Now in its eighth year, the Wendi Allen Scholarship Fund (WASF) encourages women from SCCA’s Solo community to become more successful drivers and contributing members of the Sports Car Club of America. Named and established by the family of Wendi Allen, the scholarship honors the multi-time National Solo champion who loved and supported SCCA’s autocross community. Each of the three award recipients receives $1,500 a piece to assist with travel to Tire Rack National Solo events and the Tire Rack Solo Nationals Championship. Additionally, the SCCA waives entry fees for scholarship winners to all Tire Rack National Solo events attended during the year.
And the 2021 Winners Are …
A Selection Committee, consisting of championship caliber women Solo drivers, selected this year’s winners from a host of submissions. Tara Johns, chairwoman of the committee, said, “We received many great applications and nominations for the three scholarship awards this year. We looked for well-rounded candidates who had a need for the scholarship, who are giving back to the Club in a big way, and who have a desire to seek great things on the national Solo scene. Those who were not selected, we strongly encourage them to reapply next year. Just because they weren’t chosen this time around certainly doesn’t mean they aren’t great candidates.”
Without further ado, the 2021 WASF recipients are as follows:
– Tracey Burckhard, Mohawk Hudson Region
– Karen Thomas, Central Pennsylvania Region
– Mazda: Felisha Welninski, Finger Lakes Region
Scholarships Made Possible Thanks to…
For a fourth year, Mazda Motorsports has provided funding for one scholarship recipient. David Cook, Business Development Manager for Mazda Motorsports, said, “We are proud that Tracey, Karen and Felisha are joining the ranks of many outstanding autocrossers who have earned the Wendi Allen Scholarship. It gives us great pleasure to support this scholarship endeavor for these three women chasing their passion and motorsport dreams.”
The other two scholarships awarded for 2021 are funded by the SCCA Foundation. Jeff Jacobs, Chairman of the SCCA Foundation, was introduced to national Solo competition by Mark and Wendi Allen when the three of them competed in the then-new Neon ACRs. “Wendi had the heart of a competitor,” explains Jacobs, “when she put on that helmet, her focus was instantly on.” In addition to multiple Solo National Championships, Wendi also road raced while helping to run the family car dealership business and raising a family.
“Once again, the WASF Selection Committee has done a fantastic job in picking a fine group of deserving scholarship recipients. The SCCA Foundation is proud of its ongoing support of this wonderful program originated by the generosity of Wendi and Mark Allen,” Jacobs said. “Ongoing donations by individuals and Regions have made it possible to continue these scholarships for the next generation of competitors.”
Previous WASF recipients include Lori Rothmuller, Sarah Tooth, Elisabeth Flannagan, Elizabeth Wildenberg, Jennifer Vance, Cindy Duncan, Haley Oosterhof, Elayne Man, Johanna Foege, Youmna Zalzal, Lexie Murray, Tara Arnette, Jessica Black, Lacie Edens, Samantha Bray, Emily Brown and Amy Wunsch.
The SCCA Foundation is accepting donations earmarked for the Scholarship and for its other initiatives advancing opportunities for women’s involvement in the Club. SCCA members can go to the My SCCA membership portal to make a donation here.
The Sports Car Club of America National Office has posted two positions, offering professionals who want to combine their skill set with their passion for motorsports a pair of opportunities with the 65,000-member Club and beyond.
Partner Relations Coordinator/Manager
The SCCA Marketing department is searching for a Partner Relations Coordinator/Manager. In short, this person is responsible for working closely with existing partners to coordinate deliverables for existing programs, as well as developing new partnerships with small and medium-sized businesses. This position reports directly to the Director of Marketing & Communications, Kristen Poole.
LEARN MORE
Solo/Experiential Programs Communications Coordinator
The Solo and Experiential department is searching for a Solo/Experiential Programs Communications Coordinator. This person is, among other duties, responsible for setting events up for success by providing information, excitement and attention to participants in National Solo Series, National Time Trials, and Track Night in America events. This position reports to the Sr. Director of Solo and Experiential Programs, Heyward Wagner.
LEARN MORE
Details on all open positions at the Sports Car Club of America can be found on our Careers Opportunities page.
The SCCA Tire Rack Dixie Tour opened the Champ Tour season last weekend in South Georgia. Let’s dive right in…
In B Street, David Marcus cleaned up his cone troubles and took the opening day lead. Jason Ruggles made a huge jump on Sunday in his BMW, launching into the lead from third place on his second run — the fastest of the day in the class by far. Marcus needed every tenth of his first-day advantage, as he could not match Ruggles on Saturday but held on for a 0.078-second win.
Clean runs made the difference in D Street in a class with three prior champions. Aditya Madhavan was the quickest on Sunday, but had fallen into an insurmountable hole on Saturday with cones. Madhavan’s co-driver and day-one leader David Nolan was still just in front with one run to go, but that third and final clean run boosted Mike King to the top of the chart and the win.
As a spectator, one only needed to watch a small sliver of Heat Two to catch the C Street action. Rick Cone and Will Teller ran back-to-back on course all weekend, swapping the lead multiple times. Cone held on for the two-day victory.
Dave Welsh led Saturday in one of the most populous B Modified classes in years. Mark Van De Carr ended up taking the win Sunday, with Welsh saying that the competition made him work like never before to keep up. Van De Carr took the win by one of the smallest margins of the event, just 0.064-second.
The names might be familiar in C Modified, but a quick glance at the location indicates a bit of bizzarro world. Jonathan Clements took the win over Eric Clements, but more than that served as a reminder that the Clements family is now firmly entrenched East of the Mississippi, giving a break to the west coasters and changing the dynamic of the class at the National level.
View All Results
The Tire Rack Solo Tour is wasting no time on the calendar, getting back to action with the second ProSolo of the season at Charlotte’s zMax Dragway, this coming Thursday through Saturday.
The 2021 Tire Rack SCCA Time Trials National Tour Powered by Hagerty opened its season this past weekend at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) found along the border of North Carolina and Virginia. An absolutely amazing venue at which to begin the year, nearly 140 drivers accepted the challenge presented by the 3.27-mile circuit featuring high-speed straights, challenging turns, Uphill Esses and invigorating elevation changes.
Round One Battles
In the Ultimate 1 (U1) class, Kyle Carrick fought early issues with his 2015 Nissan GT-R, using wonderful weather conditions Saturday as an opportunity to shake down his car and make sure everything was OK. While Carrick was fighting issues on Saturday, and feeling the effects if wrong-tire-itis during the TrackSprints, he was able to throw down the fastest lap of the event, a 1:53.103, during the Sunday afternoon TrackAttack “small sessions”. The afore mentioned issues, however, opened the door for Chris Ingle and his 2014 Dodge SRT Viper to comfortably win U1 with an overall time of 4:33.608, which included the second-fastest lap on the weekend of 1:56.747.
A really close battle between Donald Lui, in a 2015 Subaru BRZ, and James Avellina, in a 2020 Toyota Supra, came to be in the Max 2 class. Lui was atop the class after day one, but Avellina chipped away at that lead Sunday winning TrackSprint and setting a faster lap on the second day. But it just wasn’t enough as Lui produced an overall time of 4:50.383 as compared to Avellina’s 4:50.395, a difference of only 0.012-second. Perry Ellwood and his Mazda RX-8 were a blink of an eye behind in third with a time of 4:50.467.
The Sport 3 class was decided by a scant .25-seconds as Dennis Barrett and his 2002 BMW M3 got the win with a time of 5:08.789 over Brian Tyson who accumulated a time of 5:09.04 in a 2021 Hyundai Veloster. Tyson was actually leading going into Sunday, but Barrett clawed away at that time with a 0.4-second faster run in TrackSprint. Barrett then cut 1.3 seconds off his day-one lap time to pull out the win. Third went to Eric Ward in a 2019 Chevrolet Camaro with a time of 5:10.176.
Nearly as close a finish occurred in the Max 5 class. A margin of victory of only 0.3-seconds was the case there as Nicholas Johnston, in a 2001 Mazda Miata, claimed victory with a lap time of 5:24.948. Tim White, in a 1992 Honda Civic, finished second with an overall result of 5:25.265. White gave it a run, though, dropping 1.4 seconds off his times on day two. Lisa Keyes and her 1995 Honda Civic finished third with a 5:27.628.
VIR Awards Rundown
Top Novice recognition went to Benjamin Smolen in his stock 2019 VW Jetta. It was his first time on track, and he ended up only one spot off the Sport 5 podium. Time Trials Champion, awarded to those who do the most to support the Time Trials program and an overall event experience, went to Greg Hunt whose co-driver was a friend who never competed at an SCCA Time Trials event before.
The award for Most Improved went to Ryan Cheek. She has been participating at Time Trials events for a while, and was really wheeling her 2006 Ford Mustang at VIR throughout the weekend. Time Trials National Tour staff noted how much Cheek has improved as a driver, and at VIR she finished only one spot off the Tuner 3 class podium.
Kevin Mongold received the Spirit of Time Trials award after having a rough Sunday, damaging his car. Despite this, he stuck around to help and cheer on friends as they batted in their respective classes. The Crossover award, bestowed to competitors coming from other SCCA disciplines, went to Cameron Albea. The autocrosser runs his Mazda Miata in STS at SCCA Solo events, but installs a rollbar in the same car to compete at Time Trials in the Tuner 5 class, which he won this weekend at VIR.
Full Results Here
Next Up!
The 2021 Tire Rack SCCA Time Trials National Tour Powered by Hagerty shifts its focus to the West Coast for the next event, taking place April 9-11, at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in California. Register for that event today!
