[mightywombat]

I would agree that although pit placement and proximity are important, the most important variable is how well you know a team. I think that reputation has the most to do with choosing allies. At my first regional last year my team (857) got bumped up into 8th. We got to choose allies. We chose two teams that we both personally knew well and had good reputations - ChiefDelphi and Truck Town Thunder.