I welcome the debate Scott.

Simon Nicholson, Josh Pain, Mathew Primmer, these are just the first 3 names off the top of my head who came through the 540 route to get to where they are now. My brother went from winning a 540 National title in 1998, to being runner up in a Group 20 National title in 1999, to being at the front of Modified fields in 2000 and 2001. It's a system that we know works. Josh Pain's rise was just as quick.

You said you couldn't think of a racer who had seriously tried starting in Mod since '95. I reckon I can tell you why that is. It has to do with equal motivation. Your two hypothetical drivers can start with equal motivation, but the initial phase in Mod where you are a moving road block saps your motivation like crazy.

I also think you need to be competent at the level you're at in order to learn effectively. Throwing people in the deep end has the disadvantage that they don't know what to work on first. How do I know my set-up is wrong if I haven't got any idea of my own ability level? Set-up is less knife-edge when you are going (actually accelerating) slower, so you can learn to drive just by having a base-line set-up and the right tyres. Starting in Stock is feasible but not Modified.

For club meets, because numbers can be small, any more than 2 classes and it becomes a little thin.
To attract new racers, you need something that isn't going to break the bank or over complicate things.

1: Club Class: Anything RTR or close to it with a motor limit - this can include stock specs, but don't overcomplicate it. The object here is to limit the amount of money and vehicle prep that the driver has to put into the car.

2: Pro Class: Anything goes (to AARCMCC specs). Generally the person running this class will be a seasoned racer and have the gear and experience to match.

Electric classes are just a completely different animal to Nitro. Not only do you have different spec motors and now different sized motors (electric) but esc's are now fully programmable with some sort of 'boost' function that means that even if you bolt in a bog-stock 17.5 turn motor it can pull down the straight like an 8.5 turn motor. Case in point. At last years Nationals in Townsville the stock guys (running boost) were lapping as fast as the mod guys. I think if you throw everyone in together the result will not be what you think. Those with the big motors and little restraint will probably end up finishing behind the budget entry with the slower motor but the concentration to try and keep clean lines so as to maintain their pace. At some of the local track meets sometimes buggy and truck are put in together, and I find it comppletely brilliant to try and keep pace/beat the guys running buggy with my truck. And as for stock vs mod, you can barely tell the difference when they're racing together. I say just run them all together. You always come away learning something if you are pushing to beat someone else, no matter what equipment there using.