Under 18 and Wanna Race? Not a problem!

SCCA is for Family It doesn't take long to find a second, or even third-generation of SCCA racers at an event. With a 70+ year history, SCCA has long been an organization that prides itself on being a family, and that includes making sure our younger members have a way to grow up and continue our love of motorsports. Bottom line - kids are welcome at our events. We love seeing smiling, young, enthusiastic faces where we can foster a heart for competition, offer a safe outlet to test their limits, and develop the future racers of tomorrow. Teen Involvement Don't assume you have to be over 21 to compete in SCCA events. NOT THE CASE! In fact, we make it possible for teens as young as 14 to get on track, start competing, and become a part of the action. Whether it's chasing cones on a Solo course, getting a Novice permit for Road Racing or RallyX, setting lap times at Track Nights or Time Trials, or waving flags on corners - there's a lot of ways for teens to get involved. The above chart breaks it down simply. To summarize: Minors under [...]

By |2022-04-18T16:12:56-04:00April 18th, 2022|Featured, Racing Life, Region News|

This Woman Can Do It All!

Written by: James Ray Jennifer Ferreira is a great example of one of our newer club members in the New England Region (NER). She is an experienced road racing competitor, with club racing wins, recipient of the ‘Ma & Pa Philbrick’ Worker-of-the-year” award, and recently elected New England Region SCCA (NERSCCA) board member. Jennifer actively volunteers in many areas to help run the local club and its events! Born in Manchester, barely 30 miles from New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Jennifer attended public schools in nearby Londonderry, received undergrad and graduate degrees at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy (MCPHS) in Boston, and now lives in Milford, NH with her partner Abhi Ghatak. Jennifer is a New Hampshire state certified and licensed Physician Assistant (PA). NERSCCA benefited from her medical expertise during the pandemic with guidance and advice on policies and best practices. When asked about her career choice in healthcare, Jennifer tells the story of breaking her arm as a teenager. She thought orthopedics might be an interesting career choice and shared her interest with the doctor. Her orthopedic surgeon asked if Jennifer intended to continue karting and she replied emphatically, “Yes!” The doctor suggested Jennifer follow [...]

By |2022-04-07T16:49:09-04:00April 6th, 2022|Featured, Racing Life|

B-Spec Build: Starting Out Strong

Over the winter, we began following JB Swan and Steve Introne as they set out to build new B-Spec cars for the 2021 road racing season. Both were seasoned drivers. JB with years of experience racing in production and IT7 cars, and Steve in the SRF and SRF3 vehicles. However, 2021 would put them into the seats of an entirely new class, with new cars they were building from the ground up. JB's 2021 ride is a Chevy Sonic and Steve took a Mini Cooper as his choice for B-Spec competition. In our first two articles, we followed why they each found this up-and-coming new class so desirable that they would make the move, to how they chose their donor vehicle, and the initial build process - stripping the cars down, fabricating roll cages, selecting seats, etc. So You Want to Build a B-Spec: Part 1 Building a B-Spec: Part 2 Steve and JB top the podium at the Pocono Majors going 1st and 2nd. Fine Tuning and Race Prep Our last check-in had both vehicles with cages, seats and engines. That left the fine tuning for turning a street vehicle into a race [...]

By |2021-06-23T18:24:39-04:00June 23rd, 2021|Featured, Racing Life, Road Racing|

Finding A New Beginning Through Autocross

Written by David Bocchichio On Sunday, April 4, 2021 my 17 year old son Liam and I had a chance to attend our first Regional Solo at Devens Airfield, in Ayer, MA.  To say that we were a little nervous would be putting it mildly.  After attending several local events last year, on smaller lots in our home state of Connecticut, we at least understood the basic process. But the scale of everything up at Devens was so much bigger and I had my son in his own car to worry about.  However, after what our family has gone through over the last year, we felt ready for anything. 2020 Turns Life Upside Down March 2020 went the same for us as it did for most people across the world. Our lives were put on hold due to Coronavirus lockdows.  Things began to spiral out of control for us soon after as weird health issues that had been plaguing me for many years suddenly worsened.  In the fall of 2020 I was finally diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease called Mixed Connective Tissue Disorder, putting an end to a lifetime [...]

By |2021-04-13T15:20:44-04:00April 13th, 2021|Autocross, Featured, Racing Life|

CRE – TT – TNiA: Understanding the Differences

When it comes to getting out on a road course, SCCA offers three ways car enthusiasts can experience the fun of driving on a dedicated race track. From the entry level Track Night in America series of events, to Time Trials competitions, and the most recent Club Racing Experience that prepares drivers for full wheel-to-wheel racing action, there are plenty of opportunities and ways to get out and have #funwithcars. However, for those new to SCCA and motorsports, understanding the differences between each of these events may be difficult. So we're here to break it down and make it simple. Two easy to understand charts that quickly answer the questions about what's similar and what's different. Breakdown the Similarities and Differences The one thing all three events have in common is that they are held on dedicated road racing courses. Unlike Rally events that are on rally tracks (dirt and gravel courses) or Autocross events that are typically held on parking lots or airport tarmacs; CRE, Time Trials, and TNiA are all scheduled at tracks like Thompson Speedway, Lime Rock Park, or Palmer Motorsports Park. Beyond that, some aspects of each event may crossover [...]

By |2021-04-20T10:53:24-04:00April 5th, 2021|Featured, Racing Life, Road Racing|

Desire to have #FunWithCars starts young!

Written by James Ray Volunteer grid worker Greg Holt is a great example of someone whose passion for race cars started early in life.  He shares an old family photo showing him sitting in the cockpit of an older cousin’s micro midget sprint car.  Greg’s father, Henry, can be seen holding onto the roll bar, like he is worried Greg might take off!  Another more recent family photo shows Greg as a young father and playing with oldest son Eric’s slot car racing set.  Many of us catch the fever young in life and it never leaves us.  We just want to have #FunWithCars! For those unfamiliar with grid workers, they are the ones wearing white helping position the race cars in starting order before each on-track session.  Volunteer grid workers provide valuable service by checking driver safety gear and verifying each car displays a current-event tech inspection sticker.  They look at driver harness belts and HANS straps to ensure they are fastened, check that helmet and gloves are on, window nets are up, and (for open cockpit cars) that the driver is wearing arm restraints.  As race cars [...]

By |2021-04-13T15:19:03-04:00March 26th, 2021|Featured, Racing Life|