As a motorsports professional, Victoria “Vicki” O’Conner has just about done it all, but her crowning accomplishment is the long standing Formula Atlantic pro series that launched the career of a number of legendary drivers.

O’Conner was introduced to the Sports Car Club of America® in the 1960s when her husband, Bill, raced in Formula B. Her professional motorsports career began when she was hired by fellow SCCA Hall of Famer Carl Haas as his personal secretary.

Working for Haas, O’Conner was selected to head up the Sports 2000 Pro Series, which she did successfully. That led to her selection by SCCA Pro Racing® in 1985 to begin the East Coast Atlantic Race series to complement the already launched West Coast championship.

Four years later, O’Conner had partnered with Toyota as a title sponsor and engine supplier, merging the two series into one national championship, beginning the Toyota Atlantic Championship under O’Conner’s watchful eye.

The series took another step forward in 1991 when Gerry Forsythe pulled O’Conner, her staff and the Toyota Atlantic Championship under the CART umbrella to become a part of some of the largest open-wheel motorsports events in the world. Scott Goodyear, Calvin Fish, Patrick Carpentier, Buddy Rice and AJ Allmendinger are just a few of the championship-winning drivers who succeeded in a series that was under O’Conner’s guidance.

She did it all as a woman in a time where that was rarely done. She was never aware that being a woman could be a limiting factor in her success. Ignorance is Bliss, she said – though her knowledge was vast.

Vicki O’Conner was inducted into the SCCA Hall of Fame in 2024.