How did you get started with SCCA?

A Business neighbor of mine, Ed Railton, always had Miata’s and his Spec Racer Ford around his shop. He would load his trailer and take off on many weekends. He always had great stories he would tell me. In 2014 he decided to sell a car, the #56 Sealed Spec Miata (SSM). He threw a trailer in the package as well. It was a great deal, and he set me up for Driving School the following year. I got hooked. I know four guys from the school that are racing constantly. David Allen was also a big promoter, as well as my Driving Instructor.  

What is your current position?

In addition to driving, I was elected to the Board of Directors (BoD) for the region this past November. I had previously volunteered helping out with flagging and last year also helped Mike King with Announce.

What do you I like about the SCCA?

It’s a bit of a “family” type atmosphere. I suppose some folks may just show up and race, and then go home, but my experience is that getting involved and being a part of the entire experience is a lot of fun. The drivers are all good guys. Everyone helps and assists when things go wrong, or you need parts, etc. But the drivers are just one side of the picture. On the other side are the folks who get up at 5 am to get the track ready, set up the timing, flag the races, man the pits, and work to make the races go off without a hitch. These are all the Volunteers. They don’t get paid. All these volunteers also do their best to help and make sure everything goes well for the racers and the whole event!  Basically everyone works together as a team to create a great atmosphere!

Why do you like volunteering?

In addition to just enjoying doing things like announce and flagging, it is a good feeling knowing I am actually helping out, which in a small part, helps the club. Unlike NASA, we aren’t a for profit club. If I can help out when I’m not driving, I feel it helps the whole club! In between races, there is usually a lot of down time (well, that is if your not putting a new rear end in your car). Rather than just watch everyone else work, it only made sense for me to volunteer to help out. 

What does your role involve?

As a newbie to the BoD, I probably should defer an answer for a few months. But currently I was selected as Treasurer (hopefully I can carry on as well as Rod Simmons). I am also the Board Liaison for the Announce, Paddock, and Tech crews. In addition, I was asked to be the backup Liaison for the Chiefs counsel (with R. J. Gordy). I look forward to working with them to make sure the Club continues to offer the best experience for it’s members, both racers and volunteers!

What don’t people know about what you do?

I have been working on the new Regional Sealed Spec Corvette C5 (SSC5) class, putting together a prototype for the class was a bit of work. Getting the kinks worked out, building the car (for $20,000, including car purchase) and then getting the rules sent out to National for approval.  Quite an interesting project. But a fun project! It certainly wouldn’t have gotten legs without the knowledge and guidance of Clint.  I was just the car guy. Clint is the rules guy! We ended with 18 pages of rules… Wow! Now, we just have to get folks on the bandwagon. I’d love to see 10 of these cars racing this year. That would be satisfaction in the project!

Thank You!

Thanks Tim for volunteering and helping out in multiple areas for the region! We also hope the SSC5 class takes off and look forward to seeing more of these cars out on track.