The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American
automobile club
A car club or automotive enthusiast community is a group of people who share a common interest in motor vehicles. Car clubs are typically organized by enthusiasts around the type of vehicle (e.g. Chevrolet Corvette, Ford Mustang), brand (e.g. ...
and
sanctioning body
A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken g ...
supporting
road racing,
rallying
Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...
, and
autocross
Autocross (also called "Solo", "Auto-x" or "Autoslalom") is a timed competition in which drivers navigate one at a time through a defined course on either a sealed or an unsealed surface. It is a form of motorsports that emphasizes safe competitio ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional racers.
History
The SCCA traces its roots to the Automobile Racing Club of America (not to be confused with the current
stock car series of the same name). ARCA was founded in 1933 by brother
Milesand
Sam Collier
Samuel Carnes Collier (May 14, 1912 – September 23, 1950) was an American advertising entrepreneur and auto racer. He made his fortune in streetcar advertising.
Family
Collier was the son of Barron Gift Collier and Juliet Gordon Carnes, the ...
, and dissolved in 1941 at the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The SCCA was formed in 1944 as an enthusiast group. The SCCA began sanctioning road racing in 1948 with the inaugural
Watkins Glen Grand Prix
The Six Hours of Watkins Glen (currently sponsored as the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen) is a sports car endurance race held annually at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. The race dates from 1948, and has been a part of the ...
.
Cameron Argetsinger
Cameron Argetsinger (March 1, 1921 in Youngstown, Ohio, United States – April 22, 2008) was a sports car enthusiast, lawyer and auto racing executive best known for creating the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York, an ...
, an SCCA member and local enthusiast who would later become Director of Pro Racing and Executive Director of the SCCA, helped organize the event for the SCCA.
In 1951, the
SCCA National Sports Car Championship The SCCA National Sports Car Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Sports Car Club of America from 1951 until 1964. It was the first post-World War II sports car series organized in the United States. An amateur championshi ...
was formed from existing marquee events around the nation, including Watkins Glen,
Pebble Beach
Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also notable as a resort destination, and the home of the golf course ...
, and
Elkhart Lake. Many early SCCA events were held on disused air force bases, organized with the help of Air Force General
Curtis LeMay
Curtis Emerson LeMay (November 15, 1906 – October 1, 1990) was an American Air Force general who implemented a controversial strategic bombing campaign in the Pacific theater of World War II. He later served as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air ...
, a renowned enthusiast of sports car racing. LeMay loaned out facilities of
Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...
bases for the SCCA's use; the SCCA relied heavily on these venues during the early and mid-1950s during the transition from street racing to permanent circuits.
By 1962, the SCCA was tasked with managing the U.S.
World Sportscar Championship
The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992.
The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance, and road racing events in Europe and No ...
rounds at
Daytona Daytona refers to the city of Daytona Beach, Florida, or things named after it.
Daytona may also refer to:
Locations
* Daytona Beach Shores, Florida
* South Daytona, Florida
* The Daytona Beach metropolitan area
* Halifax area, also known as Da ...
,
Sebring,
Bridgehampton and
Watkins Glen. The club was also involved in the
Formula 1
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
U.S. Grand Prix. SCCA Executive Director John Bishop helped to create the
United States Road Racing Championship
The United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC) was created by the Sports Car Club of America in 1962. It was the first SCCA series for professional racing drivers. SCCA Executive Director John Bishop helped to create the series to recover ra ...
series for
Group 7 Group 7 may refer to:
* G7, an international group of finance minister
*Group 7 element, chemical element classification
*Halogens (alternative name)
*Group 7 Rugby League, rugby league competition in New South Wales, Australia
*Group 7 (racing)
G ...
sports cars to recover races that had been taken by rival
USAC Road Racing Championship The USAC Road Racing Championship was a sports car racing series in the United States held from 1958 until 1962. The series was organized by the United States Auto Club as a fully professional alternative to the Sports Car Club of America's SCCA Na ...
. Bishop was also instrumental in founding the SCCA
Trans-Am Series
The Trans-Am Series is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA).
Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of track types includ ...
and the SCCA/
CASC Can-Am series. In 1969, tension and infighting over Pro Racing's autonomy caused Bishop to resign and help form the
International Motor Sports Association
The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive dire ...
.
Sanctioned racing
Professional racing
![12 Ty Dillon TA2 2014 TransAm Road America](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/12_Ty_Dillon_TA2_2014_TransAm_Road_America.jpg)
The SCCA dropped its amateur policy in 1962 and began sanctioning professional racing. In 1963, the
United States Road Racing Championship
The United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC) was created by the Sports Car Club of America in 1962. It was the first SCCA series for professional racing drivers. SCCA Executive Director John Bishop helped to create the series to recover ra ...
was formed. In 1966 the
Canadian-American Challenge Cup
The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an Sports Car Club of America, SCCA/Canadian Auto Sport Clubs, CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1987.
History
Can-Am started out as a race series for group 7 sports racers with two r ...
(Can-Am) was created for Group 7 open-top sportscars. The
Trans-Am Series
The Trans-Am Series is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA).
Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of track types includ ...
for
pony cars
Pony car is an American car classification for affordable, compact, highly styled coupés or convertibles with a "sporty" or performance-oriented image. Common characteristics include rear-wheel drive, a long hood, a short decklid, a wide range ...
also began in 1966. Today, Trans-Am uses GT-1 class regulations, giving amateur drivers a chance to race professionally. A professional series for open-wheel racing cars was introduced in 1967 as the
SCCA Grand Prix Championship. This series was then held under
various names through to the
1976 SCCA/USAC Formula 5000 Championship.
Current SCCA-sanctioned series include
Trans Am
Trans Am may refer to:
* Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, an automobile model
* Trans Am (band), an American post-rock band
** ''Trans Am'' (album), their 1996 debut album
*** ''Trans Am'' (1996 song), their eponymous song from the eponymous album, see ...
, the
GT World Challenge America
The GT World Challenge America is a North American auto racing series launched in 1990 by the Sports Car Club of America. It has been managed by the Stephane Ratel Organisation since 2018, and has been sanctioned by the United States Auto Club si ...
for
GT and
touring cars
Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition with heavily modified road-going cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States.
While the cars do not mo ...
, the
Global MX-5 Cup
The Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BF Goodrich is a single-make motor racing championship sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) in the United States. Mazda MX-5 Cup is the professional Spec Miata series of Mazda Mo ...
,
F2000 Championship Series
The F2000 Championship Series is a North American–based open wheel road racing series based on Formula Continental, a wings and slicks series that is designed to be the second step after Formula F 1600.
The series utilizes the 2.0L powerplan ...
,
F1600 Championship Series and the
Atlantic Championship
The Atlantic Championship is a formula race car series with races throughout North America. It has been called Champ Car Atlantics (after its former name), Toyota Atlantics (due to the series' previous history of using Toyota-powered engines) ...
Series. SCCA Pro Racing has also sanctioned professional series for some amateur classes such as
Spec Racer Ford
Spec Racer Ford is a class of racing car used in Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and other series road racing events. The Spec Racer Ford, manufactured and marketed by SCCA Enterprises (a subsidiary of SCCA, Inc.), is a high performance, close ...
Pro and
Formula Enterprises
Formula SCCA or Formula Enterprises is a class of open wheel race car sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America. A spec racing class, all chassis are produced by SCCA Enterprises in association with Van Diemen and include a sealed Mazda M ...
Pro. SCCA Pro Racing also sanctioned the
Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup
The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup was a single-make racing series sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America. The series was started in 2008 and was a sports car racing, sports car series that ran only in North America, the series quietly folded ...
during its time.
Club Racing
![2013 SCCA National Championship Runoffs B Spec winner Charlie James](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/2013_SCCA_National_Championship_Runoffs_B_Spec_winner_Charlie_James.jpg)
The Club Racing program is a
road racing division where drivers race on either dedicated race tracks or on temporary street circuits. Competitors require either a regional or a national racing license. Both modified production cars (ranging from lightly modified cars with only extra safety equipment to heavily modified cars that retain only the basic shape of the original vehicle) and designed-from-scratch "
formula
In science, a formula is a concise way of expressing information symbolically, as in a mathematical formula or a ''chemical formula''. The informal use of the term ''formula'' in science refers to the general construct of a relationship betwee ...
" and "
sports racer" cars can be used in Club Racing. Most of the participants in the Club Racing program are unpaid amateurs, but some go on to professional racing careers. The club is also the source for
race workers in all specialties.
The annual national championship for Club Racing is called the
SCCA National Championship Runoffs
The SCCA National Championship Runoffs is the end-of-year championship race meeting for Sports Car Club of America Club Racing competitors. Divisional champions and other top drivers from the SCCA's 116 regions are invited to participate at the ...
and has been held at
Riverside International Raceway
Riverside International Raceway (sometimes known as Riverside, RIR, or Riverside Raceway) was a motorsports race track and road course established in the Edgemont area of Riverside County, California, just east of the city limits of Rivers ...
(1964, 1966, 1968),
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NA ...
(1965, 1967, 1969, 2015),
Road Atlanta
Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur spo ...
(1970–1993),
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (1994–2005, 2016),
Heartland Park Topeka
Heartland Motorsports Park, formerly known as Heartland Park Topeka, is a multi-purpose motorsports facility south of downtown Topeka, Kansas near the Topeka Regional Airport.
When it opened in 1989, Heartland Motorsports Park was the first new ...
(2006–2008),
Road America (2009-2013, 2020),
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca) is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and ...
(2014), and
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United State ...
(2017). In 2018, the Runoffs will go back west to
Sonoma Raceway
Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway from 1967 to 1980 and 1982 to 2002, Golden State International Raceway in 1981 and Infineon Raceway from 2002 to 2012) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southe ...
. In 2019, the race will be held at
Virginia International Raceway
Virginia International Raceway (commonly known as "VIR") is a race track located in Alton, Virginia, near Danville. It is less than a half-mile from the North Carolina/Virginia border just outside Milton, North Carolina, on the banks of the Dan ...
a track where the race has never been held. It was announced on 15 June 2018 that the Runoffs would go back to Road America in the year 2020. On 25 May 2019, the weekend of the
2019 Indianapolis 500, SCCA announced they will be returning to Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2021. The current SCCA record holder is
Jerry Hansen
Gerald Jon 'Jerry' Hansen (Born October 23, 1936 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is a former racing driver. Hansen has won a record of 27 SCCA National Championships. Hansen has also competed in Can-Am, the Atlantic Championship, USAC ChampCar amo ...
, (former owner of
Brainerd International Raceway
Brainerd International Raceway is a road course, and dragstrip racing complex northwest of the city of Brainerd, Minnesota. The complex has a dragstrip, and overlapping and road courses. The complex also includes a kart track. The raceway hos ...
), with twenty-seven national championships.
SCCA Majors formula group classes
![FormulaVee2010SCCARunnoffsWinner17RickShields](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/FormulaVee2010SCCARunnoffsWinner17RickShields.jpg)
The seven national classes of the formula group are
Formula Atlantic
Formula Atlantic is a specification of open-wheel racing car developed in the 1970s. It was used in professional racing through the IMSA Atlantic Championship until 2009 and is currently primarily used in amateur racing through Sports Car Club o ...
(FA),
Formula Continental
Formula Continental is a single seater, open wheel racing class in motorsport. It replaced Formula C as an SCCA racing class.
Most Formula Continental's are Formula Ford 2000 (FF2000) models, which is a flat bottomed, steel tube frame open ...
(FC),
Formula SCCA (FE),
Formula F
Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...
(FF),
Formula Vee
Formula Vee (Formula Fau Vee in Brazil and Germany) or Formula Volkswagen is a popular open wheel, single-seater junior motor racing formula, with relatively low costs in comparison to Formula Ford.
On the international stage, Niki Lauda, E ...
(FV), Formula X (FX), and
Formula 500
Formula 500 (F500) is a Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and Midwestern Council of Sports Car Clubs (MCSCC) open wheel road racing class.
Formula 500 was originally introduced in the early 1980s as Formula 440 (F440), and is a closely regulated ...
(F500).
Autocross
The
autocross
Autocross (also called "Solo", "Auto-x" or "Autoslalom") is a timed competition in which drivers navigate one at a time through a defined course on either a sealed or an unsealed surface. It is a form of motorsports that emphasizes safe competitio ...
program is branded as "Solo". Up to four cars at a time run on a course laid out with traffic cones on a large paved surface, such as a parking lot or airport runway, without interfering with one another.
Competitions are held at the regional, divisional, and national levels. A national champion in each class is determined at the national championship (usually referred to as "Nationals") held in September. In 2009, Solo Nationals moved to the
Lincoln Airpark in
Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...
. Individual national-level events called "Championship Tours" and "Match Tours" are held throughout the racing season. The SCCA also holds national-level events in an alternate format called "ProSolo". In ProSolo, two cars compete at the same time on mirror-image courses with
drag racing
Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most c ...
-style starts, complete with reaction and 60-foot times. Class winners and other qualifiers (based on time differential against the class winner) then compete in a handicapped elimination round called the "Challenge". Points are awarded in both class and Challenge competition, and an annual champion is crowned each September at the ProSolo Finale event in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Rallying
![Rim Of The World Rally, 2004, Super Special Stage6](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Rim_Of_The_World_Rally%2C_2004%2C_Super_Special_Stage6.jpg)
The SCCA sanctions "RallyCross" events, similar to autocross, but on a non-paved course.
SCCA ProRally
SCCA ProRally was an American rally racing series, run by the Sports Car Club of America from 1973 until 2004. The SCCA discontinued it for 2005, due to concerns about safety and insurance. It allowed Rally America to replace it, utilizing most o ...
was a national performance
rally
Rally or rallye may refer to:
Gatherings
* Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade
* Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event
Sport ...
series similar to the
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...
. At the end of the 2004 season SCCA dropped ProRally and ClubRally. A new organization,
Rally America
The Rally America National Championship was the national championship of rallying events in the United States. The inaugural season was in 2005. Rally America was also the name given to the organization that sanctioned the championship, was brie ...
, picked up both series starting in 2005.
Road rallies are run on open, public roads. These are not races in the sense of speed, but of precision and navigation. The object is to drive on time, arriving at checkpoints with the proper amount of elapsed time from the previous checkpoint. Competitors do not know where the checkpoints are.
Time Trials
In recent years, the SCCA has expanded and re-organized some of the higher-speed events under the Time Trials banner. These include Performance Driving Experience ("PDX"), Club Trials, Track Trials, and
Hill Climb
Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the fir ...
events. PDX events are non-competition
HPDE
High Performance Driver Education (HPDE) refers to driving schools held on dedicated race tracks designed to teach drivers proper high-speed driving techniques. HPDE events are held by various automobile enthusiasts' clubs at some of the most reno ...
-type events and consist of driver-education and car control classroom learning combined with on-track instruction.
Conferences, divisions and regions
The SCCA is organized into six conferences, nine divisions and 115 regions, each organizing events in that area to make the events more accessible to people throughout the country. The number of divisions has increased since the SCCA's foundation. Northern Pacific and Southern Pacific started as a single Pacific Coast Division until dividing in 1966. Rocky Mountain Division is a relatively recent split. The Great Lakes Division was split from the Central Division at the end of 2006.
Awards
:''See footnote''
SCCA Awards
webpage. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
Hall of fame
See also
* Hillclimbing in the USA In the United States, hill climbs have a long tradition stretching back to the early days of motoring competition. Some are in the European-style and take place on long mountain courses, and in many cases spectators are either banned or heavily rest ...
References
External links
SCCA official website
SCCA Pro Racing official website
SCCA Awards
How professional racing changed the SCCA – and the world
- Jeff Zurschmeide, Racer Magazine, 10 February 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sports Car Club of America
Sports car racing
Sports organizations established in 1944
Auto racing organizations in the United States