SCCA COVID-19 Virus Situation Evaluaion

Washington DC Region - SCCA COVID-19 Virus Situation Evaluation

In phone conference Tuesday evening 17 March, WDCR Board of Directors discussed pending regulatory and recommended actions by state and federal government. As a result, all events and activities for the Washington DC Region are suspended for the remainder of March in compliance with established guidelines, as well as with the announcement of the closure of operations of Summit Point Raceway until their April first reevaluation.

The Board will remain in close contact with our Program Directors seeking their input and opinions. Changing conditions and relevant situations will be continually monitored. We will be holding a weekly Board of Directors telecom meeting, currently scheduled for 24 and 31 March to assess any changing conditions. No further actions taken by the Board at this time. 

No changes to the April schedule have been considered as yet.

Wayne Armbrust

C.W. Armbrust

Chairman & Region Executive

WDCR - SCCA

Mobile: 540-539-6379

WDCR-RE@Outlook.com

Note from WDCR Region Chairman on COVID-19

Note from Washington DC Region Chairman and Region Executive:

Fellow Members

In keeping with our mission to fuel a safe, fun, and exciting motorsports experience for auto enthusiasts, we sometimes have to make difficult decisions. Washington DC Region leadership is monitoring and continually assessing the COVID-19 (coronavirus) developments within our community. In that process the decision was made to suspend the current schedule for our Competition Driver Licensing School  21-22 March 2020.

It is also our objective to look at all of our activities and evaluate the exposure and risk at this time. In any case, we will operate in the best interest of our membership and those around us. 

We are directing our Program Chairmen and leaders to review the current schedules and assess each activity thoroughly in the current climate of developing cases and spreading exposures. We have a very wide geographic influence of which we must be continually cognizant.

Under the current states of emergency, national, state, and local, the most common local mandate that could affect SCCA events is a limitation on gathering size, many of these mandates may be specific to indoor activities.

While all members are welcome at Club events, SCCA leadership asks that anyone aware of exposure or who does not feel well or shows signs of fever please abstain from attending events. Additionally, SCCA leadership advises Club members to analyze each individual situation and make their own decisions on whether or not to participate in any given SCCA activity.

For those who are operating events, SCCA leadership advises that a proactive approach be taken, and additional measures be deployed to minimize the spread of any viruses. Those measures include but are not limited to:

• High-traffic worker positions (registration, waivers, etc.) should be issued nitrile gloves (preferred over latex due to allergies)

• Equipment with high-contact rates (radios, headsets, clipboards, etc.) should be sanitized before and between uses when they are shared.

• Events where loaner helmets are provided, balaclavas (head socks) and disinfectant spray should be provided and in use pre and post use.

• Any driver’s meetings normally held indoors should be conducted outside wherever possible.

• Minimize direct, physical contact between event attendees as much as possible. This includes, but is not limited to, event social functions.

• Experts have repeatedly stated that the best defense is to practice good personal hygiene, with regular hand washing being highly effective at preventing the spread of viruses.

From SCCA Topeka Office

Just released: 13 March 18:00 Hrs. 

Based on the latest updates regarding COVID-19, the current environment regarding public events and declaration of a national emergency, the SCCA is suspending the following events across the remainder of March:

SCCA Track Night in America

• March 19, Carolina Motorsports Park

• March 19, Thunderhill Raceway

• March 24, Memphis International Raceway

 SCCA Solo National Events:

• March 20, ProSolo at zMAX Dragway

• March 27, ProSolo at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

SCCA Starting Line Schools:

• March 21, Portland International Raceway

• March 28, Heartland Motorsports Park

SCCA Time Trials National Tour

• March 28, Auto Club Speedway

Respective program leaders will be following up with all participants registered for these events to work through the appropriate process in support of providing any credits and/or refunds.

As you know, things are moving quickly with this coronavirus outbreak. In the coming days, SCCA Leadership will continue closely monitoring the CDC and official national recommendations to help determine any ongoing impacts to our event schedule based on further updates and/or restrictions imposed.

Concurrently, Region Leaders are working diligently to follow local governance with regard to any updates/restrictions on gatherings and take appropriate action as needed for Regional events.

We appreciate your continued support as we work together through this challenge as One Team, and we look forward to seeing you on course or on track again soon.

Be safe, 
Michael E. CobbPresident/CEO
Sports Car Club of America

HEADS UP! SCCA NEEDS YOUR INPUT

Article by Jack Burrows, Area 2 Director

The bylaws which govern SCCA have remained largely unchanged for some years. Our bylaws can only be revised by a vote of our members and require ballots to be sent and returned through the mail. Given the time and money involved in mailing ballots with postage paid return envelopes, this is a costly, cumbersome, and protracted process.

The club's Board of Directors therefore proposes to drag SCCA into the current millennium by changing our bylaws to provide for electronic voting. A detailed explanation of the proposal with its specific changes to our bylaws and the resulting voting process will be laid out in an article in upcoming issues of Sports Car.

Essentially, the Board's proposal is to allow SCCA to use electronic ballots (e.g., email) for things which our bylaws require to be voted on by our members. It also provides for people to opt out of electronic balloting if they prefer to receive and return hard copy ballots by mail. This change can't happen unless and until its voted on and approved by our members. Eligible members will therefore be receiving a ballot in the mail in the coming weeks asking for approval of electronic notification for items requiring a vote of the membership. The Board and I ask for your approval.

This would not a radical change. Many - if not most - of SCCA's regions already use electronic voting for things like elections for region officers. So the proposal would merely serve to bring SCCA nationally into the same practice as that which already widely used on the regional level. I encourage everyone to read the Sports Car article and vote in favor of the option for us to use electronic voting.

Local Member Makes Good - Upcoming TransAm Coverage

Local Washington DC Region Member Jim McAleese gets some nice coverage in the in the next two Trans Am Racing Series events from Mid Ohio and Road America. Jim is still a local Leesburg, VA resident and is a graduate of the DC Region Drivers School and one time GT1 Competitor in the MARRS Series. 

Rebroadcast of the Next Dimension 100 Presented by FirstEnergy from Mid Ohio will be on the CBS Sports Network Saturday, Sept 12th, at 10:00 am. Broadcast of the Next Dimension 100 from Road America will be on the CBS Sports Network Saturday, Sept 19th, at 10:00 am. Check your local channel guides to find the CBS Sports Network which also covers the Pirelli World Challenge.

Mid Ohio was a very interesting Race to watch and worth the time, and I hear the same is true for the Road America race - but you have to watch it till the end.

Dennis Dean Presented with SCCA's John McGill Award

TOPEKA, Kan. (March 3, 2015) – Dennis Dean was given the 2014 John McGill award, the final SCCA Club Racing award to be given out this season. The honor was bestowed upon Dean this past weekend as part of the Northeast Division Steward Training Seminar, with NEDIV Exec Steward Kathy Barnes in the role of presenter.

The award is given to one Club member who is deemed to have made a significant contribution to the Club Racing program. The winner is chosen by the members of the Club Racing Board, in concert with the SCCA Chief Operating Officer.

"This is not an award you work for," Dean said. "This is an award that comes to you. For five year, while I served as the Vice President of Club Racing, one of my duties was to partner with the Competition Board to select the winner of the John McGill Award. Very few things I did then were as important to me as making that selection, because I had a deep understanding of its significance to the SCCA and to Club Racing. Because of that, I am deeply humbled by being added to the roll of honorees.

"To be put on a list with people like Frank Schultheis, Johnny Bornholdt, Rob Walker, and Sue Roethel is something I would never have dreamed could happen and I am honored beyond my capacity to properly articulate it."

The presentation of the John McGill award signifies the final annual SCCA award to be given out for 2014. While the top Club Racing driver, Andrew Longe, was awarded the President's Cup at the SCCA Annual Convention, many of the other top honors for those involved with the Club Racing program were given away at Divisional and Regional events held throughout the winter months.

A complete list of awards given out by the Club can be found by visiting http://www.scca.com/about/?cid=44418. The honors include those given out for service to the Club, in general, as well as the individual areas of competition.

Be sure to like the SCCA on Facebook at Facebook.com/SCCAOfficial and follow us on Twitter @SCCAOfficial.

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Dennis Dean, right, talks with Bruce Brunner at the 2014 Runoffs at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. (Credit: Donna Duffey)