[TomBobN20]

Great letter John! As always you hit the nose nipple on the head. We're seeing the West Coast Series increase in numbers but we're still a long way from having the strength that puts the Skippy higher ups minds in a state that leads to booking some of the great but somewhat remote racetracks in the west. I fear an increase in the cost due to a sexy, high tech car would just compound this problem. It's not an easy decision for them. On the one hand they want to attract young drivers like Marco Andretti (you may have heard of him) so they have bragging rights for marketing. But in reality, it's the old farts like us that keep coming back each year that really fill the grid. I may be wrong but I think most of us don't care that much the design of the car as long as it keeps running, is consistant car to car, is reasonably comfortable and very safe. Racing is by no means cheap, but I agree that a major goal in designing this car should be cost containment. The RT's are not a great car and need to be replaced. But to significantly increase the already high price of racing to create and maintain a fleet of new, state of the art vehicles will likely lead to a greater loss of drivers than it will attract. Bit of a rock and a hard place. How about detachable wings that can be removed after the photo shoot. Later, Tom Roberts