Race Series News: Skip Barber Cup Championship announced

[Jimal Temus]

I haven't posted on here in ever, so I figured I would start with a shameless plug...

http://www.skipbarber.com/News/Artic...articleID=1924

In a nod to the 35th anniversary of the company’s founding, the Skip Barber Racing School today announced a separate championship to be run in conjunction with the 2010 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda. Named in honor of company founder and former owner Skip Barber, the Skip Barber Cup Championship is open to drivers aged 26 and older who would like to race against the younger drivers at the marquee events offered in the 2010 National schedule, but are not eligible for the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development system. Skip Barber Cup drivers will compete for a separate championship and prize fund to be announced later.

“There has been a longstanding interest by some of our more experienced sportsman drivers to compete against future racing stars on a National level”, said Todd Snyder, Vice President of Competition at Skip Barber Racing School. “The Skip Barber Cup gives those drivers an opportunity to race at a 12 Hours of Sebring or a Petit Le Mans against drivers of similar age and ability for their own championship.”

Barber, the long-time owner of Lime Rock Park and the newly created Lime Rock Drivers Club, added, “From the very beginning the Race Series catered to two distinct audiences; the young up-and-coming racer with career aspirations and the driver for whom racing is more of an avocation. The Skip Barber Cup continues that tradition; giving that second group the opportunity to compete on a national level in an arrive-and-drive series with professional coaching.”

The 2010 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda season begins the weekend of March 5-7 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida with the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. For more information about the National Series, please call Skip Barber Racing School at 866-932-1949 Monday through Thursday, 8:30am - 7:00pm, and Friday, 8:30am - 5:30pm (all times Eastern) or clickt here.

2010 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber Cup Championship schedule
Seven double-race weekends
Spring Training, January 28-29, Sebring International Raceway
Rounds 1 & 2, March 5-7, Homestead-Miami Speedway with Grand-Am
Rounds 3 & 4, March 16-19, Sebring International Raceway with American Le Mans Series
Rounds 5 & 6, April 22 - 25, Virginia International Raceway with Grand-Am
Rounds 7 & 8, May 28-June 1, Lime Rock Park with Grand-Am
Rounds 9 & 10, July 15-17, New Jersey Motorsports Park with Grand-Am
Rounds 11 & 12, August 20-22, Road America with American Le Mans Series
Rounds 13 & 14, September 28-October 1, Road Atlanta with American Le Mans Series

Skip Barber Cup Race Weekends are $4,699, including one practice session, two qualifying sessions and two races. Pre-pay for the full season by February 5 and pay $26,314, a savings of 20%.

Even if you don’t prepay the season, Skip Barber Race Series activities are eligible for Skip Barber Racing School’s new Plan Ahead and Save pricing:

Skip Barber Racing School’s Plan Ahead and Save pricing
Days in Advance	Discount
90 or more	15%
60-89	10%
30-59	5%
29 or less	None

Discounts may not be combined with any other offer. The customer will always receive the highest single discount to which they are entitled.

[dalyduo]

Nice to symbolically re-connect with the guy who started the whole thing. Thanks Jim

[Gerardo]

Jim, you mentioned the Cup Series would have a "prize fund" to be announced later. Look forward to hearing. Incentives can get some guys out of the woodwork for sure...

[cdh]

Thanks Jimal, agree with DD and Bobo. But I think there is a typo, shouldn't the entry age be 46?

[Jimal Temus]

That is why it isn't being called the Masters National Championship. We want to give the 'tweeners a place to race.

[GregS]

How many people are going to sign up for this cup?

I like the venues vastly better than the summer series.

[PT Cruiser]

I ran the almost the entire national series as a Master in 2008. Here's a brief summary of what I see as the pros and cons of the national series vs. regional competition:

Pros

1. You get your own car for the entire weekend. As such, you can get the pedals set just to your liking, and mount any extra equipment (timers, cameras) just one time, rather than every time you get in the car.
2. The races are run under National Rules, meaning your race isn't ruined due to minor car contact, or if you have to go 4 off to avoid the melee in front of you.
3. You can make a limited set of setup changes (tire pressure, front ride height, anti-roll bar, and brake bias), which adds a completely new dimension to the race weekend.
4. There is more personalized coaching. In addition to getting the regular corner feedback after each session, you get assigned an instructor for the entire weekend who works with you and just two or three other drivers. This allows for in-depth discussion about driving and settup issues, as well as race strategy.
5. Races occur in front of spectators . . . . although at many venues the Skip Barber races occur at such odd times that there aren't that many spectators paying attention.
6. It is fun meeting the younger drivers, and watching them grow during the season. You never know -- perhaps one of them will win Indy or an F1 race someday. My biggest regret about not winning the Master's championship that year was that Dom got to have his picture taken with the top 10 at the year end banquet. I'm sure he'll enjoy showing off that picture if members of the class of 2008 go on to great things.
7. If you manage to win your class, the podium ceremony is kind of fun.
8. You get free admission to a number of professional race events.
9. If you can believe it, the level of professionalism of the Skip Barber staff at National events is even higher than at the regional race weekends. This is the organization's crown jewel, so the really try to put their best foot forward.

Cons

1. The race weekend schedules are horrendous for people who have normal 9-5 jobs. The Sebring event, for example, runs from Tuesday-Friday, and thus requires 4 vacation days just for that one event. If you want to run extra practice (and believe me, the series is so competitive, you want to run extra practice), most other weekends require at least two vacations days. It is not unusual to have a 1/2 hour session at 8:00 AM Thursday morning, and another at 5:30 PM that day. Scheduling travel in advance to get cheap airfare is also difficult, as Skip Barber typically does not receive the race weekend schedule until 2 weeks before each event. There is no way of knowing whether the Sunday race will occur at 8:00 AM, or 6:30 PM, and the optional practice day is often scheduled and announced at the last minute. I think I ended up with airline change fees for all but one of the 2008 race weekends.
2. The races cost more than a regional race weekend for equivalent seat time.
3. Since Skip doesn't control the track, there is no make up seat time. If your car breaks 5 minutes into a session on the back side of the course, or there are three black flags during a session, your 1/2 hour of seat time becomes 5 minutes of seat time. For that matter, the National series is typically the low series on the totem pole, so sessions can be cancelled entirely if the track runs into scheduling problems.
4. If you feel your car is not right (for example, you think it is down on power) the only way to get it tested is to give up your own seat time to a test driver.
5. The national series fields are EXTREMELY deep. In 2008, Dom and I (the only two Masters) spent the whole season running around at the back of the pack. Fortunately, we were very well matched, and had some great battles, but it was still a bit embarrasing to be so obviously second tier in front of paying spectators.
6. During practice and especially qualifying sessions, you have to be REALLY, REALLY heads up, because the kids will try to pass you in places you would never expect. I had car contact on three occassions over the course of the year because a car behind me tried an overtaking manuever where I didn't expect it, and thus never realized they had gotten more or less along side me at the turn-in point. Fortunately, none of the incidents were all that serious, but at times I did wonder if I really belonged on the same track as the top ten guys in the series.
7. For some races, crowds can be a problem. The only hotel I could find for Sebring, for example, was almost an hour away from the track. You are often forced to park a long way from the Skip Barber compound. A rolling equipment bag is a really good idea if you are running this series.
8. Spectating vantage points are also limited compared to weekends were Skip Barber controls the track --no hanging out at flagging stations, for example.
9. Under national rules, there is no attempt to assess blame for crash damage. You just pay to fix your own car. Which is no fun if you get caught up in someone elses accident. That being said, the quality of the driving in the series is so high that I didn't really find this to be a problem.

Personally, I found that the scheduling issues and vacation requirements outweighed the advantages of the national series over the regional, even though I loved having my own car, and greatly prefer running national rules. Everyone's milage will vary depending on your preferences and circumstances. Just thought I'd put this out so people can make an informed decision about whether the Skip Barber cup is right for them.

[GregS]

Outstanding post.

If there were more races that lined up with regional races some of the cons would go away, but all in all this is outstanding.

The other pro in my mind is that it forces u to get better.

The big con is one you wrote below and that is the embarrassed/dont belong here feeling.

if the cup pack was at least 4 or 5 cars it wouldnt be so bad

Ty again for this write up.

Im sorry you lost to Dom, Im sure he cheated

Originally Posted by PT Cruiser

I ran the almost the entire national series as a Master in 2008. Here's a brief summary of what I see as the pros and cons of the national series vs. regional competition:

Pros

1. You get your own car for the entire weekend. As such, you can get the pedals set just to your liking, and mount any extra equipment (timers, cameras) just one time, rather than every time you get in the car.
2. The races are run under National Rules, meaning your race isn't ruined due to minor car contact, or if you have to go 4 off to avoid the melee in front of you.
3. You can make a limited set of setup changes (tire pressure, front ride height, anti-roll bar, and brake bias), which adds a completely new dimension to the race weekend.
4. There is more personalized coaching. In addition to getting the regular corner feedback after each session, you get assigned an instructor for the entire weekend who works with you and just two or three other drivers. This allows for in-depth discussion about driving and settup issues, as well as race strategy.
5. Races occur in front of spectators . . . . although at many venues the Skip Barber races occur at such odd times that there aren't that many spectators paying attention.
6. It is fun meeting the younger drivers, and watching them grow during the season. You never know -- perhaps one of them will win Indy or an F1 race someday. My biggest regret about not winning the Master's championship that year was that Dom got to have his picture taken with the top 10 at the year end banquet. I'm sure he'll enjoy showing off that picture if members of the class of 2008 go on to great things.
7. If you manage to win your class, the podium ceremony is kind of fun.
8. You get free admission to a number of professional race events.
9. If you can believe it, the level of professionalism of the Skip Barber staff at National events is even higher than at the regional race weekends. This is the organization's crown jewel, so the really try to put their best foot forward.

Cons

1. The race weekend schedules are horrendous for people who have normal 9-5 jobs. The Sebring event, for example, runs from Tuesday-Friday, and thus requires 4 vacation days just for that one event. If you want to run extra practice (and believe me, the series is so competitive, you want to run extra practice), most other weekends require at least two vacations days. It is not unusual to have a 1/2 hour session at 8:00 AM Thursday morning, and another at 5:30 PM that day. Scheduling travel in advance to get cheap airfare is also difficult, as Skip Barber typically does not receive the race weekend schedule until 2 weeks before each event. There is no way of knowing whether the Sunday race will occur at 8:00 AM, or 6:30 PM, and the optional practice day is often scheduled and announced at the last minute. I think I ended up with airline change fees for all but one of the 2008 race weekends.
2. The races cost more than a regional race weekend for equivalent seat time.
3. Since Skip doesn't control the track, there is no make up seat time. If your car breaks 5 minutes into a session on the back side of the course, or there are three black flags during a session, your 1/2 hour of seat time becomes 5 minutes of seat time. For that matter, the National series is typically the low series on the totem pole, so sessions can be cancelled entirely if the track runs into scheduling problems.
4. If you feel your car is not right (for example, you think it is down on power) the only way to get it tested is to give up your own seat time to a test driver.
5. The national series fields are EXTREMELY deep. In 2008, Dom and I (the only two Masters) spent the whole season running around at the back of the pack. Fortunately, we were very well matched, and had some great battles, but it was still a bit embarrasing to be so obviously second tier in front of paying spectators.
6. During practice and especially qualifying sessions, you have to be REALLY, REALLY heads up, because the kids will try to pass you in places you would never expect. I had car contact on three occassions over the course of the year because a car behind me tried an overtaking manuever where I didn't expect it, and thus never realized they had gotten more or less along side me at the turn-in point. Fortunately, none of the incidents were all that serious, but at times I did wonder if I really belonged on the same track as the top ten guys in the series.
7. For some races, crowds can be a problem. The only hotel I could find for Sebring, for example, was almost an hour away from the track. You are often forced to park a long way from the Skip Barber compound. A rolling equipment bag is a really good idea if you are running this series.
8. Spectating vantage points are also limited compared to weekends were Skip Barber controls the track --no hanging out at flagging stations, for example.
9. Under national rules, there is no attempt to assess blame for crash damage. You just pay to fix your own car. Which is no fun if you get caught up in someone elses accident. That being said, the quality of the driving in the series is so high that I didn't really find this to be a problem.

Personally, I found that the scheduling issues and vacation requirements outweighed the advantages of the national series over the regional, even though I loved having my own car, and greatly prefer running national rules. Everyone's milage will vary depending on your preferences and circumstances. Just thought I'd put this out so people can make an informed decision about whether the Skip Barber cup is right for them.

[Gerardo]

The ONLY thing keeping me out of the series is cost.

It's still some of the best racing in the country, and I would do it for the love of the sport, again and again, until they kick me out. Oh, and I work there sometimes too.

Thanks for the thorough writeup, Peter.

[GregS]

Originally Posted by Gerardo

The ONLY thing keeping me out of the series is cost.

It's still some of the best racing in the country, and I would do it for the love of the sport, again and again, until they kick me out. Oh, and I work there sometimes too.

Thanks for the thorough writeup, Peter.

difference is - you could stay with the lead pack :P

[WatertownNewbie]

Originally Posted by GregS

difference is - you could stay with the lead pack :P

Difference is, he would BE the lead pack (er, person).

[dalyduo]

Great comprehensive response Peter. You've given us all the relevant issues to evaluate. Bravo! Thanks