The Solo Events Board (SEB) is now seeking nominations from the membership for the 2023 Solo Cup and Driver of Eminence awards presented annually during the Tire Rack SCCA® Solo National Championships.
Nominations can be submitted via the online letters process by clicking here, or use the red button below. Under the “Send Letter To:” option, select “Solo Events Board,” then select “Event Operations” under the “Category” menu.
More information about each award, as well as all-star examples of a few former recipients, can be found below. Please note that previous Driver of Eminence winners may not be nominated again, and that all nominations are due by Aug. 8, 2023.
The Solo Cup Award
The Solo Cup is awarded to the SCCA member who has made an outstanding contribution to the Solo Events Program. The winner is selected by the SEB from nominations submitted by the membership at large. Last year’s winners were Tracy and Robert Lewis.
The first Solo Cup was awarded in 1978 and went to the trio of Marc Gerstein, Grant Reynolds, and Vern Jacques; all three of who are recognized as the fathers of SCCA Solo and went on to be inducted into SCCA’s Hall of Fame.
Jacques wrote the first article in SportsCar magazine proposing SCCA create a new category of competition for single cars at moderate speed. The Board of Governors decided to go forward with the idea and tapped him to chair the committee that expanded the idea and created the original set of rules.
Reynolds persuaded the Board of Governors to give the then Solo Events Committee full Board status, thus creating the Solo Events Board. He also proposed the idea of a National Championship event for Solo, which he went on to create. And Gerstein was at the very forefront of safety initiatives for Solo.
Another former Solo Cup recipient later inducted into the SCCA Hall of Fame is Rocky Entriken, who was assigned to cover the inaugural Solo National Championships in 1973 for SportsCar magazine. Entriken has since competed in 100 percent of the Solo National Championships, and compiles the Solo Stats book that records results of every driver who has ever participated at Solo Nationals.
Certainly, Roger H. Johnson also stands out as a previous Solo Cup honoree who is in SCCA’s Hall of Fame. He literally wrote the book on autocross course design. In the mid-‘90s, his course design knowledge and production graphics background were utilized to create a course design manual readily available on the internet for all to use.
Driver of Eminence Honor
A Solo driver who has consistently demonstrated excellence behind the wheel and an exemplary degree of sportsmanship, dedication, and unselfishness can be awarded Driver of Eminence honors. The winner is selected by the SEB from nominations submitted by the membership at large, and last year’s recipient was Larry "Lefty" MacLeod.
First awarded in 1984, the Driver of Eminence honoree list includes many Club notables. For instance, Bob and Patty Tunnell shared the Driver of Eminence award in 2002, and are both in SCCA’s Hall of Fame.
The Tunnells are amongst the top performers in SCCA history. Patty is a 15-time SCCA Solo Champion, which ties her for second-most championships in SCCA history. She has also won in 11 different classes, while Bob has seven SCCA Solo National Championships of his own across five different categories.
SCCA Hall of Famer Karen Babb is another former Driver of Eminence. She leads all SCCA Solo competitors with 20 National Championships. She also served the Solo program in countless capacities, including as course designer, specialty chief, and program administrator, as well as being an event organizer at all levels.
And we can’t forget about Roger E. Johnson, the 2008 Driver of Eminence who is now also in SCCA’s Hall of Fame. He shuttled the sport of Solo along to being a serious and commercially viable form of motorsport competition. He is a top competitor and a multi-time SCCA National Champion, and without a doubt one of the most recognizable names in the incredibly popular and successful sport of autocross.
Who’s Next? You Decide!
Now that you have an idea of who has earned previous Solo Cup and Driver of Eminence honors, it’s time to submit your 2023 selections by Aug. 8 through the online form.
Photo by Rupert Berrington
