Current Status:

As announced during a 2021 SCCA National Convention session, the suspended Junior Driver Program (JDP) has been reviewed by the Solo Events Board (SEB), a special JDP Committee, and the SCCA Board of Directors. The result is that JDP is being reintroduced in 2021 as a limited pilot program to initiate and study new rules, requirements and procedures.

The JDP committee has received a number of applications for inclusion in the pilot program, and these applications are currently being evaluated. Others interested in participating in the pilot program should reach out to jdp@SCCA.com and include specifics about why they would like to be part of ongoing program analysis.

To be included in the pilot program, the committee is seeking regions with specific resources pertaining to JDP leadership and Solo Safety Steward experience. The appropriateness of specific Solo sites is also a consideration, as well as the potential size/scope of individual region programs across the country.

Regions chosen to be part of the Pilot will be announced in April with a target of the first, new JDP event taking place in May. Since 2021 will be something entirely new for JDP, the class will not be included in 2021 Tire Rack SCCA National Solo events.

Next Steps:

While the committee is standing up the pilot, the SEB and National Office are also launching an initiative to study possible safety improvements to the vehicle used in the JDP program. This initiative will take a wide-ranging approach to considering alternatives to the current kart design, which was originally intended to run in a kart track environment. We ask that members who have experience in chassis design and are interested in assisting in this effort send an email to jdp@scca.com.