The Prepared category as a whole has participation issues right now. In
fact, one of the topics SEB Chair Colan Arnold brought up at the Town Hall
meeting was "How can we get more participation in Prepared?". Participation
can only be addressed by attracting new competitors while retaining as many
existing competitors as possible. Note that I didn't say "retain all
existing", because any changes meant to attract new folks will likely hurt
some existing players. And there's always some natural attrition due to
unrelated circumstances anyway (e.g. marriage :-)
The Miata is one of the few examples in the category where competitors are
building new cars to compete in. The other obvious ones are the various
Hondas and other small sedans that compete in EP. Why is this? I would
postulate that Prepared embraces a modification style that reflects what
folks did to hop up their cars back in the 50's and 60's. In fact, Prepared
specifically disallows and/or penalizes most new technology. OTOH, what
today's generation wants to do for mods is embraced more by Street Modified.
And the cars they want to do it with are late model cars. Most of the cars
in a competitive position within Prepared are old cars with old technology,
neither of which match with the participant demographic. This is why, IMHO,
you don't see so many new Prepared cars being built.
So, what to do to fix it? I don't have the whole answer since it will
require a bunch of study. But certainly you want to embrace and nurture
those areas where new participation exists. EP as a class is one that is
working well, and the Miata as a car is another. To me, leaving DP as an
"old British Car Class" is just asking for it to fade away into the sunset.
The cars are getting older, the parts harder to find, the cars do not appeal
to younger generations, and the technology is uninspiring (IMO). When
asking for a class unto their own (i.e. remove the Miata), the British
drivers best remember that expression, "Be careful what you ask for you,
just might get it!".
So, is a move to AP for the Miata a way to nurture that car? On the
surface, it certainly sounds ludicrous. As a previous owner of a Prepared
Tiger and a frequent driver of a Prepared Miata, I laugh out loud at the
acceleration difference between the cars. But what about handling, you ask?
Can't a Miata handle better than a Tiger or Corvette? On something super
tight and twisty, maybe. But Corvettes are no slouches either. What's the
fastest stock car out there? Yup, Corvette. Street Prepared? Yup,
Corvette. And where is the Miata on that list? Uhh...three classes down in
Stock, and two classes down in SP. Hmmm....
But what if we just HAD to put the Miata in AP? How could we make it
competitive? Well, you could throw lots of weight on those V8 cars, but
then you piss those guys off. Or you could allow the Miata to lose a couple
of hundred more pounds, but to get a Miata much lighter than they currently
are will require hi-dollar exotic materials (e.g. carbon fiber, titanium).
And certainly that unlimited fuel injection will help, right? Sure. But
add another $2500 to the shopping list. Oh yeah, and we can give them
bigger wheels/tires! How's about 16x10? That should even the score.
Ooops! Better get the checkbook out again. Those wheels/tires from last
year are now junk. Looks like another $2500 per set of wheels. Oh yeah,
and bigger tires cost more so you'll need to increase the ongoing tire
budget.
So, maybe a Miata *can* be competitive in AP, but at what cost? Will the
folks who have already ponied up to build cars at the expected budget of a
DP (or even the proposed EP) car want or be able to spend twice that much?
How does this help nurture one of the few growth areas of Prepared?
--Andy
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