Grassroots Motorsports $2014 Challenge Update and Final Rules

Here’s an update on the $2014 Challenge. Firstly, we’d like to thank you for your input on the $2014 Challenge rules. We feel that this really helped to simplify the rules and present a better package to you and future competitors.

After our recon mission to West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, and everywhere in between, we had a discussion as to what’s in the best interest of our event. We concluded that the $2014 Challenge should stay at the Auto-Plus Raceway in Gainesville, Florida, and we reserved the raceway for October 24-25, 2014.

Upon further reflection, we realized that we simply do not have enough time to move the event to an entirely new location. Maybe we could do it, but we cannot guarantee that it would be up to the standards you’d expect. Additionally, six months really isn’t ample time to build a Challenge car. This will give us more time to promote the event as well.

The logistical challenges of having the autocross and drag racing in two different locations, plus the routes and time it would take to get to and from the tracks and hotels would not be in the best interest of the competitors or Grassroots Motorsports staff.

We’re also having hotel challenges. Our initial choice doesn’t have enough banquet space, and our second choice doesn’t have enough rooms available.

Since we’re not re-engineering the event, we can concentrate on improving it. For example, we’ve heard complaints about the tech inspection process, so we’re working on a new system.

This was a good recon exercise, though, as it let us see first hand the logistical challenges we’d have to face in order to execute this event successfully. More than that, we have you—the competitors—in mind and must do what’s best for you (geographical reasons aside). We feel that you need to be the main event, and this editorial exercise should focus on what we do.

For events page and 2014 rules:
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/events/2014-challenge/

Thanks again, and we look forward to making the Grassroots Motorsports $2014 Challenge a success.

I'm happy.

I have whiplash.

So much for close to home.

That's too bad. I was starting to get pretty hyped up over participating with my clunker daily driver. I'd be OK driving two hours to be DFL but I won't drive eleven hours to do it.

Maybe next year?

In reply to dcrabill:

4 months extra time should help you get to florida. My only issue is if I can get away from the farm during harvest

For me, it means I won't have to attempt taking a completely untested setup. And I am glad to see the brakes rule return. Thank you guys.

While we're bummed out that we won't be able to expose ourselves to a different area of the country... maybe I phrased that wrong. Anyway, if you were one of the folks that would have been attending because of the new venue, understand that had that happened the event you would have attended would have been far inferior to what is going on in Gainesville. That's no reflection on the facility at Summit Point, which is epic. It's just an admission of our skills and limitations.

Bottom line is we can do the best job for the most people in Gainesville. Sorry if we prematurely teased anyone too much. The prospect of the event getting a little piece of strange is still intriguing. For now, we look forward to our annual, familiar and fun dysfunctional family reunion.

jg

I admire your ability to seek advice, analyze it, and apply it with the best wisdom at your disposal.

There is nothing wrong with a redirect when it is appropriate.

I'll admit, it is easier for me to get to in FL, but it sounds like this was a good business decision for your, which I applaud.

That will give you more time to plan to do a future event in another part of the country, and do it well.

Does the static stability factor limit the jeep to 200 Treadwear tires? Can exceptions be made if the vehicle is shown to be modified to the point where rollover risk is reduced?

BTW- WOHOOO!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D

Reposting this from the other thread looking for clarification.

moparman76_69 wrote:

Up to half the Challenge car’s purchase price may be recouped into the budget through the sale of parts originally included with or attached to the Challenge car at the time of purchase

So if you buy a car and a parts car as a package deal you can only recoup half that price from the sell off of parts/scrapping of the parts car?

moparman76_69 wrote: Reposting this from the other thread looking for clarification.

moparman76_69 wrote:

Up to half the Challenge car’s purchase price may be recouped into the budget through the sale of parts originally included with or attached to the Challenge car at the time of purchase

So if you buy a car and a parts car as a package deal you can only recoup half that price from the sell off of parts/scrapping of the parts car?

I don't think there's any other way to interpret that.

In reply to Alan Cesar:

Is that intentional? It is a drastically different approach from previous years rules that set the limit at half of the overall challenge budget, not the car or part.

So I am guessing you aren't saying that the Challenge might move in the future?

I am kinda glad it didn't move cause I wouldn't get the Yugo done in time but now I might. It would have been cool to go somewhere new though.

Either way looking forward to next year.

MrJoshua wrote: In reply to Alan Cesar: Is that intentional? It is a drastically different approach from previous years rules that set the limit at half of the overall challenge budget, not the car or part.

Yeah. So I bought the Yugos for $600 and I can only recoop $300?

In reply to Alan Cesar:

Just verifying as I thought in the past you could recoup 100% of the purchase price as long as you didn't exceed 50% of the total budget.

yamaha wrote: In reply to dcrabill: 4 months extra time should help you get to florida. My only issue is if I can get away from the farm during harvest For me, it means I won't have to attempt taking a completely untested setup. And I am glad to see the brakes rule return. Thank you guys.

My issue is not with traveling to Florida, It is that both of the kids will be away at college that time of year. They were so looking forward to attending another challenge.......this time as drivers.

MrJoshua wrote: Does the static stability factor limit the jeep to 200 Treadwear tires? Can exceptions be made if the vehicle is shown to be modified to the point where rollover risk is reduced? BTW- WOHOOO!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D

The Jeep has shown that it's stable enough on sticky tires.

For what it's worth, I can't remember us ever spending this much time discussing the rules and the event itself with the competitors. The feedback was much appreciated and definitely shaped the rules.

dcrabill wrote:

yamaha wrote: In reply to dcrabill:

My issue is not with traveling to Florida, It is that both of the kids will be away at college that time of year. They were so looking forward to attending another challenge.......this time as drivers.

I hear you Denny, my son and my stepson's all were looking forward to attending this year, June was no problem, but October is not possible for them. All three of them could have been drivers this year!

And sometimes I wonder if we're too transparent with you guys on this event. Just before the $2013 Challenge, the prospect of moving it to Hyperfest came up. So, we asked the crowd: Would you be interested? Since several said yes, we flew up there and checked it out. In the end, we realized that there's too many obstacles to overcome in just six months. For one, we'd need to build a hotel.

David S. Wallens wrote: And sometimes I wonder if we're too transparent with you guys on this event. Just before the $2013 Challenge, the prospect of moving it to Hyperfest came up. So, we asked the crowd: Would you be interested? Since several said yes, we flew up there and checked it out. In the end, we realized that there's too many obstacles to overcome in just six months. For one, we'd need to build a hotel.

It's just wood and nails.

David S. Wallens wrote:

MrJoshua wrote: Does the static stability factor limit the jeep to 200 Treadwear tires? Can exceptions be made if the vehicle is shown to be modified to the point where rollover risk is reduced? BTW- WOHOOO!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D

The Jeep has shown that it's stable enough on sticky tires.

I will interpret your answer as: "Vehicles that runs afoul of the SCCA stability rule MAY not be subject to tire restrictions if the contestant can prove they have reduced the rollover risk to an acceptable level." 8)

Dude, have you bought a roof lately? We did one on our house earlier this year. I thought that our roof was black. No, turns out it's driftwood. We looked at a million different samples and, in the end, went with driftwood.

Where do you park the Miata?

MrJoshua wrote:

David S. Wallens wrote:

MrJoshua wrote: Does the static stability factor limit the jeep to 200 Treadwear tires? Can exceptions be made if the vehicle is shown to be modified to the point where rollover risk is reduced? BTW- WOHOOO!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D

The Jeep has shown that it's stable enough on sticky tires.

I will interpret your answer as: "Vehicles that runs afoul of the SCCA stability rule MAY not be subject to tire restrictions if the contestant can prove they have reduced the rollover risk to an acceptable level." 8)

Let's take some measurements first.