Future of CST??

[Jim Cuba]

Hello, I am new to racing with you guys. Yesterday (3/7/2021) was my first event with the SoCal SCCA. It was a blast. BTW, I raced my old Porsche 914 with the HIST guys.

I am not new to AutoX, just new to your group.

I have been "lurking" the Cal Club forums for 3-4 years and was so excited about this CST class.... Street legal cars, unlimited mods, 200 TW tires... What a blast!!

Yesterday I was "working" while the CST class running, and saw some of the most exciting and competitive runs of the day.

Sixteen cars running in this class yesterday, and now I hear the class may possibly be going away. Is this a good idea for newcomers just trying to find a home? I know there are XS classes coming, but these classes add extra layers of complexity.

Can we save CST and keep it for a "catch all"?

I am ready to race CST!!

[Reed Gibson]

You are correct, the current plan is to retire CST in exchance for Xtreme Street (XS-A/B). There are very few cars that would not be able to compete in either of the XS classes which separated by weight class and has a very open rule book. That being said every single car currently racing in CST would be eligible for XS.

The current exclusion list of cars are all in the supercar territory "Acura NSX; Audi R8; Ferrari (all); Ford GT; Lamborghini (all); Lotus 7 (all including clones); McLaren (all); Porsche 911 (all w/liquid-cooled engines)" with the exception of the 911 which are unlikely to be heavily modified outside of any existing SCCA class.

Realistically the only issue I foresee new drivers having trouble with is the the requirement for the car to be licensed and registered. If your car isn't licensed and registered you can still run XS if no one in the local class protests you. This goes for any of the other minor infractions that certain cars may have. Most people won't care if you have a minor infraction unless you're winning and if you're that competitive why not abide by the rules?

At the end of the day we are an SCCA club and we want to promote the use of SCCA classes for competition. This will help members step up to the National level where classing is not a suggestion.

If you truly want to race without any rulebook there is always the Time Only option.

[Jim Cuba]

Fair enough. I drive a Lotus 7, so I will not fit into one of the XS classes.

When will CST be phased out?

[Sean Fenstermacher]

CS-M could always be a place to play for "catch-alls" unless that is being deleted.

[Reed Gibson]

CS-M could always be a place to play for "catch-alls" unless that is being deleted.

CS-M will likely stay as it's the only class for unrestricted race tires. It's been dormant for a long time but could serve as the last remaining no-rules classes with the caveat that the cars must be "capable of being licensed for street use in California" which really only excludes cars like the Ariel Atom and other kit style cars that have some explicit clause attached to them regarding why they can't be registered. But even at that point I don't think anyone will really care about it unless the class popularity blows up overnight.

[Reed Gibson]

Fair enough. I drive a Lotus 7, so I will not fit into one of the XS classes.

When will CST be phased out?

While you're ineligible for XS the Lotus 7 still has a number of places to compete in the SCCA rulebook: CS, SSP, and DP

Granted there are restrictions on each of those classes and 2/3 are Hoosier tire classes but that's where the SCCA has felt the chassis can be competitive without being an over-dog. I would suspect a 7 with a big set of street tires and well sorted suspension would absolutely wipe the floor with most street-tired, modified production cars.

[Jim Cuba]

CS-M could always be a place to play for "catch-alls" unless that is being deleted.

CS-M will likely stay as it's the only class for unrestricted race tires. It's been dormant for a long time but could serve as the last remaining no-rules classes with the caveat that the cars must be "capable of being licensed for street use in California" which really only excludes cars like the Ariel Atom and other kit style cars that have some explicit clause attached to them regarding why they can't be registered. But even at that point I don't think anyone will really care about it unless the class popularity blows up overnight.

I like this idea. This way it is still a class. My car is California Street Legal and insured, and driven weekly. This would give a chance for some cars to run R-Spec tires and come over to a class that is unlimited, but with the caveat that it must be licensed, insured and street legal.... CSM might actually have "the spark ignited" again. At least locally!

Could CSM be paxed to fit (locally) into the XSA and XSB class (locally)? There was fewer participants in this class (XSA and XSB) yesterday (9 vs. 16 in CST) . Could add a little fun to the game.... Just sayin'

[Jim Cuba]

Fair enough. I drive a Lotus 7, so I will not fit into one of the XS classes.

When will CST be phased out?

While you're ineligible for XS the Lotus 7 still has a number of places to compete in the SCCA rulebook: CS, SSP, and DP

Granted there are restrictions on each of those classes and 2/3 are Hoosier tire classes but that's where the SCCA has felt the chassis can be competitive without being an over-dog. I would suspect a 7 with a big set of street tires and well sorted suspension would absolutely wipe the floor with most street-tired, modified production cars.

Reed, I understand what you are saying. The only other class my particular Lotus could fit into is either DM or EM. What I was hoping for is my car is actually; really; insured and daily driven.

[Reed Gibson]

CS-M could always be a place to play for "catch-alls" unless that is being deleted.

CS-M will likely stay as it's the only class for unrestricted race tires. It's been dormant for a long time but could serve as the last remaining no-rules classes with the caveat that the cars must be "capable of being licensed for street use in California" which really only excludes cars like the Ariel Atom and other kit style cars that have some explicit clause attached to them regarding why they can't be registered. But even at that point I don't think anyone will really care about it unless the class popularity blows up overnight.

I like this idea. This way it is still a class. My car is California Street Legal and insured, and driven weekly. This would give a chance for some cars to run R-Spec tires and come over to a class that is unlimited, but with the caveat that it must be licensed, insured and street legal.... CSM might actually have "the spark ignited" again. At least locally!

Could CSM be paxed to fit (locally) into the XSA and XSB class (locally)? There was fewer participants in this class (XSA and XSB) yesterday (9 vs. 16 in CST) . Could add a little fun to the game.... Just sayin'

It would be impossible to assign a factor to a class that has no rules to compare it to a class with very specific rules and years of historical data. It would be unfair to all of our drivers in established classes to have to compete against cars with no rules.

Even though XS-A/B have PAX factors with a fairly minimal ruleset, I can almost guarantee that it's factor will be very volatile as more and more drivers/cars enter the class and reset the level of performance.

[Jim Cuba]

Lastly, how much longer will CST be around? Will the class run through the end of the year?

[Reed Gibson]

Lastly, how much longer will CST be around? Will the class run through the end of the year?

CST will be offered for the duration 2021 season which ends in December.

[Jim Cuba]

Sounds great! Thank you.