LOL I'll take that as a compliment, thank you. I cannot speak for Mopar, but I'm pretty sure I he would agree with me when I say, I'm happy to run Div. 2 or Div. 1 - it doesn't matter. I understand that I (we) need to prove to others I (we) belong in Div. 1. Whatever the powers that be decide is fine. I (we) don't want any special consideration. However, it might be best to run the "newcomers" through a "test car & track combo" to see which Division they start in. From there the newcomers have close racing right from the start and would either step up down to their appropriate division based on finishing positions.
I suggest this because if you have 3 or more divisions, and force everyone to always start in the slowest division work their way up to Div. 1 is fine, but you may get some members that will get bored quickly because they haven't had a close competitive race for weeks.
Just a thought.
You bring up some excellent points. We're a relatively new league so we're all going to have to learn as we go and collectively determine what's the best policy for the long term success of the league. As the section on Promotion and Relegation in the
original post indicates, I am a fan of the idea of having to "earn" your position in Division1. Not in practice races where skill level can only be noticed or assumed, but in official league races where your skill/performance is quantified by a number (your points tally).
Furthermore, if we were to enter drivers directly into Division1 based on practice races, who would we remove from D1 to make room? The drivers who earned the right to get promoted from D2? Or the drivers who successfully fought off relegation to stay in D1? I think an argument could be made that neither option is fair to those drivers.
Also, I think that
not guaranteeing D1 status to a driver who clearly belongs there will only benefit the long-term stability of the league. I know that sounds odd, but let me explain.. Let's say hypothetically that we have a driver named TooFast4U in our league. He's always finishing on the podium in Division1 if not winning it all together. But then let's say he starts no-showing to league night and doesn't provide any advanced notice. Let's say he is gone for a month and didn't say a word to any of us. Should we put him back in Division1 when he comes back just because we know he's one of the best? I say no.
The reason is because there are only a limited number of drivers who have invites to the Division1 lounge. Drivers who are relegated from D1 to D2 are "unfriended" from the D1 account. When D1 drivers no-show without advanced notice, it deprives the other D1 drivers from competing against a full grid. Therefore, I think relegating D1 drivers who no-show without advanced notice can be used as a sort of "penalty". And if we eventually grow to three divisions, that same driver should be relegated again down to Division3 if they no-show without notice again. If and when they decide to come back to race with us, they can just in Division3 and then work their way back up. It's my strong belief that if a driver, D1 or otherwise, appreciates and values the effort that goes into providing him or her the best racing experience that we can, the least he or she can do is to let us know when they won't be able to make a league night. Heck, I'd even be okay with notification
after a league night is missed. We all know that not everything in life can be predicted and things/emergencies/changes in plans can happen at any time. My main point here is that I don't want this league to be treated like a 'booty call' where members feel like they can come and go as they please and then expect to have their place in D1 waiting for them when they decide they want to make an appearance.
Anyways, I know I kinda went off on a tangent there. Back on topic.. I don't anticipate growing to over three divisions. I think three is the 'sweet spot' in terms of adequately separating skill levels to ensure competitive racing while still being a somewhat manageable number of divisions/drivers. Therefore, I'm not too concerned about fast drivers having to potentially work their way up from D3 to D1. It would only take two Sunday nights to get into the top division and I don't think that's asking a lot. Sorry for the long post, but I'd love to know everyone's thoughts on this.