>> Please follow the path of Spec Miata. Or need I make a list of the items that would be impacted with IT being Regional & National OR whatever else some of you would like to call IT in the future.
Since DD doesn't want to, maybe someone else will make a cogent case for the process by which anything would change for the "just have fun," participation-as-priority driver* if IT got National status. I truly do not understand how that might happen, absent any concern that additional competition is going to cost him/her finishing positions.
K
* The problem might be that we haven't defined this person. Doesn't have any desire to "move up" in racing, races on a very limited budget, uses tires until the tread peaks through, and (most importantly) cares more about taking the green than winning a trophy.
I'll make an attempt, since I think I fit this demographic pretty well.
I'm a regular freaking guy (27yo with a white collar desk job), living in a regular town (suburb of Kansas City), with slightly above the national average income. I have no illusions about my talent level or prospects for a future in racing, which means I'm in this "just for fun." But ya know what, that doesn't mean I where I finish doesn't have an impact on the level of fun I have. I played three sports through highschool, and continue play in adult sports leagues to this day. I'm a competitive person who has said the "it's not whether you win or lose" thing was BS since my T-Ball days. the other aspect of enjoyment comes from actually having competition, ie; grid size.
If IT were to go National, and follow the path of SM (which it will for the most part), the average prep level of both national and regional cars would go up. Keeping in mind the two things on-track that determine my enjoyment, in order to stay competitive and maintain the same level of enjoyment, my prep level must increase and I must burn more money. On the grid size front I also lose out because half of the people i used to race with are now focused on their National efforts.
So the "fun" aspect of the on-track events has changed for me because there are fewer people to actually compete with, and finishing lower on the grid is less fun for me. I can curb that a little bit by spending more, but it's still not as good as it was.
As for the social aspect of my racing enjoyment? That's changed also. We usually have regional races on Saturday, and nationals on Sunday in MiDiv. Before when SM was regional only, it used to be a big party on both Fri and Sat nights with everyone hanging out together, drinking, walking the paddock, etc. Now, that still happens on Fri night before the regional, but on Sat night people go into their trailers to analyze data, retreat to the hotel early to get good sleep, and focus far less on "fun," and far more on the big race the next day.
To my eye, there's a few different ways things get "worse" for the IT group if the National variable is added. I have no idea how much sense my ramblings made, but hey, I tried.