Request to Move FB TO FC
#34979 from David O'Leary · Not recommended · Minutes (2023-12 Fastrack)
Thank you for your letter. Runoffs attendance in recent years has been carefully reviewed, as has the competitiveness of F1000
cars with the other FA cars, and the results do not support a claim that F1000 cars cannot be competitive in FA, particularly
when using modified older or current (newer) 1000cc engines rather than the original stock engines. An F1000 car qualified third
quickest out of 18 entries in the 2021 Runoffs at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In the 2022 Runoffs at Virginia International
Raceway, F1000 cars qualified second and third quickest and finished first and second in the race. The low FA entry numbers at
the 2023 Runoffs do not reflect the class's normal participation level. During the 2023 season, FA averaged 3.5 cars per U.S.
Majors Tour event, which placed the class 14th out of the 25 Runoffs-eligible classes. Given the competitive performance and
entry numbers of F1000 cars during the 2022 Runoffs, no basis is seen for claiming that the low FA entry at the 2023 Runoffs was
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the result of negative performance expectations for F1000 cars. Low entries are often less of an indication of performance
expectations within a class and more of an indication of how classes are attracted to particular venues. For example, the 2023
Hoosier Super Tour event at Virginia International Raceway had just three FA entries, while the 2023 Hoosier Super Tour events
at the Circuit of the Americas and Road America had 19 and 20 FA entries, respectively. The 2023 Runoffs FA entries duplicated
this trend. Apart from the apparent competitiveness of F1000 cars in FA seen in recent years, which weighs against a need to
restrict other FA cars or to reclassify F1000 cars, F1000 cars do not satisfy the formula in FC, and the FC rules expressly state that
"spec line cars" and performance balancing are disfavored in that class. F1000 cars were not reclassified to "save" the FA class:
The F1000 (FB) class was discontinued as a U.S. Majors Tour class because of chronically low participation. In 2016 and 2017,
participation dropped to 2.8 cars per Majors event. In 2018 the average participation continued to decline to 1.1 cars per Majors
event, and in 2019 the class averaged just 0.67 cars per Majors event. In light of this well-documented downward trend, there
was no expectation that F1000 would "save" the FA class; the cars were reclassified in FA to give them a place to run where they
could be competitive. In fact, the participation level near the end of the separate F1000 class continues to this day, despite the
proven competitiveness of the cars in FA in recent years. In 2023, F1000 cars accounted for 0.67 cars per Majors event —
identical to their participation in the final year of the F1000 class, which leaves no basis for expecting that participation of F1000
cars would increase if they were moved to a different class.