SCCA New England Region adds ITEZ For Lemons (Page 1 of 2)

I hope this is going to catch on in more areas. I would love more track time.

It'll be quite funny when a car with a giant duck head or turtle sand box goes flying by half of the IT cars

I beleive our mustang was an ITB or C before it became a lemon.  Power has doubled since we bought it...

As I understand it... go ahead & bring it... seems many of the "usual" IT rules aren't going to apply to ITEZ.

An exception to that would seem to be brakes... which must conform to either IT or ChumpCar rules for brakes... which in the case of SCCA IT rules means 4 brakes that work & unmodified OEM calipers, rotors and/or drums.

Other than that, as long as the tire tread doesn't stick out past the bodywork & it meets general safety rules.

Up here you'll have to meet the noise level spec too... can't remember what the exact dB limit is off the top of my head... but I doubt it's much different from what you likely have to conform to for the Lemons race at NH.

Basically, kind of a "run what you brung" deal similar to the "catchall" FS formula car class... just realize that the C class beater you've got is going to be running in the same class as that BMW... but it's just for fun/testing/general track time... so who cares?

The whole idea is an easy way for Lemons or Chump car guys to get an SCCA licence if they so desire and/or those that live where they have a very limited chance to race (like up here there's only one Lemons race at NH) a chance to get some additional track time.

As for getting this in other areas... find out what SCCA Region usually runs the events at whatever track is nearby to you & see if you can get them interested... it would need to be done on the regional level by that region... see if that region has a web message board & maybe post the idea there or e-mail its director with a copy or link to the NE region's rules.... might work on getting the idea going.

What I thought was funny was I posted this over on the ChumpCar board as well... it generated the same kind of reaction & interest (like getting it done in other areas)... I went to post a similar reply over there but the whole topic got deleted... seems whoever runs the ChumpCar board doesn't think much of the idea.

New Address maybe Rob?
http://www.sjr-scca.org/

I don't see anything there about a Lemons/Chump category though...

It was the New Jersey Road Race Series.  They do have a Lemons class like I said.  Like Dix said, they probably didn't pay their hosting bill and it got turned off.  I can get more info if you'd like.

This is good for us NorthEast guys but the additional expense of conformity is not in our budget.  We look forward to the TWO races at NHMS and with only one this year is a major downer.

No WGI,  no NY Safety Track, no Monticello might be a two event only year.  with one being at NJ and the Halloween race.

Yes there is....logistics of that is not working for our team for the late summer race.

My concern is that they'll start getting picky about what cars can and cannot run. And If I have to run brakes that came on a 65 AMC... well, lets not even think about that....Trust me, even the current Camaro brakes just don't haul a 3660 lb car with a huge lump of iron under the dash down nearly good enough. Our car is just so far from even average Lemons cars that I'm pretty sure the SCCA tech stewards are going to have a real hard time swallowing ANY story about this car fitting into an IT class. Even if it does have relaxed rules. The brake problem I'm going to fix anyway cause we totally boiled all the fluid out of the calipers a few times resulting in not enough brakes to slow the car adequately to keep from driving it right of the track. At considerable speed in my case. I went seriously weed farming and scared the crap outta myself.  As a result got my first-ever black flag for driving off the race surface. WAY OFF. So, brakes are gonna happen. They just have to. Anyhow I care a hell of a lot more about Lemons than SCCA anyway.

Yes, the driver(s) need to be SCCA licensed.  The Lemons car can be used for the school. 

Here in the NE they are hoping that the 'alternate licensing' approach will take root.  That is that you can present your existing racing resume to the areas drivers rep. and they can determine if they want to let you bypass the school and grant you a provisional license.

Speaking for the New England Region (though not as the head of the road racing program which will be responsible for fleshing out the ruleset for this ITEZ concept), I'm sorry you went through that with the club. I joined in 2005, a bright eyed teenager looking to be a corner worker, so it wasn't me! But the club has finally been acknowledging and fixing its problems when it comes to being too uptight and asshole-ish for its own good. There have been some culture changes which have made things more easygoing (I think I can generalize to that extent), and, while these things take some time to happen, I think they will continue to improve. In the past an idea like this would have received a condescending chuckle with shaken heads - a firm OF COURSE NOT! It's a sign for the better that this sort of thing has even been considered, let alone implemented.

If you're considering bringing your car to one of our events, don't be afraid to engage in communication with our road racing chairpersons (you can meet a lot of them in Marlboroguh, MA on February 8 at The Racers Expo) to help in forming the class rules. A dozen or so of our region's drivers have been a part of a Lemons team at some point, but not so much the current program leadership - so they're willing to listen.

With regards to licensing, Rob is right in that talking with one of the club/region's decisionmakers will be your best avenue. In the past the requirements for a license were straightforward, but rigid and arduous. Now they're quite flexible (we can count certain previous experience and send a steward and instructor out to watch your test session or HPDE for a fast-track approval), but there's a less definitive path to qualification. So, I can recommend contacting your local region's Chief Driving Instructor or Divisional Licensing Administrator. For NER that's Alan Dunklee (find him on the contact page here) and Pete Smith. They'd be able to let you know what you've already done which could count toward your license, what you will still need to do, and what is on offer in terms of upcoming racing schools or alternatives.

I really like this idea--I'd love to jump into club racing, but don't have the car for it yet.

The only issue is that it seems like a bit of a hard sell to folks used to hours of racing for not too much money. What are the entry fees for events like? FWIW, the licensing school itself doesn't seem too expensive, at least in TX.