Equalization Philosophy

[Rob]

This is a topic which has been touched on several times, but not recently as a standalone topic.....

How do you think SCCA (ie advisory committee and CRB) should ideally handle Prod class performance equalization with respect to performance on various types of tracks?

What I mean by this....

One of the great - and troublesome - aspects of the Prod group is the very disparate types of cars included, everything from Lotus 7s and Bugeye Sprites to Acura Integras and VW Golfs. Even within a class, this leads to big variations in power/weight and power/aero drag ratios, leading to large variations in the way the cars "make speed" and in particular the sort of track that a particular car will excel on.

Common sense says that if a car were, say, very light and boxy, and another were heavier and sleek, that if the two were equalized at a slow handling track, the heavier sleeker car would likely run away at a super fast / long straight track. And vice versa.

Thus it would seem to be a given that there will be a "horses for courses" variation as to class competitiveness on a track by track basis

To get back to the original question, How do you propose that the AdComm and CRB handle a request such as this? Would this "performance balancing" for specific tracks apply only to the Runoffs? If it is important at the Runoffs, then should it also apply to the June Sprints, it is the same track, after all? If we have acknowledged that it is unfair at the Runoffs, is it not just as unfair at the June Sprints? How about Bever Run or Kershaw? Should we do exactly the opposite of the Runoffs adjustments for tracks like that? I (hypothetically) have a VW in "H" and some formula says that while at the Runoffs I have to add 72 1/2# to my car to make it fair. I would then submit that while we are at Kershaw the Bugeye should have to add 59.8# because we are now at a "Bugeye" track. What is the "mean" track where no adjustment would be necessary. I guess that I would submit that Mid-Ohio and Topeka are probably that track. Wouldn't it be better to have the Runoffs at one of those type of track than to "adjust" the car specifications to accomodate the track that is selected for the Runoffs?

If the Prod Community is unhappy with the disparity of cars at a given track I can only imagine how much more dissatisfied they will be with the outcome of "special" rules for the Runoffs.

Once the acknowledgement is made that the cars need to have different specifications at a given track to make the competition fair I see Pandora getting into everyone's head and wanting to have a specific weight for each car at each track.