Part of the prblem as I see it is with the expansion of the Pro-IT series it begins to stand on its' own as a viable series and an alternative to the NARRC (or NERRC).
The problem with that stance, Rob, is that (from my perspective) the Pro-IT series was never
intended to be a standalone series, and it
cannot survive as a standalone series.
Pro-IT was born a way to attract competitor entries at events where normal participation is low. Further, as I understand it the regions that are hosting the Pro-IT races are doing so with anticipation of increased entries in the other groups, and thus voluntarily surrender
half of the entry fees from each Pro-IT entry to go back to the competitors (this is how the series can pay out). As you can easily see, no region can afford to keep subsidizing the Pro-IT entries unless they get additional revenue some other way; e.g., increased entries in other groups.
If competitors start to think of the Pro-IT "series" as a series-in-itself and enter these races
in lieu of the regular co-existing Regional/National races, then the regions will surely discontinue support the Pro-IT series (I certainly would). This will cause the Pro-IT series to either be forced to raise their entry fees significantly (probably double, if you're still looking to get money back), or compete with the Regions for track time to host their own standalone events (can you imagine the costs of 30-35 guysd paying for the track?) or die off entirely.
The bottom line is that the Pro-IT series
cannot stand on its own merits, it
must be done in conjunction with other races, and these other races must be supported by the Pro-IT competitors for the regions to continue to support Pro-IT. If we competitors view the Pro-IT series as standalone series and thus do not participate in the hosting Regional/National race weekends, then Pro-IT will either get so expensive to enter that no one chooses to, or all this effort is lost when it dies off as surely as I write this.
There are no other choices here, folks.
Greg