Ever since the Club’s early days, SCCA® Regions have been clamoring for more enthusiasts to join the fun. In the 1940s and ’50s, the issue was getting the word out to those who might be interested in becoming involved with this new, unknown automotive club; then the challenge became fine tuning those motorsport offerings. Inevitably, other clubs and hobbies (along with life in general) began competing for time, and eventually participants became difficult to find and keep. 

For SCCA Region leaders, a large portion of time is spent trying to obtain and retain participants. It’s a challenging – and daunting – task, and one SCCA’s San Francisco Region (SFR) is tackling head on with a new position created specifically to help attract more participants.

Identifying the Problem

“For decades, SFR Road Racing has run as a volunteer organization – we're great operators and have been successful when we secured track dates and ran events; that was our sole focus,” explains SFR Road Racing’s Regional Executive Mike Smith. Then he adds that unfortunately, “this no longer works.”

Smith says road racing participation is declining due to cultural changes, age, income, competition with family time, budgets, and (of course) other organizations with road racing and track day offerings. On top of that, track rental fees are constantly on the rise, while compounding that problem is a decrease in the number of volunteers, requiring the Region to hire workers in order to host events at the racetrack.

“In the current structure, SFR Road Racing was losing an unsustainable amount of money,” Smith says. The solution? Treat the Region as a business.

Long Term Planning

“To address these issues and make the Region’s Road Racing viable again is to run San Francisco Region Road Racing as a business with a leader who, together with the Region’s Board, will develop year-over-year annual measurable plans,” Smith says. “This plan includes not only operations but also areas where the Region is not consistently strong, such as sales, marketing, consistent financial practices, sponsor acquisition, and long-term planning.”

Therein, they have hired a full-time employee to lead the Region’s plans. That person is John Hunter.

For those in the SCCA Time Attack and Solo communities, Hunter is a familiar face. A Solo National Champion and SCCA’s current Manager of National Time Trials, Hunter will be leaving his role as an SCCA staff member to develop and lead San Francisco Region’s Road Racing program in a new direction.

A longtime autocrosser and track enthusiast, Hunter was hired onto SCCA’s National staff in 2018 as part of the Solo content team as well as a coordinator for the Club’s Starting Line program. His prior experience as a Starting Line instructor and his time on the Nebraska Region board helped prepare him for the job – a job that eventually transitioned into him becoming SCCA’s Manager of National Time Trials and leading the Tire Rack SCCA Time Attack Challenge program.

“Events thrive when we enable the community the ability to do – or see – many things in one weekend,” Hunter explains. “While I’ve been heading SCCA’s Time Trials program, I’ve seen how event weekends can thrive when you combine as many disciplines as possible. Done right, you end up with a festival weekend that makes people want to come back for more. Clustering experiences is a win for participants, spectators, racetracks, and the Region. It’s a win for everybody.”

Offering More

This strategy aligns perfectly with San Francisco Region’s goals. Divided into chapters (with SFR Bay Area, Fresno, and Sacramento handling the autocross portions), SFR’s Road Racing side would like to engage all aspects of the Club rather than operating as silos.

SFR’s chapters, Smith notes, have robust autocross programs. “Are there ideas that would support them and make them even better,” he ponders. “The Region would also like to explore integrating other SCCA programs into Road Racing, like Time Trials, Race Experience, and Track Days.”

SFR is also looking to incorporate organizations outside of the SCCA into its event weekends. “This gives us financial income and the opportunity to integrate them long-term into our core Road Race programs where appropriate.

A New Adventure

“We hired John to lead SFR Road Racing in a new direction,” Smith says. “He recognizes change and can lead the plans to address the current situation.”

While hiring a full-time event manager is not something all SCCA Regions can afford to do, the concept of making event weekends more attractive and cost effective through clustering competition types and organizations is a proven one, and something that many Regions can duplicate.

“SFR is adapting, and it’s that mindset that has kept the Sports Car Club of America™ strong for more than 80 years – and I can’t think of a better person to help SFR lead the charge than John Hunter,” says Heyward Wagner, SCCA’s Vice President of Rally/Solo and Experiential Programs, who Hunter reported to in his Manager of Time Trials role at SCCA. “Since John joined the SCCA staff eight years ago, he’s proven to be a leader with his finger on the pulse for what excites the membership.

“I can’t wait to see what the future holds for both San Francisco Region and John, and I’m looking forward to working with them both in the future.”

Photo of John Hunter at a Time Attack Challenge at Thunderhill Raceway Park by Dito Milan