All:
Those who know Steve Kappy know that he is a standup guy and that his comments are certainly offered to help improve Spec E30.
Bottom line - here’s how the R888 situation happened. And the Regional Directors were not a formal part of the process at that time.
NASA and Toyo approached me, to tell me that Spec E30 had been chosen to be one of the few series to go to the R888. I won’t say that they told me to switch, and I won’t even say they pressured me. But, Toyo assured me that the R888 would have the same compound as the successful RA-1 and that the sidewalls would be a little stiffer, requiring less negative camber. That would be a good thing for us, as we can’t get radical amounts of neg. camber. Plus, they told me the testing had been done, after I had asked in a couple of emails if I could race on the R888 for no points at the Mid Atlantic weekends (because Spec E30 used RA-1’s), and do the testing. Not needed they said.
They originally wanted to require the R888 for the beginning of the '08 season but after talking with a few racers, to get other’s opinions, I suggested (with help from others) that we announce it early and then require it in June. NASA and Toyo agreed to this. Everything seemed to be fine. We were working together on a plan and the RA-1 was going to be discontinued anyway. And we were all happy with the RA-1 so why wouldn’t we all be happy with the R888?
Plus, our drivers could use up their existing RA-1’s in six months of racing season, use any existing tires for practice after that, and sell their wets (I didn’t sell mine for pennies on the dollar; I got almost half price for them) and the switch would be very easy, considering the tires would be practically the same.
Well, we now know they are not the same and that was a problem. While I have seen better wear and performance from my second and third sets of R888’s, I still like the RA-1 better, as do many (if not all) of our drivers I’m sure. My point is, NASA, Toyo, and I worked together, with some input from some of our drivers, on this issue. And to clear up any misunderstandings, it wasn’t mandated exclusively by NASA, or mandated exclusively by me, or decided on a whim. We all looked at the options, discussed it for some time, and made the decision together.
Now, the Regional Directors are a huge part of the formal process. And everyone should know that I will never send a Rule change to NASA, without an agreement among the Regional Directors. Never, ever.
As we continue to grow (over 105 built cars and many more in the works, according to the comments I get from new members on this board - I send a personal email to every person who signs-up and I ask about their plans), the Spec E30 Administration will continue to evolve. We want more input from the racers, but we have to go slowly. For sure, and as it’s been written here before, if every Rule change is posted for comment, it will take years to get through that process. It took a few weeks to get through the few changes we did make, and that was just with the Regional Directors and me. And some were just wording changes.
Also, after we receive NASA’s approval (hopefully very soon) on the recent changes, the Regional Directors and I will discuss our justification of each Rule change/modification. After we agree on that wording, I will post it on the new Rules subforum. I can guarantee that every driver will not like every single part of it but we Regional Directors think it’s a good package that will make the racing better for everyone. And again, there are no radical or costly changes.
The Regional Directors did not always agree on every part of every rule. But we all worked together and came to an agreement on the package.
Getting back to the tire issue…I have never received a free tire from Toyo (excluding earned Toyo Bucks) so don’t think that I’m in bed with Toyo. But yes, Toyo is a big supporter of NASA and we tend to be “team players” with the NASA/Toyo program.
But we also do not have any contract with Toyo and if looking at other brands is good for Spec E30 drivers, we will do that. And any change will be a long process that includes direct testing by several Spec E30 drivers, input from our drivers all over the country, and plenty of time for our drivers to feel comfortable.
Yes, I was shocked to see NASA’s recent tire announcement. They originally planned to have all series that use Toyo tires, on the R888 by January 2009 but evidently something happened. Maybe the other racers heard about our experiences and made a big stink, or Toyo has more RA-1’s in the warehouse, or something else.
Regardless, if our drivers want to stick to our program of using the R888 for all our races, that’s fine with Spec E30. If our racers want the Regional Directors and me to draft a formal letter to NASA, we can do that very quickly. Tell us what you are thinking.
I have asked NASA how this will affect Spec E30 but if we get good, constructive, and well thought-out opinions, we will send those to NASA. And you can send your opinions directly to the NASA Competition Manager.
Right now, we feel that the Representative Democracy is working well. Yes, it will take some time to get used to it and to use it to its potential.
Of the hundreds of members here, only a small percentage of those hundreds, post their opinions. We want to hear more of your opinions and while some may be reluctant to post on an open forum, please feel free to send a personal email to your Regional Director or to me.
We don’t want to make a decision like how we proceed with the tire issue, without some good input from the drivers. The best place to post Rules questions/comments is in the Rules section.
Each Regional Director will periodically check the Rules section. When we see a question that is simple, any of the Regional Directors know that they can post the answer. If the answer is more complicated, the Regional Directors will discuss it and come to an agreement. All answers will be posted on the Regional Director’s Rules subforum.
So, from this point, let’s hear from more of you on this latest NASA/Toyo announcement, and let’s do it on the Rules forums.
We want to do what is best for you, the racers, so tell us what you’re thinking.
NASA is good about listening to our concerns so once we hear from you, we will pass those concerns to NASA.
Carter Hunt
Spec E30 National Series Director
I am not professing to know everything that goes on, but I was here from the end of season of 2003 until now and have heard the complaints of the racers who have been here through many of SpecE30’s years. You can read this board and get some perspective, but most of the opinions are not expressed in this forum. Most of the racers I have spoken with like to race and do not want to deal with this B.S., IMHO. Should they communicate their views here? Perhaps, but this series was about fun first and foremost. Writing about this stuff is not. For some of these guys, it is no longer been fun for a while.