SCCA Announces 2013 U.S. Majors Tour Schedule At PRI

[RonInSD]

SCCA Announces 2013 U.S. Majors Tour Schedule At PRI

ORLANDO, Fla. (November 29, 2012) – Sports Car Club of America President/CEO Jeff Dahnert unveiled the U.S. Majors Tour schedule today at the Performance Racing Industry Show in Orlando, Fla. The highest level of amateur racing in the United States, the Majors schedule provides each Conference with a mix of tracks to form a geographic season-long championship.

“The U.S. Majors Tour schedule is one that many pro series would envy,” said Dahnert. “Our drivers will compete at legendary and renowned circuits such as Sebring, Road Atlanta, VIR, Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio, Road America, Circuit of the Americas and Portland International Raceway. Complimenting these venues are a host of Club Racing driver favorites to form four great Conference schedules.

All Majors Tour events on the schedule are doubleheaders, with the exception of the Chicago Region June Sprints, which will keep its traditional single race format.

Each Conference will crown a champion in all 28 Runoffs-eligible classes. Drivers will score their best finishes in two-thirds of a Conference’s races. In the Eastern Conference, that means eight of the 12 available races; the Northern Conference will count seven of nine, and the Western Conference tallying six of eight races. The Mid-States conference would currently count seven of 10 races, but may see an additional race weekend added in the coming weeks.

As previously announced, points will count toward that Conference’s championship, as well as to the SafeRacer National Series point championship and the traditional Divisional Championships.

Additionally, six premiere races will make up the BFGoodrich Tires Super Tour – Sebring International Raceway, Auto Club Speedway, Circuit of the Americas, VIRginia International Raceway, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Watkins Glen International.

The 2013 U.S. Majors Tour schedule, by Conference affiliation, is:

Eastern Conference
January 4-6Sebring International Raceway*
April 19-21VIRginia International Raceway*
May 3-5Summit Point Motorsports Park
May 17-19Road Atlanta
May 31-June 2New Jersey Motorsports Park
July 5-7Watkins Glen International*

Northern Conference
May 25-26Michigan International Speedway
May 31-June 2Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course*
June 14-16Road America (June Sprints)
July 13-14GingerMan Raceway
August 3-4Gateway Motorsports Park

Mid-States Conference
March 8-10Circuit of the Americas*
April 6-7Hallett Motor Racing Circuit
May 24-26Pikes Peak International
July 6-7High Plains Raceway
August 3-4Gateway Motorsports Park

Western Conference
January 25-27Auto Club Speedway*
April 27-28Buttonwillow Raceway Park
May 25-26Pacific Raceway
July 6-7Portland International Raceway

*Denotes BFGoodrich Tires Super Tour event

The qualification path to the 50th National Championship Runoffs will be announced during the PRI show in Orlando, Fla., in December, following a discussion and vote at the SCCA Board of Directors meeting.

More information on the U.S. Majors Tour, the BFGoodrich Tires Super Tour, and the SafeRacer National Series is available at http://www.scca.com.

Follow SCCA on Twitter @SCCAOfficial, and like the Club on Facebook at facebook.com/sccaofficial.

 

[Dayle Frame]

Northern Conference
May 25-26Michigan International Speedway
May 31-June 2Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course*
June 14-16Road America (June Sprints)
July 13-14GingerMan Raceway
August 3-4Gateway Motorsports Park

Thats gotta be typo. My wife is the Major Coordinator and there has NEVER been talk of going to Gateway. And there's no mention of BHF in there. Thi is confusing to me.

Dayle

 

[RonInSD]

Northern Conference
May 25-26Michigan International Speedway
May 31-June 2Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course*
June 14-16Road America (June Sprints)
July 13-14GingerMan Raceway
August 3-4Gateway Motorsports Park

Thats gotta be typo. My wife is the Major Coordinator and there has NEVER been talk of going to Gateway. And there's no mention of BHF in there. Thi is confusing to me.

Dayle

Yeah Gateway is listed on both Northern and Mid State schedule for the same dates. Looking at the large photo of the presentation at PRI on the SCCA website shows the same schedule.

 

[Scott Sanda]

What is a Michigan international speedway?

Gateway is nationals way of punishing cendiv because bvr and mil don't want to put on a majors. It's an out of division/conference race that miraculously counts for 2 separate conferences.

Sprints is supposed to be a super tour event. This has been in the works since well before the majors was decanted.

They have the points loaded in such a way that only people who do majors can realistically qualify for runoff, since the only was to qual is top 3 in div and top half nationally, and the double+ weighted majors points apply to both.

 

[Hoof Hearted]

Northern Conference
May 25-26Michigan International Speedway
May 31-June 2Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course*
June 14-16Road America (June Sprints)
July 13-14GingerMan Raceway
August 3-4Gateway Motorsports Park

This is my first real post, and it will be whiny...

For me, this schedule equates to 50 hours of tow time, 5634 total miles and $1,900 in tow rig fuel... ...oh and I need to get my car working.

Brooke Fairbanks

 

[Dayle Frame]

What is a Michigan international speedway?

Gateway is nationals way of punishing cendiv because bvr and mil don't want to put on a majors. It's an out of division/conference race that miraculously counts for 2 separate conferences.

Scott,
MIS is the NASCAR and, in the past, CART, IRL super speedway that's southeast of Jackson, MI. They had an infield course years ago (until 1994) and even a road course that went out behind the back straight (ala NHIS).

What the hell is BVR and MIL thinkng? By not being a part of this program (right or wrong) their management is penalizing all CenDiv drivers (and to some extent GLDiv drivers). They have to tow farther to get to Majors events. It's fine for our GLDiv reigions that are putting on Majors events. We'll see increased acr counts. I'm sure there is a rationale for their thinking but I can't figure it out. They're smarter than this. Please PM me and let me now what's what over there. As I mentioned, my wife is the conference coordinator so that means I'm going to all the majors events anyway.

Dayle

 

[Dean]

This pretty much guarantees I'll never go to the Runoff's again unless I win the lottery.

 

[Jay Griffin]

Drivers will score their best finishes in two-thirds of a Conference’s races. In the Eastern Conference, that means eight of the 12 available races;

Well it looks like I'm out. There's no way I can afford that kind of schedule. Well, no way I can do that and keep my wife happy anyway.
Entry fees aside, being on (or near) the extreme South end of the Eastern Conference it's going to be pretty expensive to keep running up near, or past the Mason Dixon line after January. I'm sure those racer/members in the extremes of the Northeast division are having similar thoughts too. I thought about the geographical implications of this conference when I first read about this and was thinking this would work out pretty well for the people living in the central Eastern states. Now I'm even more convinced of it.

I think Harold called it, this does not appear to be catered to the average amateur club racer.

I guess I'll still run the few national races I feel like running in the future but there's no way I can forsee being able to compete for a conference championship AND attend the Runoffs in the same year. Particularly when it's over 1200 miles away, a tow that long I usually can only manage once a year...if that.

 

[Hoof Hearted]

Northern Conference
May 25-26Michigan International Speedway
May 31-June 2Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course*
June 14-16Road America (June Sprints)
July 13-14GingerMan Raceway
August 3-4Gateway Motorsports Park

Thats gotta be typo. My wife is the Major Coordinator and there has NEVER been talk of going to Gateway. And there's no mention of BHF in there. Thi is confusing to me.

Dayle

This is what I received when I asked about the Gateway races being listed twice:

Yes - apologies for not clearing that up. The Gateway event will count in both Conferences.

Reece


Reece White
PR Manager, SCCA

 

[JasonIsley99]

This pretty much guarantees I'll never go to the Runoff's again unless I win the lottery.

The Majors is not the only path to the Runoffs... We still have Nationals in 2013 and there is supposed to be a path via Regional races in 2014.

 

[bfloyd]

Some divisions still have nationals, as of now there is one tentative restricted national in GL div. I went from being able to tow less than 1000 miles and get in 6 nationals to towing nearly three times that much for less races. Being on the edge of GL div and NE div has really hung me out. No Majors at Nelson Ledges, PPIR (Bvrun) leaves a big gap in the scheduling. Then we stack all the races up so they are either back to back or just one week apart, not very smart. The Majors I can get to this year had better WOW my sorry A** or they will simply lose even more racers..

Color me "not impressed"

Bryan Floyd

 

[disquek]

NJMP and Mid-Oh on the same weekend?!?!?

I'm speechless. I thought this kind of thing was what centralized management of national racing was supposed to avoid?

How did we go to less races and still have scheduling conflicts like this?

-Kyle

 

[joecam96]

Let's see... you now score points towards a Divisional championship, SafeRacer National series, Conference Championship and BFG Super Series. I hope that this gets simplified by 2014.

 

[peterzekert]

Gateway is nationals way of punishing cendiv ....

All, as the new RE of St. Louis Region SCCA, and home of Gateway Motorsports Park, we will make every EVERY attempt to welcome our CenDiv brethren. We will work our butts off to make your time in St. Louis and at Gateway enjoyable.

Is Gateway Mid-Ohio? No. Is Gateway KMart's parking lot? No. It is a cool "roval", one of the better ones I've raced at. Come, try it out.

Anything you need when in the St. Louis area, ask and we will listen.
-Peter

 

[bfloyd]

Peter the issue is not Gateway/St. Louis but where Gateway is in relation to the whole freakin conference/division when we have perfectly good racetracks sitting fallow this year.

Bryan Floyd

 

[Frogeye]

So at Gateway do we have to declare which Conference? Are points going to be awarded per Conference or based on race? I'm sure they have all this worked out!
I still can't find any mention about cross Conference points like cross Divison works now. Would help with tows for those of us on borders. If Gateway is both why not include others. Atlanta is my second shortest tow after Gateway and would be nice to be able to use it. Would be a long tow but could open up some morre options for West Conference with Mid.
This seems like it is really working to boost Runoffs if so many are bailing now.

 

[Curtis]

I assumed that for 13 we would still be able to qualify with 4+ finishes and more than average points from prior year. Is this still true? and the changes for 14? Or?

 

[bfloyd]

Some how in a few years I see a Ken Burns documentary on this explaining so well just what happenend and how it all went away.

Bryan Floyd

A lot of this sounds like "Calvin ball"

 

[Bobby Lentz]

Eastern Conference
January 4-6Sebring International Raceway*
April 19-21VIRginia International Raceway*
May 3-5Summit Point Motorsports Park
May 17-19Road Atlanta
May 31-June 2New Jersey Motorsports Park
July 5-7Watkins Glen International*

so, we have 7 months to schedule races and we get three (50%) of them within a 1 month window. I thought this was a big part of what the majors program was supposed to solve. this blows.

 

[Scott Sanda]

Ok,I'll try and get this right, straight from the meeting at noon today.

2013
4 paths to runoffs:

1. Top x in your conference. Number tbd.
2. Top 3 in division. I think they are going to not add the bonus points to the division points as originally planned.
3. 50% of last years nat points in your class or top 50% of points, just like previous years. Majors bonus points will be counted.
4. 8 nationals/majors races.

In reality, the majors only impacts you if you want to try to win the majors, this year. Runoffs entry isn't really effected, and since its the 50th I'm sure anyone who has a heartbeat can get in.

2014: TBD.

It looks like
1. Top x in majors conf.
2. Top x in division, based on non majors races. Programs to be put together by each division based on BOD direction once they develop a direction.

Note sure if total nat points will still be a factor, as there will be no nationals.

It is a mistake to call the non majors races in 2014 regionals, or even rationales. What they are in reality is divisionals. Division level races potentially open to all possible classes (current regional and nat classes, plus whatever else the division wants).

I'm still leery of all the tbd.