- Michael Neat entered his Scion in Max 3 at the 2018 SCCA Time Trials Nationals and fared well, taking the win. Images: Zachary Rackovan

Attack the track: Reimagining SCCA’s Time Trials program

B​y Philip Royle | Editor of SportsCar magazine | Posted to RACER.com

2y ago
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“Since we put the application online last month, I believe we’re at 665 requests right now,” Jon Krolewicz tells me while clicking away at his keyboard, frantically trying to process as many of the incoming SCCA Time Trials license applications as possible before I distract him with our conversation.

The number of license applications, he says, is on pace to obliterate the Sports Car Club of America’s original expectations, so he’s doing his best to keep his head above water on those applications while also ensuring SCCA’s National Time Trials program maintains its momentum.

Krolewicz is certainly under the gun on this, and my slowing him down is not helping; not only is there the pressure of the inaugural season already being underway, but there’s the added knowledge that this program could be key to SCCA’s long-term future.

But while Time Trials could be a key component in the future of the Club, it’s also been instrumental in the Club’s past. After all, the first SCCA “Time Trials” event was held in July 1945. Since then, the program has undergone numerous iterations but, for the most part, it has been left for the Regions to manage the details. While the Regions are still in control of their own Track Events and Time Trials programs, in 2018, the SCCA National Office decided to pilot a limited program where they would reimagine what SCCA’s Time Trials program could be.

What’s your skill?

Krolewicz, SCCA’s Time Trials manager, is not new to track day programs. While he has road raced both professionally and on the Club level, one of Krolewicz’ earliest forays into the SCCA was working with his Region to organize track days. Now, he’s using all of his experiences to help mold a program that is beneficial to the Region and to the membership as a whole.

A key step, Krolewicz says, is creating SCCA Time Trials licenses, which are free, but help with the placement of drivers come the day of the event.

Big power equals big fun on track, but to win at an SCCA Time Trials event, drivers need skill, too.

Big power equals big fun on track, but to win at an SCCA Time Trials event, drivers need skill, too.

“There are three levels of license,” he explains (noting that, technically, there is a fourth). “The three base levels are novice, intermediate, and advanced. Novice is for drivers with either no experience on track or experience on track where there’s limited passing on the straightaways with a point-by. Your Intermediate Time Trials license is for drivers who are comfortable passing anywhere on the track with a point-by. The Advanced Time Trials license covers drivers who are comfortable with some amount of passing without any point-bys.”

Pro Time Trials licenses, the fourth level, are quite unique: “If one of the NATA organizations has somebody come in, runs under an Advanced Time Trials license, and then the organization says this person was good, we can assign them a Pro license,” he explains. “Pro Time Trials license holders would be expected to pass anywhere on the track without a point-by — it’s close to a full competition license.”

So, what is NATA? Hold on — we’ll get to that.

Building a showcase

Prior to the creation of the Time Trials Nationals and Time Trials National Tour, Regions hosted events called Track Events and Time Trials and defined much of the weekend themselves (in fact, they still do). Generally, however, a Track Event is a non-timed way for enthusiasts to get on track without the pressure of the clock, while Time Trials allow competitors to use transponders to log lap times. Some SCCA Regions would divide the drivers by experience level, and some SCCA Regions created their own classing system.

“We’ve actually had a pretty good Regional program for the past few years, but there was no congruency across the country,” Krolewicz explains. “There were different standards for how the Regions grouped drivers. There were different classes. SCCA’s Southeast Division, for example, had 54 classes; the Midwest ran a different set of classes; Texas ran a different set of classes.

“The purpose of the SCCA Time Trials National Tour is a lot like the Tire Rack SCCA Solo Championship Tour or the Hoosier SCCA Super Tour — it’s to have something that the entire country, Regions and Club members alike, can look at and say, OK, I see what this program looks like,” Krolewicz says. “It’s kind of a house-on-the-hill model. This way, Regions, if they want to, can model their events after these Tours.”

But what the Time Trials National Tour is now, for its inaugural year, is not what it looked like a year ago. Back then, the program was finding its feet, and using the assistance of Regions to test the program.

“When we started talking about developing a National-level Time Trials program, a couple of Regions came to us and asked if they could help,” he says. “In particular, the Southeast Division said they had a weekend that had not been performing well as a road race weekend and wanted to know if we’d be interested in turning it into a National Time Trials kind of event.”

Soon, Krolewicz explains, SCCA’s Detroit Region, South Bend Region, and Kentucky Region all wanted to participate. “Even though we started with the idea that the National Time Trials program would be a single event, we ended up with a set of events that were modeled after what we originally envisioned the solitary event to be, and we called those new events ‘primers,’ he says. “Those events ended up being what would eventually become the Time Trials National Tour.”

All in a weekend

Learning as much as they could from the primers, the SCCA National Office hosted the inaugural keystone event, the SCCA Time Trials Nationals, at NCM Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, Ky., on Sept. 28-30, 2018. With more than 120 entrants, the turnout beat all expectations. And, while the Time Trials Nationals is bigger in every respect from the Time Trials National Tours that will take place this year, the weekend schedules are similar in nature.

Many competitors at the inaugural 2018 SCCA Time Trials Nationals noted they would like to return in 2019.

Many competitors at the inaugural 2018 SCCA Time Trials Nationals noted they would like to return in 2019.

“The Time Trials National Tour dates are two days in length and the Time Trials Nationals is a three-day event, but they all have multiple competition formats in the same weekend,” Krolewicz explains. “We have a TrackSprint format and the TimeAttack format involved in both. TimeAttack is your more traditional track time — you have 20 minutes or so to put your best lap in. Meanwhile, the TrackSprint format is a point-to-point competition on the track. It’s a standing start to a flying finish for a portion of the track that can be run just with timing lights, and it’s one car at a time.”

Returning to the house-on-the-hill analogy, TimeAttack and TrackSprint showcases variety, allowing Regions to pick and choose, or do both. “That’s why we wanted to do that,” Krolewicz admits, adding, “It’s because we know that Regions have different sets of equipment and they have different programs that are in their wheelhouses. By showcasing multiple formats, we can show Regions what’s out there, what they can do, and how it can be done to best fit their needs, as well as the needs of the members.”

At the Time Trials Nationals and on the Time Trials National Tour, Krolewicz notes, the two competition types during the same weekend keep competitors hopping. “At a Time Trials National Tour event, Saturday morning will be non-scored lapping sessions,” he explains. “Drivers will be timed and then we’ll use those times to line people up by time during a later session. Saturday afternoon is the TrackSprint, point-to-point competition. Sunday morning will be scored TimeAttack sessions, and Sunday afternoon will be another TrackSprint. You’ll get both formats on both days, and the scored sessions will take the best time from each to add together to get the final event results.”

Krolewicz points out that the TrackSprint element also opens up new worlds on existing tracks, as a TrackSprint only uses a portion of an existing track. “One of the things we’ve been able to do with the TrackSprint portion is to specifically approve some sections of road courses to run backwards,” he says. “For example, when we went to GingerMan last year, we ran a portion of the track backwards.”

Pick your battle

When the inaugural Time Trials Nationals took place in 2018, there were four competition categories, with each broken down further into multiple classes. “Sport” was the lowest preparation level, followed by “Tuner,” “Max,” and “Unlimited.” Today, those classes remain, although there have been changes.

With SCCA’s Time Trials classing structure, there’s a place for everyone to play.

With SCCA’s Time Trials classing structure, there’s a place for everyone to play.

“The lowest preparation class is Sport,” Krolewicz says. “It focuses on what 60 percent of track day entries consist of, both in the vehicles and their modifications, which include things like cold air intakes and a lowering spring kit. Then you get into some more nuanced things, like the fact that we allow brake changes as long as it came on one of the models of your car — basically, you can put M3 brakes on your base 3-Series.

“Tuner is our next category, and it’s very closely aligned with SCCA Street Touring for autocross because it’s one of the more modern competition rule sets in the SCCA,” Krolewicz continues. “This is where you get to put shocks on your car that are multi-adjustable; you get coilovers, and mods like that.”

A rule of thumb, Krolewicz notes, is that for Sport, you bolt a part on and forget about it. If you can adjust or tune the item, you’re probably in Tuner.

The next category was in flux when we spoke, but at the time, Krolewicz and the SCCA National Staff were considering the possibility of naming it “Hyper.”

“The jury’s still out on that name,” Krolewicz laughs. “But name aside, it will allow more with the suspension, like fancy control arms. It also allows for some amount of engine swaps or intake manifold changes, or you can put a cam in the car. Certain things get tricky and nuanced, but it’ll be an either/or category with the engine modifications.”

Next up is the Max category, where as long as the car meets the tire rule — which is the same 200 treadwear rule all of the categories mentioned so far have to abide by — then the car fits here. “The category is closely aligned with the CAM category in autocross, except we don’t limit it to American cars or specific years,” Krolewicz says. “Max allows you to build the best car that you can without worrying about rules.”

And then there’s Unlimited. Simply put, everything else goes here — and it’s here alone, Krolewicz notes, that the 200 treadwear tire rule doesn’t apply. Want to bring R-compounds or slicks? You’ll compete in Unlimited.

The next step is yours

Krolewicz and I covered a lot of information in our chat — far more than I could retain — but luckily there’s a website to help us all figure it out. At timetrials.scca.com you will find a season schedule, license application links, and — importantly — a car classification assistant.

If you’ve ever looked through the Solo Rules or Club Racing’s GCR then you’ll be shocked as to what you find at timetrials.scca.com: There’s an interactive “Class My Car” section that is constantly updated.

“The way it works is you sit down with your beverage of choice and the website, and start clicking through the Sport category rules until you find a part that you have on your car that’s not allowed,” Krolewicz says. “If you read all the way to the end of the Sport category and you say, ‘Oh, everything I’ve done fits here’, then you go to the classes and see where your car fits. If your car’s not classed, then you click on the link and request it to be classed.”

If your car is equipped with a modification that doesn’t fit the category, then you jump to the next category: “If it doesn’t fit in Sport then you move up to Tuner, then Hyper, and you rinse and repeat until you find your level.”

In short, the entire process is simple, fun, and incredibly accessible to every motorsports enthusiast. Ultimately, as time progresses and interest in traditional motorsports change, it’s those elements that make the Time Trials program essential to the future of the SCCA.

On-track sessions at an SCCA Time Trials event leave many pumped for more.

On-track sessions at an SCCA Time Trials event leave many pumped for more.

I glance at my notes to begin another line of questioning, but I can tell Krolewicz is itching to get back to approving those hundreds of Time Trials license applications — after all, the clock is ticking to the first National Tour — so I bid him adieu. But what you’ve just read is enough to begin your Time Trials journey. So now it’s your turn to head to timetrials.scca.com and start your own adventure.

And just think: When you click the link to apply for your Time Trials license, Krolewicz will be on the other end, processing your license application, and encouraging your success the whole way.

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