Sports Car Club of America SCCA Discusses Illegal Street Racing

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Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Discusses Illegal Street Racing With Evo Street Racers

Source: President's Office & Communications Dept.
Release Date: May 3, 2010
Update / Revision: N/A

Recently Evo Street Racers President Mr. Bryan Harrison and the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Vice President of Competition Mr. Howard Duncan had an opportunity to discuss illegal street racing and the programs that the SCCA offer that can act as alternatives to the street.

Evo Overview:
The SCCA is an amateur and professional motorsports organization with over 55000 members that compete in over 2000 events each year in road racing, autocross and rallying. Formed in 1944 the SCCA has championed one mission: To bring motorsports to the masses of American men and women who are passionate about automobiles, speed and competition.

Evo Street Racers strongly applauds the SCCA for their efforts in the area of motorsports and endorses the association as a great alternative to illegal street racing and home for automotive enthusiasts alike.

Evo’s President Mr. Harrison stated:
“Regardless of there (SCCA) significant size they have remained true, accurate, and focused on their original core competency of creating motorsports programs directed towards the masses not just towards professional racers. While a few sanctioning bodies may have lost sight of their roots the SCCA has managed to pay tribute to the grassroots racers while running an amazing pro series. The success of their pro series is as a direct result of a strong grassroots program.”

Conversation Synopsis:
The Q & A session was documented by hand and will be recounted as best as possible; however, as it was not recorded there may be slight discrepancies on verbiage. To ensure fairness in reporting Mr. Duncan and the SCCA have been provided an open door policy to add any additional information to this press release and/or general information about their program. As of the publishing of this article they have opted to not add additional information or make any changes.

Mr. Harrison: Evo Street Racers research finds that the majority of illegal street racing occurs in the age range of 15-24 what program(s) does the SCCA offer that could appeal to this age group?

Mr. Duncan: 13 Years ago street classes were added to the solo class: street touring and street modified. We found that the participants to these classes were new to the SCCA and were younger in age.

Mr. Harrison: The Evo organization believes that this same age group, 15-24, will act as the next generation of motorsports enthusiast and participants. In consequence this group’s interest or lack thereof in motorsports will determine the health and expansion of the industry. Have you witnessed any trend regarding these participants contributing to the success of the SCCA?

Mr. Duncan: The Street Touring and Modified class has been the largest area for growth in the SCCA allowing the association to firm up our relationship with Tire Rack, a company that specifically targets the younger audience. We have seen a 40% growth in these two classes and the segment continues to grow substantially. These two classes have dramatically change the demographic and landscape for the SCCA.

Mr. Harrison: In most organizational structures the culture of a company is defined by the direction of executive management. Many motorsports sanctioning bodies suffer from executives making decisions in monetary profit and loss isolation without adequate attention or interest to the needs of racers and fans. Often this behavior can result in member racers and enthusiasts becoming disinterest in track racing and taking it onto the public street or leaving the sport for an entirely different hobby. Do you find a similar operating model for the SCCA or do you apply an inverted pyramid style culture.

Mr. Duncan: The SCCA prides itself as a membership driven program that is driven by the needs of the members.

Mr. Harrison: When you created the two street classes over a decade ago was it with the intent or purpose to target illegal street racers to participate?

Mr. Duncan: We were not specifically thinking of illegal street racing or to utilize the classes as a social outreach program. We have been made aware of some participants that have come from that scene and now race in the SCCA as an alternate.

Mr. Harrison: Has the SCCA considered specifically targeting this age group of motorsports enthusiasts and illegal street racers in the past?

Mr. Duncan: Not really to any large extent. We try to coordinate with someone for a marketing effort to that theme but to that end we did not have enough information. About 10 years ago in magazines we made some efforts where Sports Compact Car had some articles with boys and there cars. I remember a Supra TT being featured to where he as talking about running in the pro solo class. We were reaching through that mechanism but not specifically with a program.

Mr. Harrison: Is there currently internal consideration within your association to market your existing programs or create programs towards illegal street racers and automotive enthusiasts?

Mr. Duncan: Yes. We spend a lot of time discussing racing specifications for a class at executive meetings for hours at an end. We have missed opportunities in the past but we still want to reach out for not only our benefit but also to provide a social service for the community. The ideas you discussed are very exciting and need to be discussed as opportunities for expansion with the association. We are very glad to learn more about your organization and its efforts. This will be on the agenda at our next executive meeting in a couple months. I will stay in touch.