I think I take opinions pretty well....I have answered questions and presented my side...these ideas are based on 15+ years of racing and talking to tons of people...
In no point to imply to change anything in form of what a dicatorship does....
The ROAR rule book is a copyrighted document....use of it can be restricted, feel free to contact a copyright lawyer and have that explained to you.
The point of regional qualifying is not only to makes regionals mean something and increase attendance, but to also make NATIONALS mean something. Carpet Nats sold out this year.....some pretty good racers were left out in the cold because they didn't send their entry in as soon as they could....
I am not saying you can't race at Nationals if you didn't do regionals, I am saying it should be the main way to qualify and if you don't, then you apply for a waiver for entry. Qualified entrants get first crack at entering. Tons of other sports/hobbies use this system and it WORKS. You realize this is how Worlds works already right? We would just be expanding the system down one more level.
And your right, we do need other ways to qualify.....read my section on minor local races....getting these sanctioned under my proposed change would lead to an eventual national point system.....can't race at regionals, well sweet....you qualified based on POINTS.
Look at the Reedy Race, it uses a lottery system....completely random and hardly fair. Ask 100 racers if they would rather EARN their way in rather than a random lottery.....$100 bucks says EARNED wins hands down every time.
The big races are successful because they don't have a ton of BS around them....you show up and race and there is usually little controversy, not to mention international drivers can attend no strings attached...
And really, many of them are successful for the following reasons....
Vegas....ran by none other than Scotty Earnest, who puts on a hell of a race. Top talent from all over the world racing, some money on the line....all in sunny vegas....
Cleveland....pure history at this point. The race itself has many quirks, but its just so old its become a timeless classic.
Snowbirds.....Boylan and crew put on a unique race like no other, one that ROAR could never dupilcate because of rules and such. Snowbirds isn't just a race, its an experience....
Reedy Race.....held at a track that isn't really used much and when people do get a chance to run on it, they jump at it. The race itself is historical with a very unique format that also utilizes international talent...
The big four, just simply don't compare much to what a ROAR race is or needs to be. They are their own races....plain and simple. I must ask, have you ever been to any of them?
I find it funny, that one of my opponents wants to force a discount purchase system on all the local shops and tracks.....thus cutting the throats of many shops who barely make it buy....and thats OK....funny. Sounds more like a dictatorship to me....
Sorry if my ideas do not work for you.....they seem to be making sense to a lot of other people.....and a few opinions I have gotten has helped me develop ways to expand on them...
Later EddieO