Well, I think the rules for more prepared cars are definitely written with the more competitive vehicles in mind. Not
everything that fits within those rules is going to be competitive.
Modified classes are more tricky, and if you want to run in them you really need to build a car to the rules. Trying to fit a car built for your personal preferences into the rules already in place is a recipe for an uncompetitive car. NASA tries to fix that with their rules system, but I don't have any experience with it so I don't know how well it works. My guess is that the same sort of situation applies in the end.
Concerning stock cars, again the rules are really in place for the more competitive amongst those classes. The SEB doesn't really try very hard to fit uncompetitive cars like mine into an appropriate class. That's just something I have to live with, or I can get a car that is competitive in the first place.
Now, concerning index, I have to get it out of my head that it's anywhere near a reliable measure of performance for me. I think it works for the cars the classes are designed for - the cars that are actually competitive. For those of us in cars that are not competitive in their classes, it's a frustrating stick to measure against. I am always a few seconds off FTDI when I
know even the fastest of my local group can't get into my car and turn the times I do.
So I just have to be happy with my small victories, with the respect I get for doing what I do with such a slow car, and for the experience I'm gaining driving it. And I think that experience is valuable enough to put up with the frustration in the short term.
