Whether you’re a driver, crew person or volunteer, everyone heads to the same place when first arriving at a track: Registration. It’s the helpful team in registration that provides the wristbands for access and makes sure drivers and cars are correctly logged.
Overseeing the registration team is the Chief of Registration. The dedicated volunteer holding down that position this weekend during the Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour visit to Portland International Raceway is Karen McCoy, a 35-year SCCA member from the Oregon Region.
McCoy grew up with a great fondness for cars and speed. To satiate her desire to be around things that go fast, McCoy started working pre-grid at racing events.
“It’s just the cars and the people,” McCoy noted as reasons for joining the Club. “It’s just a fun atmosphere with the cars and stuff.”
While today you’ll find McCoy working with a team in Registration, she has actually worked several specialties within the Club. She worked Timing & Scoring, Tech, Pre-Grid, Driver Services, and Flagging and Communication.
“No more flagging for me because I can’t run anymore,” McCoy joked about taking up her current role in Registration.
But don’t think for a single moment that Registration doesn’t take a lot of work and energy. McCoy, who is also the Oregon Region Administrator, said planning for a race weekend begins months in advance.
“You must definitely be organized to work in Registration,” McCoy said. “We used to do all this by hand. Every entry form was filled out by hand, and then we had to type everything into the scoring system for every single race weekend. It’s a lot less paperwork these days thanks to MotorsportReg.”
“The people and fast cars still make it fun for me today,” McCoy continued. “It’s what keeps me coming back. And through Registration, you meet everybody; the volunteers, the drivers, the crew. For me, that’s the most important thing because I’m a people person.”
Follow all of McCoy’s driver buddies this weekend during the Hoosier Super Tour at PIR with live timing and scoring, lap notes, live video, Super Tour Radio presented by Hoosier Racing Tire and more via the SCCA® Pit Board available through http://www.scca.com/live.