New direction for me in 2014

[Bill Howell]

It is after much thought that I make this post. I have tried to touch on this in a recent post about plans for 2014. I have talked with partners, vendors, supporters and participants about this and why I am doing this post/email. I have been involved from a very personal level in the development of this nitch we call Protouring. I have lead the charge, drove the train and cheerlead all I know to do. I did it in the beginning for the fun, at some point, it did become a part time business. Never designed to be my day job, but did help with me being able to afford my new found, very expensive hobby.
That is the ground work. We went from cruises, to drag racing to autocrossing and finally moved into full fledged, all out Road Coarse Racing. Call it what you like, but when you strap into a car with a 5 point harness, pull onto a track, run it as hard as you feel your are talented to do, be that understood or perceived, whether or not it has a tag, insurance or proper racing equipment, YOU ARE RACING! Now, as the sport grew, and as more and more came on board, joined the ranks, built more cars, faster cars and even now special purpose built cars, there is one thing that needed to happen that didn't. I blame myself for that, regardless if you were running in my events or elsewhere. I am writing this right now to say that as far as I, Bill Howell is concerned....NO MAS!
This hobby is growing now exponentially, cars are getting stupid fast, every year we read or witness more and more horsepower, more and more speed, with no or very little attention to driver talent or enough safety equipment.
Guys, Girls, participants, vendors and promoters. This is a TRAINWRECK just looking for a place to happen. I am no longer willing to be the or one of the conductors. Now that we have cars with more horsepower than NASCAR being driven by people that have very little training or track time it is just a matter of time before the so far minor incidents turn into something far worse. This year I can name at least 5 separate times that sheet metal was bent this year. Only one of those involved injuries. The clock is ticking guys, I have to bring it to the surface. It has been the white elephant in the room for a while, I am just the one that is pointing at it and saying lets fix it before it eats us.
Three reasons I am screaming this.
1. From a personal standpoint I could not live with myself knowing I was responsible in anyway for one of my friends being injured or killed.
2. From a business point of view, no amount of money, fame or recognition is worth the pain a bad accident would do for the business.
3. As a very good friend told me just yesterday, most personal injury attorneys can not even spell liability wavier. To them it doesn't exist. I can sign anything to release the promoter, the vendors and others from my stupidity. However, if I die due to my self destructive actions, all Melinda needs is a good attorney and one hint of negligence on anyone's part and it is all over.
All that said, lets move on to 2014.
1. As a participant and one with the need for speed, yes, I will very privately attend some events as a private person, running my private car, and have a blast.
2. As Bill Howell the promoter, until I am comfortable that I have CMA with all my current concerns and issues, don't expect to see my name attached to any event that I KNOW is unsafe. This will probably mean as a company, I will not be involved in many or any Road Coarse Events. As a company I will change my focus on what I consider Fun and Safe. This doesn't mean I am going anywhere, it simply means look for a different direction. Autocrossing has it's areas of concern also, but as a promoter there are things I can do to insure the most you can do is get some cone rash on your quarter panels.




Does this mean no Road Coarse anymore. Absolutely not. However, it will mean lead follow laps for people that can not prove to me they and their car are ready to be turned loose. This still won't cure all problems, but know that the rules, requirements and qualifications are going to be stiff.
Will this hurt my business plan? It may in the short term but I feel the long term results will be both understood by most and appreciated by all.


The first and immediate fall out from this and has already been agreed by the principles of ASCS is unfortunately with the closing of El Toro, we will not have a RTTC this spring. I hate it, I know people have already planned for this event. We have invested a lot of time and money to make it happen but in the end, we feel this is the right call. I will promise now though that there will be something in California this summer. Announcement coming soon.


There are plenty venues if you have the need for speed and I wish everyone well, I just can not any longer avoid that elephant that has been staring at me for over a year now.

I ask that everyone share this infomation and lets get the word out.

[protouring70]

Bill I'm glad you brought this up. I enjoy ALL of the events that I have been able to go to but you are right. Thanks for making a step in the right direction, I would hate to see one of our friends hurt!

[srh3trinity]

I have seen a big change from capable street cars to purpose built race cars in street car clothing. I initially wanted to build my car after seeing and reading about one of the first RTTH events and that is still my end goal. Open track racing was never on my radar and I don't think my Firebird will ever see that kind of action. Fun with my family and Autocross are my goals and I wouldn't want to put a cage in a car and have my family ride around with me on the street. If I get the track bug I would probably build a different car.

[mmosley]

Bravo Bill - do what you think is right. We have an oddly appropriate saying at work... Safe, Right, then Fast. If anyone out there thinks they are immune let the tragedy of the late Mr Walker and his friend Roger Rodas be a reminder. We are talking about a good driver and a capable car, let their tragedy at the very least be a reminder to us that bad things can happen very quickly no matter how good a driver we think we are.

I have seen a big change from capable street cars to purpose built race cars in street car clothing. I initially wanted to build my car after seeing and reading about one of the first RTTH events and that is still my end goal. Open track racing was never on my radar and I don't think my Firebird will ever see that kind of action. Fun with my family and Autocross are my goals and I wouldn't want to put a cage in a car and have my family ride around with me on the street. If I get the track bug I would probably build a different car.

I have the same sentiment. If I want to run the big courses, open road courses, and high speed I will build a dedicated track car. My street car is just that, a street car. I wrangled with the idea of putting a cage in my car for quite a while, but, even with roll bar padding I feel that a cage is just as dangerous or more so to the occupants of the car who are not fully restrained and not wearing a helmet. Since I do not want to wear a helmet to drive this car to work, cruises, or the shows, then that means no cage. I think a cage would be a false sense of security for someone wearing a three point belt and no other safety equipment. So in an oddly practical sense I must limit this car in many ways to fit that set of rules. It will be a mild monster, just something that is fun and enjoyable to drive, has some key modern touches like EFI, good brakes, OD transmission, good seats, and AC. A good touring car I can take on trips and cruises. Maybe that is what "Pro Touring" really is about. Having something nice to drive that has the modern updates and manners but still maintains the classic car looks.

[V8240Z]

Bill, as a recent newcomer to protouring, I applaud all you have done and continue to do. I was at RTTC as a spectator last year and was hooked. My car is not quite done yet, and have to confess there is some disappointment with what you say. However, as a former drag racer, I must recognize that there is a lack of safety equipment in our cars. My car has no roll cage, no fire suppression system, and no electrical shutoff. All of these would be required for moderate performance in the drag racing venues. I am in full support of your decisions and statements, and will reassess the build of my car. I still look forward to high speed road course action at some point in my new found endeavor.

Thanks again for all you have done for this sport and for each of us. Merry Christmas,
Charles

[Cobra 498]

Bill,
I want to thank you for all you have done for this sport and all the hard work you have put in over the years. I am very much in agreement with your position on safety, we as a group are an accident waiting to happen. The level of talent required to handle a mistake, or mechanical failure in a high speed situation takes years of experience to develop and many of us do not have that ability. I for one would like to see autox, speed stop, and maybe 1/8 mile drag race in an event or possibly a high speed autox on a safe course like you set up at El Toro. Running all out on a full on race track is not something I want to do both for my safety as well as keeping my car in one piece. One big issue could really hurt this sport and effect of all us because nobody would want to take a chance putting on an event due to potential liability. Last summer I took my GT to Auto club Speedway and ran in an event that used the road race track.
I reached an indicated 190 MPH before entering turn 1 and that was with a street legal car with race tires, no fire system and no roll cage. I decided that was too fast for my dwindling skill set. I can only imagine what would happen if I had a tire failure or if the rear stepped out and I did not catch it. I plan on running events next year that do not involve that level of risk because you can have just as much fun in a low speed event as a road race event. Road racing can be a lot of fun, but you need a dedicated safe road race car to do it. A combination car will never be as safe as it should be either for street or track use because of the compromises that it would require.

[Johnny Blaze]

Totally agree Bill!

[GNon18s]

Well it was fun while it lasted!

[shmoov69]

Bravo Bill!! When there was a post awhile back about including drag racing, I REALLY noticed that the "fun" part had faded and full out competition had become "normal". I'm more about the fun and thank God that there hasn't been any major problems at any of the events!!

[Todd in Vancouver]

A few nights ago I started to really think along these same lines as I was reading the Safety Thread that Ron Sutton is sharing with all of us. I've been playing with cars for decades and while I'm still in the building stages of my Pro-tour '67, I did recently purchase a new ZL1 and took it to a track event where they were running an Advanced Driving training day. It was a bit of a wake up call for me with the sheer raw performance of this car. It's a whole lot different than the old drag racing builds and cars from my past experience.

As I read Ron's thread on safety it start really hitting home for me that I will end up with a car that's way lighter and will be pushing the boundaries of my ZL performance in a car built in '67 with non of the safety features included. This is making me rethink my end goals of my build and what I want to do with the car. My intentions are to drive this car on the street and be able to take it anywhere and the reality is it can't be as track capable as I thought because I'm not willing to sacrifice the creature comforts for the safety gear needed to run an open road track. So, the '67s build will take a slightly differed turn in its build and will still be a really awesome car, but not one that will see the kind of high speed driving that I had once envisioned. I'll just have to use my ZL for some of those days , where it can do it safely.


Bill, I feel this thread and Ron's as well needs to be highlighted for all the guys and gals getting into this build/racing Pro-tour type cars. There needs to also be a reality check conversation with whomever are the sanctioning bodies that govern these types of events. Just my .02

[Red67Mustang]

This may serve to also address a question I had planned to pose... Is there an event / series that allows "home builds" to be competitive? I'm not ever going to be in the league of DSE or Finch or any other of the big dollar cars built by people whose job / career it is to build cars like that. I do this hobby for fun with 'fun money' only. Not only has safety been correctly pointed out, but I see from the results of events that (it seems at least) there could be more room for 'privateers' if the cars didn't need to be quite so radical (race cars...).

In other words, I don't think slowing the field's speed down a bit will be bad for business at all!

Thanks!

[Bill Howell]

This may serve to also address a question I had planned to pose... Is there an event / series that allows "home builds" to be competitive? I'm not ever going to be in the league of DSE or Finch or any other of the big dollar cars built by people whose job / career it is to build cars like that. I do this hobby for fun with 'fun money' only. Not only has safety been correctly pointed out, but I see from the results of events that (it seems at least) there could be more room for 'privateers' if the cars didn't need to be quite so radical (race cars...).


In other words, I don't think slowing the field's speed down a bit will be bad for business at all!

Thanks!

As you may already know, Brian Finch happens to be not only a partner in ASCS, he also drives his HOME BUILT car, in his back yard garage, at night after his regular day job with parts he bought out of his pocket. So if he wasn't a privateer when he started no one ever has been. Sure, he may now represent some companies in the hobby, but he has always been what I just typed. Never under estimate yourself. As long as your car is safe and you have the proper seat time, you can run with anyone. If not, then there will be some other options, but no WAO bonzi runs. New rules have been discussed and we are working on a program right now, stay tuned.

[Bill Howell]

Bill,
I want to thank you for all you have done for this sport and all the hard work you have put in over the years. I am very much in agreement with your position on safety, we as a group are an accident waiting to happen. The level of talent required to handle a mistake, or mechanical failure in a high speed situation takes years of experience to develop and many of us do not have that ability. I for one would like to see autox, speed stop, and maybe 1/8 mile drag race in an event or possibly a high speed autox on a safe course like you set up at El Toro. Running all out on a full on race track is not something I want to do both for my safety as well as keeping my car in one piece. One big issue could really hurt this sport and effect of all us because nobody would want to take a chance putting on an event due to potential liability. Last summer I took my GT to Auto club Speedway and ran in an event that used the road race track.
I reached an indicated 190 MPH before entering turn 1 and that was with a street legal car with race tires, no fire system and no roll cage. I decided that was too fast for my dwindling skill set. I can only imagine what would happen if I had a tire failure or if the rear stepped out and I did not catch it. I plan on running events next year that do not involve that level of risk because you can have just as much fun in a low speed event as a road race event. Road racing can be a lot of fun, but you need a dedicated safe road race car to do it. A combination car will never be as safe as it should be either for street or track use because of the compromises that it would require.

Thank You Sir for posting and for the kind words. This thread is sorta like giving a kid medicine. It may not be what they want at the time, but in the end, it is the best thing. As a company, we are taking the medicine now to avoid the pain later.

[71RS/SS396]

As you may already know, Brian Finch happens to be not only a partner in ASCS, he also drives his HOME BUILT car, in his back yard garage, at night after his regular day job with parts he bought out of his pocket. So if he wasn't a privateer when he started no one ever has been. Sure, he may now represent some companies in the hobby, but he has always been what I just typed. Never under estimate yourself. As long as your car is safe and you have the proper seat time, you can run with anyone. If not, then there will be some other options, but no WAO bonzi runs. New rules have been discussed and we are working on a program right now, stay tuned.

Exactly! I have people ask me all the time what parts to buy to make their car faster, my standard answer has become "spend your money on driving schools that's the best bang for the buck to improve performance". People think they need the trick of the week part to make them fast while it CAN help you will never realize the potential of those parts if your driving skills aren't up to par. You can be very fast with minimal mods to the suspension a brakes that are properly tuned. Mary Pozzi kick a lot of our butts with leaf springs for a long time. Brian Hobaugh's Corvette has nothing more than good shocks, spings, sway bars, brakes, and tires and he smoked everyone at optima. Driving schools also teach you how to drive fast SAFELY.

[Martin71RS]

Bill, I applaud you for making this decision! It's never easy taking a step back but you do it for the right reasons. In the end everybody needs to live with themselves and the concequences of their actions.

For me personally it's not about winning when I'm out on the track but the fun of driving fast.
If I notice someone is faster (or driving like an idiot) I let them pass since I want and need to drive home after the event.
I don't want to wreck my car because I over estimate myself/get carried away in the moment or have someone else crash into me so I keep a large enough safety margin.

Even though my car isn't very fast it's still capable of more then I am...so Tim is right about the driving class.

Saftey is a big thing in my work too, regarded as THE most important thing nowadays and money is (almost) no object there when it comes to it.
In the end it's "just" a hobby!

[MonzaRacer]

Been in fast drag car, endover end 4 times, layed over on side and rolled three times. Nothing like sores from a 5 point. lucky thing is the way the car rolled it never bent the frame, just the sheet metal.
But I do agree there really needs to be some LIMITS and rules and such. I here you on the liability issues, helped set up a burnout contest once, yeeessh THAT policy was a nightmare.
My hope is too ha dont need too run 200 mph. honestly I was wondering why there wasnt a speed limiter that could be affixed to cars to sa limit the top speeed o say >149mph on top rung and limit the top speed on other cars/drivers. Maybe even require reasonable training classes to help them learn basic skills.
As for fire systems, etc. Basic rules from different classes/forms of racing might be adopted since you dont have that many large/numerous events I really cant see how a liability policy couldnt be found, and even make part of entering fees pay on the policy.
I know one group of racers in Canada have a policy that every driver buys into and the policy covers those drivers/passengers. The event planners carry insurance on spectators and other stuff.
But in any form lets hope it works out as I really love cars and have hoped for car crafting to evolve into what we now love as Pro-touring.
I really dont want it to die off before I get some cars ready to run.

[BMR Sales]

Bill, we have never met & I'm relatively new to the Site, But I applaud you for your Decision

I have worked for Skip Barber for 25 Years and I have also been involved in other programs like Chin & the Porsche Club of America. I was asked to be Chief Track Instructor for PCA on 2 different occasions - the 1st time I turned it down due to Time Commitments.

The 2nd Time was because of many things you mentioned. The cars have gotten too fast & there has not been enough Driver Training. A Porsche GT3RS, a Twin Turbo or a Carrera GT all have more HP than anything that is the GT Class in the Former ALMS. Add to this all the Computers in the Cars that take over and Drivers felt invincible. Our programs used to be Limited Passing (5 Straightaways @ Sebring) for all Groups including Instructors. 2 Years ago PCA made a Decision to have unlimited Passing as long as there was a Point-By - I was strongly opposed to this and still am. Our program was called a Driver Education Program and we have Never taught anybody how to pass in a Corner. And what is now suggested is, IMHO incorrect. It is only a matter of time til something serious happens. The other reason I turned the Job down was because a few years back there was an Accident at Fontana between a Carrera GT & a Ferrari at an Event that had multiple fatalities (3). Even though everyone had signed a Waiver, Lawsuits were filed against the Chief Instructor all the way down to some Corner Workers. As the Ex-Husband of a Lawyer, I knew that was going to happen! And my name is not going to be on the losing end of that Suit.

I still continue to do Classroom work at the PCA Events, Drive in them, but I limit my Instructing to a few Individuals that I know.

I don't know what the Solution is, but I know I don't want to be part of the Mess after the fact.

T.C.

[Bill Howell]

Bill, we have never met & I'm relatively new to the Site, But I applaud you for your Decision

I have worked for Skip Barber for 25 Years and I have also been involved in other programs like Chin & the Porsche Club of America. I was asked to be Chief Track Instructor for PCA on 2 different occasions - the 1st time I turned it down due to Time Commitments.

The 2nd Time was because of many things you mentioned. The cars have gotten too fast & there has not been enough Driver Training. A Porsche GT3RS, a Twin Turbo or a Carrera GT all have more HP than anything that is the GT Class in the Former ALMS. Add to this all the Computers in the Cars that take over and Drivers felt invincible. Our programs used to be Limited Passing (5 Straightaways @ Sebring) for all Groups including Instructors. 2 Years ago PCA made a Decision to have unlimited Passing as long as there was a Point-By - I was strongly opposed to this and still am. Our program was called a Driver Education Program and we have Never taught anybody how to pass in a Corner. And what is now suggested is, IMHO incorrect. It is only a matter of time til something serious happens. The other reason I turned the Job down was because a few years back there was an Accident at Fontana between a Carrera GT & a Ferrari at an Event that had multiple fatalities (3). Even though everyone had signed a Waiver, Lawsuits were filed against the Chief Instructor all the way down to some Corner Workers. As the Ex-Husband of a Lawyer, I knew that was going to happen! And my name is not going to be on the losing end of that Suit.

I still continue to do Classroom work at the PCA Events, Drive in them, but I limit my Instructing to a few Individuals that I know.

I don't know what the Solution is, but I know I don't want to be part of the Mess after the fact.

T.C.

Thanks, I really appreciate the support and comments. Coming from you and someone with the experience, knowledge and background and has seen what can and WILL happen if we continue down this road, maybe now people can see this isn't some hidden agenda on my part, it is truly concern over what I KNOW I helped create.
I have simply said as for me and ASCS, NO MAS, no more.
I have to admit, I feel now that the ship has sailed that I am alone on the island and some think I have the plague for talking about it. I can live with that, I can suffer the consequences of that. I knew the possible fall out before I ever opened the thread. Be that as it may, even if it means I never do a single event in the future, I can live with that a lot better than attending a friend's funeral that I know I had a part in happening.

That said, there are some new rules I have pitched to several in this group, both participants and sponsors. We will see how those feel about them and go from there.

Changes they are acoming, we just don't know exactly what they are yet. I guess we will all find out quickly if I am a leader, a madman or a fool.

[dontlifttoshift]

I have simply said as for me and ASCS, NO MAS, no more.

Bill, no more what? Whatever your reasons may be, I am glad that you are putting the safety of participants first but I do not understand what you are doing. Not sure why you think you are stranded, plenty of people patted you on the back here and on LatG and I think it is great that you are doing something but I beleive you may find even more support if people knew what ASCS is doing to help ensure the safety of its participants.

[Bill Howell]

Bill, no more what? Whatever your reasons may be, I am glad that you are putting the safety of participants first but I do not understand what you are doing. Not sure why you think you are stranded, plenty of people patted you on the back here and on LatG and I think it is great that you are doing something but I beleive you may find even more support if people knew what ASCS is doing to help ensure the safety of its participants.

My only concern in all we do as ASCS is the fact that at this point in time I feel I have lead the charge to not being safe enough on road courses, that is all. That is what I say NO MORE to. Until I can know that we are doing all we can to be safe on road courses, we simply are out of that game. I think we are on our way to a set of rules that fixes that. However, my fix may mean some no longer see the benefit either as a sponsor or participant to be a part of our events. I am good with that.
The rest of ASCS program is pretty fun and safe I think. If this road course safety realignment doesn't pan out, then we will find something else to fill that void. Heck, we started what we got now, I see no reason we can't figure this out and still have fun.
Did that answer your question or did my rambling confuse you more??? lol