it, that is what we do best; and you get to do some runs on a road course at full speed. The road course segment is a alot fun but, I have some concerns about the safety of the road course segment. Someone is going to get serious hurt one day.

I use to hold a SCCA competition license and I road raced for many years on various tracks. Although, I think running at the Daytona and Charlotte tracks would be a lot of fun but, is it really safe to allow what is essentially a true street car without the proper safety equipment such as, a fire suppression system, full-safety cage that meets the needs of of Nascar or SCCA specs., continue to run at those high speeds?

I noticed that Optima would put kinks on the fast straight sections to help keep the speeds down but, that is where you can get in trouble real quick. I think the high speed segment needs to be slowed down quite a bit in the interest of safety. The event is only safe as the inexperienced driver's talent and experience will allow and the safety factor of a street prepared car can handle those speeds.



In my opinion, allowing street driven cars to run the road courses without the proper safety equipment and especially at those high speeds is asking for a lot of trouble. I would hope that Optima/USCA would rethink the road course segment in the interest of safety and replace that segment with a different safe segment to complete the fun packed weekend event.

Anybody have any thoughts on this subject?

[Rod]

i think optima is banking on the Owner/Driver having some brains also....if your new to it start in "Novice" and optima and Jet Hot have partnered and they provide local qualified driving instructors...for free....its simple ...use the free help and drive within your ability...I have autocrossed for years, and i am fairly new to the big tracks like Daytona and Charlotte and I wasn't to proud to use the free instructor, even Kyle Tucker and others use the free instructors to learn the ins and outs at each big track before they go all out... and as you progress so will your car...again if you have brains....here's an example

the first Optima event I ran I entered in novice..and quickly out drove the event at that level...so at my second event I signed up for Intermediate and again used the instructors and at that event I quickly out drove my car...at that point I decided that if I wanted to progress so would my car(Jane) have to also and i added a roll bar/Harness bar and 5 point belts....and other safety things

I think that if you enjoy the Optima style event and build the car as you progress you will be safe and have a great car....

don't get me wrong I know someone is going to screw up badly one time because there driving above his or her ability and think they have something to showoff.. and it will hurt the sport... just be smart...

[WallaceMFG]

From what I read in the rule book for the USCA, you don't get to run full speed on the road course unless your and intermediate or expert level, and if you are in intermediate you can only pass on certain parts of the track. If you're in novice you basically get a moderate speed parade lap, no passing at a monitored speed. I understand they do all of this for safety, so there's probably no chance that will change to accommodate people who can't make the required number of track days per year. I just can't think of what they would replace the road course with if they did decide it's too dangerous.

It may be different in other places, but with the local AZ SCCA you can sign up for "time only" runs for $10 to get more runs at the event. The last autocross I went to I got to make 8 runs, I was pretty happy with that.

[IndyDave]

SCCA is already working on that. If you were at this past weekend's CAM Challenge East you would have had a great time with lot's of seat time. The CAM Challenges employ SCCA's National Match Tour format. At the very minimum you would have gotten 9 runs and if you did well enough to qualify for the challenges, the number of runs increase to 11 minimum. Do well in the challenge rounds and the run count goes to 18. Make the finale, and the total is 20 runs. BTW: Though Sunday morning's qualifying and the lottery draw, over half the field made the shootouts. If you can't make the CAM Challenges, any SCCA National Match Tour event operates the same way. Or just enter some local Region SCCA autocrosses. Most Regions work hard on giving as many runs as possible.

On the issue of CAM/S, I don't know where you got it is "the Cobra only class". CAM/S allows cars originally built with a minimum of 2 seats. It is where yes, Cobras and their replicas are classed, Corvettes up through the C3, AMC AMX, but it is also where cars that go beyond the limitations of CAM/T or CAM/C can run, as well as underweight cars, and street rods. The Maverick situation we are looking at and expect to see changes for 2016.

Goodguy's, optima, and SCCA are all trying to give the hot rod / street machine community the same thing: places to have fun with their cars. We all have our own personalities and that's just a win-win-win for everybody involved.

[Rod]

Rod, SCCA is already working on that. If you were at this past weekend's CAM Challenge East you would have had a great time with lot's of seat time. The CAM Challenges employ SCCA's National Match Tour format. At the very minimum you would have gotten 9 runs and if you did well enough to qualify for the challenges, the number of runs increase to 11 minimum. Do well in the challenge rounds and the run count goes to 18. Make the finale, and the total is 20 runs. BTW: Though Sunday morning's qualifying and the lottery draw, over half the field made the shootouts. If you can't make the CAM Challenges, any SCCA National Match Tour event operates the same way. Or just enter some local Region SCCA autocrosses. Most Regions work hard on giving as many runs as possible.

On the issue of CAM/S, I don't know where you got it is "the Cobra only class". CAM/S allows cars originally built with a minimum of 2 seats. It is where yes, Cobras and their replicas are classed, Corvettes up through the C3, AMC AMX, but it is also where cars that go beyond the limitations of CAM/T or CAM/C can run, as well as underweight cars, and street rods. The Maverick situation we are looking at and expect to see changes for 2016.

Goodguy's, optima, and SCCA are all trying to give the hot rod / street machine community the same thing: places to have fun with their cars. We all have our own personalities and that's just a win-win-win for everybody involved.

hey Dave... I was there at the CAM event, I didn't have any questions about SCCA ...that was the original poster, I was answering his optima question, there will be a great write up here on PT.com and Bangshift.com and a few others

heres Jane all ready for CAM-T



in the top 16, for the shoot out squeeze in at 13th

[nokones]

Dave - I hope that SCCA allows the C4 and newer Corvettes to run in CAM next year. That would be a "win-win-win-and win" for everyone (Please note the 4th win). If they will allow the C4 Corvettes to run CAM, I will be at your event next year. Your event appeared to be a great event and you did a great job in putting it on. Is there any chance that the C4 Corvettes will be able to run CAM next year?

This year, I ran two USCA events and my motor let go at the Las Vegas Event. My car is at Lingenfelter's for a new motor to replace the non-Lingenfelter new motor that only lasted 2 events. The Hot Laps at Texas was relative safe and Las Vegas was essentially safe but, I only had 3 laps that morning. I have to agree, the speeds sustained at some of these venues may be a tad too much for the type of cars we are running even with an approved cage. The speed may be one thing but, the hard fixed objects such as the walls and barriers contribute to the hazards for the unsafe conditions more than the sustained high speed that are happening at some of these tracks. Hitting a wall will hurt a bunch besides just my pride.

If the Hot Lap events were run like the old SCCA Solo I events, that would be safer than Charlotte and Daytona. Unfortunately, I didn't get to run Charlotte because I am still waiting for my car to get done. I hear that Charlotte was the event to be at. My daughter said, I missed a great event at Charlotte.

I like the optima events. They are fun and the whole weekend is very busy. I'm sure there are options to replace the Hot Lap portion of the weekend so it would be safer for everyone. If they did do away with the Hot Laps, I would still go to the optima events. They could move the Road Rally and Design and Engineering portions to Sunday and that would give us more time Saturday evening at the Holley Party to swap more lies with our friends. If they did do away with the Hot Laps, USCA would have more options on event venues to hold their event and probably at less cost. I am sure that renting Charlotte and Michigan do cost a pretty penny to rent.

[IndyDave]

hey Dave... I was there at the CAM event, I didn't have any questions about SCCA ...that was the original poster, I was answering his optima question, there will be a great write up here on PT.com and Bangshift.com and a few others

heres Jane all ready for CAM-T



in the top 16, for the shoot out squeeze in at 13th

Oops, sorry about that. I was replying to the OP also, somehow got your name stuck in my head. We did have a great time at CAM East, didn't we? My only regret was I wasn't in good enough health to drive my own damn car! LOL Still had a great time!

Kenny, look for a bunch of changes in CAM/S if what's being discussed now sticks. That's all I can say right now.

[nokones]

Dave - OK, I'll be on the lookout. Hey, I noticed that Jim McKamey got beat by a lady. Nice.

[Rod]

Dave - I hope that SCCA allows the C4 and newer Corvettes to run in CAM next year. That would be a "win-win-win-and win" for everyone (Please note the 4th win). If they will allow the C4 Corvettes to run CAM

I'm new to SCCA but don't Corvettes have there own class already?

[LemonTwisted]

From what I read in the rule book for the USCA, you don't get to run full speed on the road course unless your and intermediate or expert level, and if you are in intermediate you can only pass on certain parts of the track. If you're in novice you basically get a moderate speed parade lap, no passing at a monitored speed. I understand they do all of this for safety, so there's probably no chance that will change to accommodate people who can't make the required number of track days per year. I just can't think of what they would replace the road course with if they did decide it's too dangerous.

The Charlotte USCA event was my first track experience and I ran in the novice class. I was expecting the laps to be a lot slower paced than they were but it was way faster than what I was comfortable with. Stacy Tucker was the rabbit in the novice sessions and to me she didn't look like she was holding much back. I took advantage of the instructors which really helped as far as reading the course and knowing how hard to push the car in sections. This was really my first time driving my car over hiway speeds and the car did well (stayed together) but it took me a few laps to get confident in the car enough to start pushing my speed then the session was over. I decided the one session was good enough for me and the car.

In the following sessions there were some incidents on track which could have turned very bad but luckily there were no injuries. That reminded me of the saying, don't race a car that you can't afford to set on fire and drop off a cliff. I guess I'm just not at that point with my car or financially to be able to do that so I'm content to enjoy the auto cross and speed stop events. Overall I had a great time at the Charlotte USCA and would definitely do another one of their events but probably would not do the track sessions because it just wasn't that enjoyable to me, guess I'm getting old. If they were to take out the track sessions I think a longer cruise to some scenic areas and attractions would be enjoyable and allow more time for socializing.

Just my thoughts as a "novice".

[nokones]

I'm new to SCCA but don't Corvettes have there own class already?

In the stock category , which they call "Street" now, the C4 Corvettes run in "B" Street. In the Street Prepared category, the C4s run in "B" Street Prepared. In the Street Modified Category, the C4s run in Super Street Modified. All of the aforementioned classes have other make cars that are at least 500 lighter in weight. For example, the Super Street Modified class will allow you to prepare your car with mega horsepower but there are no allowances to legally put the car on a serious diet in order to compete with other cars that are 500 pounds lighter with 500-600horsepower such as the RX7s.

In the Prepared category, the Corvettes use to run in "B" Prepared. SCCA did away with that class many years ago. That pissed off a few people. "B" Prepared was essentially a Corvette only class until the later years the third Gen RX7s started competing in "B" Prepared. When SCCA did away with "B" Prepared, the Corvettes had no where to go in Prepared and the RX7s went to "X" Prepared.

A C4 Corvette prepared to the extent of the Pro-Touring rules technically, will not be legal for any SCCA Solo class except in a CAM class. That is why you do not see many modified Corvettes running in SCCA anymore. Most Corvette owners like to tinker with their cars and boost horsepower, put the car on a diet, well beyond the what the SCCA Solo rules will allow. The CAM program was the answer to that problem but, they decided to exclude the C4 Corvettes from the CAM program. In my opinion, that was a big mistake.

To answer your question regarding a Corvette only class, well kinda sorta, the Super Street and A Street classes are essentially Corvette only class, only by competition default, not by the rules. The C4 Corvettes can not compete with the C5 & C6 Corvettes in the Street Category. SCCA does not believe in a single marque only class.

A matter of fact, just about all of the existing legal CAM cars that are built to the extent of the Pro-Touring rules would not be legal in any of the SCCA Solo II classes.

For an example, lets take Mary Pozzi's 2nd Gen Camaro. Where would her car be classed in SCCA Solo II? No where except CAM. That is the same problem any car that was prepared to the extent of the Pro-Touring rules would have and the CAM category is the only category where a Pro-Touring prepared car can run in SCCA Solo. SCCA is the only organization that excluded the C4 and newer Corvettes from running in a Pro-Touring type program.

[Sleeper68]

Well, all I can say is my local SCCA chapter only provides about 4-5 runs per single SOLO event. Even when they know we have more time, they don't allow us to run any more. I'll give you an example, last July we had a two day event. Much less cars showed up than expected (75 when 100 were preregistered), so we had 5 runs that day due to the number of heats set up. We were completely finished and packed up by 2:30 PM with an allotted end time of 5 pm. The next day, on a shorter course at the same location and 5 fewer cars with an allotted end time of 5 pm, they gave us 5 runs... Not 6, not 7, even after multiple suggestions by long time participants. We finished at 2 pm... EVERYTHING was packed up and we were out by 3 pm... I am not the only one to notice this and many autocross enthusiasts around my area refuse to got to SCCA events here for that reason.

[WallaceMFG]

The Charlotte USCA event was my first track experience and I ran in the novice class. I was expecting the laps to be a lot slower paced than they were but it was way faster than what I was comfortable with. Stacy Tucker was the rabbit in the novice sessions and to me she didn't look like she was holding much back. I took advantage of the instructors which really helped as far as reading the course and knowing how hard to push the car in sections. This was really my first time driving my car over hiway speeds and the car did well (stayed together) but it took me a few laps to get confident in the car enough to start pushing my speed then the session was over. I decided the one session was good enough for me and the car.

In the following sessions there were some incidents on track which could have turned very bad but luckily there were no injuries. That reminded me of the saying, don't race a car that you can't afford to set on fire and drop off a cliff. I guess I'm just not at that point with my car or financially to be able to do that so I'm content to enjoy the auto cross and speed stop events. Overall I had a great time at the Charlotte USCA and would definitely do another one of their events but probably would not do the track sessions because it just wasn't that enjoyable to me, guess I'm getting old. If they were to take out the track sessions I think a longer cruise to some scenic areas and attractions would be enjoyable and allow more time for socializing.

Just my thoughts as a "novice".

That's good to hear, I had only read what I stated earlier from the rule book and didn't have any first hand experiences to learn from. Based on what you said that sounds a lot more appealing to drive in, hopefully I'll get to go some day. Now if only they'd drop the 1 driver per car rule so my dad and I could both drive...

[IndyDave]

Well, all I can say is my local SCCA chapter only provides about 4-5 runs per single SOLO event. Even when they know we have more time, they don't allow us to run any more. I'll give you an example, last July we had a two day event. Much less cars showed up than expected (75 when 100 were preregistered), so we had 5 runs that day due to the number of heats set up. We were completely finished and packed up by 2:30 PM with an allotted end time of 5 pm. The next day, on a shorter course at the same location and 5 fewer cars with an allotted end time of 5 pm, they gave us 5 runs... Not 6, not 7, even after multiple suggestions by long time participants. We finished at 2 pm... EVERYTHING was packed up and we were out by 3 pm... I am not the only one to notice this and many autocross enthusiasts around my area refuse to got to SCCA events here for that reason.

Sorry to hear about your experience with your local Region. Regions are only as good as the volunteers who put forth their time and efforts to make that Region's events happen. Want to see more runs at those events? Step up and volunteer.

[groho]

I can't speak from a drivers perspective, but I've volunteered a few SOLO and optima events while I continue to turn wrenches on my ride. The optima events are much faster and in my opinion safer. At my last Optima the autocross was intentionally tightened up because the test runs were too fast for a safe stopping distance. Personally, I wouldn't consider anything beyond the parade lap novice without a full cage, because its nothing to see some of these folks like Tucker, Smith, Pop doing 140+ into the first turn. I've observed two mishaps up close and thanks to preparation and "eye's up" everyone walked away with just a messed up car and bruised ego. I've been to several local SOLO events where the road course volunteers were inexperienced and red flags should have been thrown, and wasn't. Though SOLO is slower, its definitely not as safe as Optima. Just my two cents. i do not speak for Optima or the sponsors.

[rustomatic]

There's time, money, experience, and personal preferences--you've got to find what you like, and go in that direction. That's one of the really cool things about the USCA events; I volunteered at my first one, then drove in the second. As for autocross, my local SCCA does the four-run thing (not much in areas I want to hang out in, anyway), and GoodGuys, while fun, is like pulling teeth waiting to run (I've only been to the Pleasanton event, which is quite busy). At the USCA in Thunderhill, most guys drove their cars to death, if they wanted to, during autox and speed-stop; as autox goes, this is a perfect day. As for track time, there are tons of different groups that run normal track days out here, so if I want to do track, I pick one of them (you don't have to register for the full USCA weekend, by the way). I would definitely say that as far as road course time goes, USCA is by far the most critically safety-oriented I've seen.

Take a look at everything out there, and spend your money and time wisely, at least as much as possible with a hotrod/race car . . .

[analyte]

I'm new to SCCA but don't Corvettes have there own class already?

In the stock category , which they call "Street" now, the C4 Corvettes run in "B" Street. In the Street Prepared category, the C4s run in "B" Street Prepared. In the Street Modified Category, the C4s run in Super Street Modified. All of the aforementioned classes have other make cars that are at least 500 lighter in weight. For example, the Super Street Modified class will allow you to prepare your car with mega horsepower but there are no allowances to legally put the car on a serious diet in order to compete with other cars that are 500 pounds lighter with 500-600horsepower such as the RX7s.

In the Prepared category, the Corvettes use to run in "B" Prepared. SCCA did away with that class many years ago. That pissed off a few people. "B" Prepared was essentially a Corvette only class until the later years the third Gen RX7s started competing in "B" Prepared. When SCCA did away with "B" Prepared, the Corvettes had no where to go in Prepared and the RX7s went to "X" Prepared.

A C4 Corvette prepared to the extent of the Pro-Touring rules technically, will not be legal for any SCCA Solo class except in a CAM class. That is why you do not see many modified Corvettes running in SCCA anymore. Most Corvette owners like to tinker with their cars and boost horsepower, put the car on a diet, well beyond the what the SCCA Solo rules will allow. The CAM program was the answer to that problem but, they decided to exclude the C4 Corvettes from the CAM program. In my opinion, that was a big mistake.

To answer your question regarding a Corvette only class, well kinda sorta, the Super Street and A Street classes are essentially Corvette only class, only by competition default, not by the rules. The C4 Corvettes can not compete with the C5 & C6 Corvettes in the Street Category. SCCA does not believe in a single marque only class.

A matter of fact, just about all of the existing legal CAM cars that are built to the extent of the Pro-Touring rules would not be legal in any of the SCCA Solo II classes.

For an example, lets take Mary Pozzi's 2nd Gen Camaro. Where would her car be classed in SCCA Solo II? No where except CAM. That is the same problem any car that was prepared to the extent of the Pro-Touring rules would have and the CAM category is the only category where a Pro-Touring prepared car can run in SCCA Solo. SCCA is the only organization that excluded the C4 and newer Corvettes from running in a Pro-Touring type program.

Where do you want or expect to be slotted in CAM? There are a lot of C5 and C6 Corvettes in my local SCCA group, and they are quite competitive. I'm not sure why you feel they all belong in CAM, but I'm new to this also.

Not trying to inflame anyone, I just don't understand the constant push to get the new Vettes into CAM. I'm still learning and improving, but I do like the competitiveness of the current setup.

Kerry

[nokones]

In all fairness to the driver's in the CAM-T and CAM-C the C4 and newer Corvettes do not belong in those classes. I believe the C4 and newer Corvettes would be appropriately classed in CAM-S since the Corvette is a 2-seater car. I know that we will get our butts handed to us by the Cobra, we'll just have to drive faster. But, it will be fun trying to beat the Cobra. It would be nice that the C4 and newer Corvettes have their own class but, I don't think that a fourth class is justified. The CAM- S class is under subscribed and the C4 and newer Corvettes would resolve that problem.

The CAM program was developed to attract the Pro-Touring prepared vehicles to the SCCA. A fully prepared Pro-Touring car does not legally fit in any of the non-CAM class in SCCA so that is why us Corvette owners that have Pro-Touring prepared car are asking for a place to play in CAM. The thought his why not allow the C4 and newer Corvettes run in CAM. The SCCA is allowing the newer Mustangs and Camaros to run. The SCCA is allowing the GTO and a 4Door new Chevrolet SS to run in CAM, so why not the Corvettes.

[Sleeper68]

Sorry to hear about your experience with your local Region. Regions are only as good as the volunteers who put forth their time and efforts to make that Region's events happen. Want to see more runs at those events? Step up and volunteer.

I will most likely be doing that as I attend more and more events (I have only been to three). Unfortunately the people that run my region's SCCA Solo events can be somewhat prude and dknt like to open up to outsiders persay. Hopefully as I continue to participate in events, they will open up and I (and others) will be able to get a better appropriated number of runs for our time allotted.

[Cobra 498]

We definitely need more cars in Cam S, I hope they allow C4 Corvettes, and they can be very fast when done right.