According to The Copper Era newspaper, which covers Greenlee County located along the Arizona/New Mexico border, the Clifton Hill Climb is being resurrected thanks to support from SCCA’s Arizona Region.
After conducting the Clifton Hill Climb for three years straight starting in 2015, the event was put on hold for a couple years. A 2018 article penned by Ken Showers, reporter for The Copper Era, states the reason being Arizona Region pulled support for the event.
“We at the Arizona SCCA were not happy about our decision to discontinue supporting the Clifton Hill Climb,” stated Region Executive Jim Cantrell in the 2018 article. “We recognize that the event has tremendous meaning to the residents of Clifton and it represents a long tradition.”
Cantrell went on to explain that hosting the Clifton Hill Climb required Arizona Region “resources, time and, most importantly, money.” Because of low participant turnout, however, the Region was losing money on the activity. Therefore, the only logical option at the time was to withdraw as the event’s sanctioning body.
But Showers states in a recent article that things are looking good for a 2020 return of the Clifton Hill Climb. Currently scheduled for April 24-26, organizers are actively seeking out fiscal support essential to make this hill climb happen. And of course, organizers are looking for drivers who want to participate in a really cool event twisting through a beautiful part of the country.
Check out http://cliftonhillclimb.com/ for the latest updates and to learn more.