One of the reasons I love this thread and the USVTA thread is the depth of knowledge, experience and insight that gets passed along. Squarehead makes some good points but I feel the need to expand on it a bit.
Today, racing is pretty expensive. It's tough to get someone to drop $500-$1000 to get started in what is essentially grown men playing with toy cars. Numbers are down at many tracks and race directors are trying to make it easy for people to get on the track with minimal expense. To that end, tracks do stuff like "three cars makes a class." As soon as you open it up like this, the classes are going to get diluted. Everyone who has a "better" idea will talk up his idea with other racers in an attempt to get two more people to run what he wants to run. I know. I've done it. This solution is a double edged sword. It does get people on the track but it also results in the situation that Squarehead waxes on about.
I have a full scale dirt track near my house. I spend most of my Friday nights in the summer there. They have four classes. It's been that way for ever. The rules change when needed to keep things safe but for all practical purposes, they are the same as they were 30 years ago. The most popular class is Modified. The drivers will tell you that what they love about it is that the rules never change so they know what to expect and they don't have to go out and buy new stuff all the time. Also, they can take their car to any track and race it.
Our race directors have to run their tracks like this. You guys know what works and what doesn't work yet you allow the new guys to decide what happens at your track. Be the benevolent dictator. Come up with some classes and stick with them. This is just about perfect!
VTA 25.5 non boost Vintage bodies
USGT 21.5 non boost Modern GT bodies
Stock TC 17.5 non boost TC bodies
Expert Stock TC 17.5 boost TC bodies
Now, racers can use it like a menu. They can look at the rules, their equipment, skill level and financial situation and decide what classes to run. If they decide to visit another track, they know their car is legal there.
I admire how Robk runs USVTA and USGT. His attitude seems to be "I know what's best for this class and these rules are the rules, deal with it." It may seem kind of harsh but in the long run it's good for all of us. If more race directors did the same thing, I think we could get back to those "good old days."