Two women drivers will advance their racing careers thanks to scholarships granted by the SCCA Women on Track program. The scholarships were a grand opportunity in search of enthusiastic applicants from the general public as well as SCCA members. Funded by the SCCA Foundation, the 2023 SCCA Women on Track Road Racing Scholarships provide two women with $1,000 each in financial assistance to go wheel-to-wheel racing through an SCCA®-accredited Drivers’ School. This year’s recipients join last year’s inaugural Road Racing Scholarship winners Amanda Haines and Sarah Tarnowski in transforming dreams into reality.
By the time the April 30, 2023, scholarship application deadline had passed, the SCCA Women on Track Road Racing Scholarship Committee had a big task to sorting through the many excellent applications. This year’s recipients are Neohio Region’s Jennifer Bradford (seen on the left side of the accompanying image) and Blue Mountain Region’s Emily Oswald (on the right side of the image).
Jennifer Bradford: Born into Racing
“I was born into racing,” Bradford says. “My dad has been racing since 1988, and my brother since 2015. I have been at the track since I was born and was hooked as an infant. I’ve been learning from my dad since I was a young girl [and] have always wanted to race – and when we found the F5 for sale, I knew it was finally my time.”
Beyond having the desire to go road racing, Bradford’s experience with the Club spans SCCA Autocross, Time Trials, and being an extraordinarily active volunteer with her Region.
“I am extremely involved with the Neohio Region of SCCA,” she says. “I am their social media chair, webmaster, and registration chief. I am also a member of the Region's Communication Team. I run registration for all of our events and work registration for other Regions. While at the track, I have helped with F&C, Timing and Scoring, admin, and hospitality. I wrote and won an SCCA Foundation Grant, and am currently chairing an event called ‘A Day of Motorsports’ – a huge recruitment event for Neohio. My dad and I also recently gave presentations about SCCA and motorsports to a local school.”
As a special education teacher on a limited budget, Bradford has set multi-year racing goals – and it all starts this summer with an SCCA Drivers’ School at Pittsburgh International Race Complex thanks to the SCCA Women on Track Road Racing Scholarship. “A short-term goal I have in road racing is to attend a Drivers’ School and obtain my novice permit this season,” she explains. “By next season, I want to complete my novice permit and obtain an SCCA Full Competition License. A long-term goal is to be competitive in road racing events and eventually run the Runoffs with my dad and brother.”
Emily Oswald: Continuing the Tradition
Oswald has been competing in motorsports for 14 years, and with the SCCA Women on Track Road Racing Scholarship, she will soon add road racing to a resume that already includes dirt and asphalt go-karts, along with HillClimbs. But her motorsports story actually began long before that.
“Racing roots run deep in my family, especially with the women in the family,” Oswald explains. “My grandmother HillClimbed in the ’80s and then my mother began road racing in the ’90s and continued to do so until recently. My family has been participating in racing events since the ’70s, and I would like to continue that tradition, as I am the latest generation in the family to begin SCCA racing.”
In 2017, Oswald participated in the Challenge Cup Series, driving one of her mother's Formula Vees on the infield of Pocono Raceway. “ was my first-time road racing a car as well as my first time in an FV,” she says.
Being from a racing family, Oswald has seen the Club from a variety of perspectives. “When I was younger, I would help at Summit Point during the MARRS series by doing licensing at registration, as well as doing Timing and Scoring throughout the weekend,” she recalls. “My parents both taught me at a young age that volunteering at the events are important because without volunteers, the events would not run.”
While her goals involve eventually racing in one of her mother’s Vees, her plan is to use the SCCA Women on Track Road Racing Scholarship to attend a Steel Cities Region SCCA Drivers’ School in August behind the wheel of an ITB Volkswagen Rabbit.
“My short-term goal is to begin road racing in the tri-state area and get experience on the tracks I grew up at, such as Watkins Glen, Summit Point, and NJMP,” she says. “My long-term goal is to do one of the SCCA Tour series such as the U.S. Majors Tour or the Hoosier Racing Tire Super Tour. I would also like the opportunity to run the Runoffs because it is something I have never been able to witness.”
Keep up with SCCA Women on Track via their webpage and Facebook page.
How You Can Help
Many scholarships distributed by SCCA Women on Track are funded in association with the SCCA Foundation. To raise money for future scholarships, the Foundation is currently running a sweepstakes featuring an amazing VIP trip to a NASCAR race, and donations made before June 30 using promo-code “WOMENONTRACK” will get a 35-percent bonus in sweepstakes entries. Click here for more information.
The SCCA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that helps fund programs like SCCA Women on Track, SCCA Archives, Howard Duncan ProSolo Greenlight Fund, Tire Rack Street Survival Teen Driving Schools, VETMotorsports, Formula SAE, and more, and is made possible through generous donations by SCCA members, Regions, and sponsors.
Tax deductible donations to the SCCA Foundation can be made through the Foundation’s website where, if desired, donations can be earmarked for specific programs.
Photo s courtesy Jennifer Bradford (left) and Emily Oswald (right)
