I am the newest member of the SCCA Foundation Board of Directors. What got me initially interested in the Foundation was its support of the outstanding Tire Rack Street Survival program, but I soon came to discover it also provides financial support to other worthy programs, including VET Motorsports, Formula SAE, Women on Track, and more. These are terrific programs which your donations to Foundation go to support, but the program I want to talk – rave about, actually – is the International Motor Racing Research Center (IMRRC) at Watkins Glen.  SCCA Foundation is an enthusiastic supporter of IMRRC.

Recently, I had a friend say his dad won an SCCA National Championship in the early 1980’s, but he didn’t know the class, only that it was a Datsun and loud. Sure enough, that’s exactly the type of challenge the IMRRC can undertake (note: Mike Rickman did indeed win the GT3 National Championship in 1983 by 0.4 seconds).  The IMRRC has records of most every SCCA road race: regionals, nationals, Majors, Super tours … it’s all in a dated and sorted box in the IMRRC archives. The IMRRC is much more than just a keeper of race results: it represents our SCCA community’s collective history. 

When I was at the museum, fellow SCCA Foundation BOD member, Bob Eddy, had made a more than 1,000-mile drive with his SUV jammed with boxes of donated records and memorabilia from the late R. David Jones. These boxes will get organized, cataloged, and stored at the IMRRC, the same treatment as collections from Nick Craw, National Speed Sports News, the Associated Press, SCCA regions, and many others. 

In fact, the lifeblood of IMRRC’s future is likely stored in our attics, basements, and garages.  Collectively, SCCA members have an amazing compilation of racing history sitting in boxes. 

When your final checkered flag flies, what are your kids going to do with all those boxes of your racing memories? How about curating your own racing history now and sending the best of the lot to IMRRC?

Just as importantly, please join the IMRRC or make a tax-deductible donation to SCCA Foundation to support IMRRC and other worthy Foundation supported activities.   

Living thousands of miles away, I hadn’t been to Watkins Glen since my rookie year of FV racing in the early 1980’s. My return trip to the Glen coincided with three outstanding motorsports events: 1) SCCA Pro Trans Am/SVRA Speed Tour, 2) the IMRRC Argetsinger Award presentation to Lyn St. James, and 3) the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Festival.  Each activity was outstanding, rich in motorsports history, great people, including Festival Grand Marshall Brian Redman telling colorful stories.  Watching 20,000 smiling people of all ages walking around the town of Watkins Glen (population 1,838) enjoying vintage street and race cars was enjoyable. We all know that the racing community can bring out the best in people.

Bob Eddy and I were standing along the old city street racecourse, getting ready for demonstration laps, when the crowd stood for our National Anthem. Just as the singer got to “gallantly streaming,” the PA stopped working. Without missing a beat, this mixed crowd of people all ages, started spontaneously singing “… and the rockets red glare.”  Standing next to Vietnam veteran Bob Eddy, we were overjoyed, when at the conclusion of the song, the crowd, along with the two local town police, erupted whooping and hollering “USA, USA.” To think, this is COVID America 2021.

Yeah, may be time to make a long town to the Glen next year to visit the IMRRC and run some laps on the original streets of Watkins Glen.  

Republished from SportsCar, SCCA's official publication