Women On Track Initiative Provides Driver School Opportunity

In order to expand the positive opportunities for women in motorsport, the SCCA® Women On Track initiative is pleased to announce that Cindy Tranchida from the Detroit, MI area has been selected to participate, at no cost to herself, in the Detroit Region SCCA’s Driver School this May. Several women from the Detroit area submitted resumes when the call went out after the SCCA National Convention in January.

Cindy and her husband, Joe, got involved with racing in 1990 when Joe began racing in GT-3 and later GT-1. The duo was just one of many husband and wife teams of the time. Cindy enjoyed supporting Joe but always had the drive to try it out for herself. As it happens for so many, life got in the way of Cindy’s dream. Both Cindy and Joe put racing on the back burner for a few years. After a long time away from the track, last year Joe attended an event at Waterford Hills and the bug bit both of them again. When Cindy heard about the SCCA Women On Track initiative and this opportunity, she knew this was her chance to make that long-time dream come true.

The mission of the SCCA Women On Track Initiative is to expand participation of women in all facets of SCCA programs and activities as participants, volunteers, leaders or supporters. For the past few years, the SCCA National Convention has featured sessions on increasing female participation. The 2020 sessions caught the interested of Frank Schwartz, a B-Spec Road Racing competitor from the Detroit area. He presented the opportunity for a free car rental for the 2020 Waterford Hills Road Racing Driver School. From there, Solo Performance Specialties, a member-owned company based in St. Louis, MO donated a new helmet and RaceChick provided a driver suit. In addition, the Detroit Region of SCCA has subsidized the entry fee.

The Women On Track committee look forward to this experience for Cindy and hope that this is the first of many opportunities for ladies to get their start in SCCA Road Racing. A review of Cindy’s experience will be shared following the event.