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Brown bests Schumacher to lead Seattle NHRA winners

ORLANDO, Fla. (Dec. 14, 2006) – SCCA Pro Racing’s Board of Directors announced that it has hired Bob Wildberger to be its next President.

Wildberger
comes to SCCA Pro Racing after a colorful motorsports career at
DaimlerChrysler, which saw him last serve as Senior Manager of Dodge
Motorsports before his retirement earlier this year.

“Bob
Wildberger brings a great mix of motorsports operations and marketing
to SCCA Pro Racing,” SCCA Pro Racing Board Chairman Brian Holtz said.
“We’ve been working with Bob as a consultant for the last several
months and he is an excellent fit for the company as it moves forward.”

After beginning his automotive career at American Motors
Corporation in the 1970s, Wildberger joined Chrysler in 1987. In his
tenure, he led Chrysler’s development of motorsports from a minor
presence in the early 1990s to a major force by 2001. Wildberger
developed programs in many top racing series, including SCCA Pro Racing
(World Challenge), SCORE, IMSA, NHRA and led the launch of Dodge’s
NASCAR program.

“Having been involved in SCCA Pro Racing and
the SPEED World Challenge series both in the early 90s when I led the
Eagle Talon program and recently as a consultant, I know what great
potential exists with the company,” Wildberger said. “We’ve got great
products and many superb partners and participants. Together, we will
help SCCA Pro Racing realize its full potential and growth in the
motorsports marketplace.”

A current Lake Orion, Mich. resident, Wildberger will relocate to SCCA Pro Racing’s headquarters in Topeka, Kan.

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Wildberger Named SCCA Pro Racing President

After the Leadership breakfast Sponsored by Heartland Park Topeka, motorsports business icon Herb Fishel delivered the keynote address, speaking on SCCA’s current leadership role in motorsports and the importance of creating or enhancing industry relationships.

Following Fishel’s speech, the day’s first awards were handed out during the Leadership Awards Ceremony. Among the awards given were Region Achievement Awards, Best Region and Division Publication, Best Region and Division Web Site and the Tom Burke Award, which honors the Region that increased its membership the most by percentage in the past year. Badlands Region took that honor after increasing its membership a whopping 103 percent from a year ago.

Houston Region was presented with a special award from the Member Services Department for its exceptional accomplishment in donation and relief efforts for the Delta Region, which was impacted greatly by Hurricane Katrina. New York Region and Florida Region also donated money and supplies to Delta Region, which lost nearly everything in the storm.

Next, a full room of SCCA members met with the Grassroots Motorsports Growth Panel, which featured Scott Hollingsworth of the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), and Rob Park of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). SCCA Vice President of Competiton Programs and Region Development Howard Duncan also took part as a panelist in the two-hour session moderated by Eric Prill, SCCA Director of Marketing Communications.

The group spoke to the crowd on a variety of topics including the growth of both the NHRA and AMA, demographics of each group’s enthusiast base and what the organizations’ stances were on issues such as illegal street racing.

After the panel closed, the Convention’s focus shifted to the Rally/Solo Luncheon Sponsored by the Tire Rack, where, following a round of “SCCA Jeopardy” hosted by SCCA Archivist Pete Hylton, awards were bestowed to Rally and Solo Program constituents.

Prior to the awards announcements, Duncan announced the unveiling of the Johnson Clark Johnson trophy, which, starting in 2006, will be given annually to the top competitor in SCCA ProSolo. The award was named after Bill Johnson and Charlie Clark, the two men who were responsible for creating the ProSolo competition format in the mid 1980s. The third person on the trophy, Roger Johnson, was the first dominating presence in SCCA ProSolo and has more ProSolo Challenge wins than anyone else in history.

Friday afternoon was filled with a collection of seminars on Club topics such as Regional Executive planning, Solo Site Acquisition Committee updates and Marketing’s role in each program.

Saturday will feature more town hall meetings, the latest edition of the revered Safety Symposium featuring Dr. John Melvin, President of Tandelta, Inc., and FIA Research Consultant Hubert Gramling and the Club Racing Awards Luncheon Sponsored by Mazda.

Those events will lead up to Saturday evening’s Hall of Fame Induction Banquet. The banquet, sponsored by Honda, will see the induction of the second class ever enshrined into SCCA’s Hall of Fame.

Check back with www.scca.com for daily Convention updates from Westin Crown Center.

Region Award Winners

TOM BURKE AWARD
Badlands Region, Alan Walker – Regional Executive

REGION ACHIEVEMENT

Small Region
1st Place – Southern Indiana Region, Bob Sonntag-Regional Executive
2nd Place – Salina Region, Steve Pistora – Regional Executive
3rd Place – Columbus Sports Car Club, Scott Dales – Regional Executive

Medium Region
1st Place – Great River Region, Jeff Meyer – Regional Executive
2nd Place – Blue Mountain Region, Matt Green – Regional Executive

Medium-Large Region
1st Place – Continental Divide Region, Gloria Dickerson – Regional Executive
2nd Place – Alabama Region, Barry Hair – Regional Executive
3rd Place – Northwestern Ohio Region, Robert Chrismas – Regional Executive

Large Region
1st Place – St. Louis Region, Jan Rick – Regional Executive
2nd Place – Milwaukee Region, Julie Komp – Regional Executive
3rd Place – Finger Lakes Region, Lew Giesy – Regional Executive

Jumbo Region
1st Place – New England Region, Kathy Barnes – Regional Executive
2nd Place – Florida Region, John Anderson – Regional Executive
3rd Place – Washington DC Region, Gayle Lorenz – Regional Executive

WEB SITE

Small Region
1st Place – Pan American Region, Danny Castillo – Webmaster
2nd Place – Indiana Northwest Region, Terry Klema – Webmaster
3rd Place – Misssippi Region, Brian Berryhill – Webmaster

Medium Region
1st Place – Great River Region , Scott Shumard – Webmaster
2nd Place – Central Kentucky Region, Lee “Wrecks” Bohon – Webmaster
3rd Place – South Bend Region, William Loring – Webmaster

Medium-Large Region
1st Place – Des Moines Valley Region, Eric Johnson – Webmaster
2nd Place – Kansas Region, Jason Hull – Webmaster
3rd Place – Blackhawk Valley Region, Jack Kolpack – Webmaster

Large Region
1st Place – Finger Lakes Region, MaryAnne Shults – Webmaster
2nd Place – Philadelphia Region, Ted Rudolph – Webmaster
3rd Place – St. Louis Region, Jan Rick – Webmaster

Jumbo Region
1st Place – Chicago Region, Mark Hirt – Webmaster
2nd Place – California Sports Car Club, James Olson – Webmaster
3rd Place – Detroit Region, Scott Jasmund – Webmaster

DIVISIONAL WEB SITE

1st Place – Southern Pacific Division, MaryAnne Shults – Webmaster
2nd Place – MidWest Division, Jeff Kopp – Webmaster
3rd Place – Central Division, Dayle Frame – Webmaster

NEWSLETTER

Small Region
1st Place – Central Pennsylvania – Newsprint, Ron Dotts – Editor
2nd Place – Salina – The Write Line, Sandy Entriken–Editor
3rd Place – Southern Indiana – Pit Stop, Gene Young – Editor

Medium Region
1st Place – Fort Wayne – Four Wheel Drift, Val McCammon – Editor
2nd Place – Wichita – Witches Wail, Paul Gutierrez – Editor
3rd Place – Snake River – Snake Pit, Gail Heist – Editor

Medium-Large Region
1st Place – Buccaneer – Buccaneer Times, Paula Frazier – Editor
2nd Place – Kansas – Offside Undo, Joe Williams – Editor
3rd Place – Nebraska – Exhaust Notes, Patricia Buell – Editor

Large Region
1st Place – Finger Lakes – Top End, Carl F Dresie – Editor
2nd Place – Northern New Jersey – Pole Position, Maureen Coultas – Editor
3rd Place – Neohio – The Blower, Laura O’Neill – Editor

Jumbo Region
1st Place – Central Florida – The Checker, Harriet Watkins – Editor
2nd Place – New England – Pit Talk, Bob Beaulieu – Editor
3rd Place – San Francisco – The Wheel, John Blakemore – Editor

DIVISIONAL NEWSLETTER

1st Place – SoPac News- Southern Pacific Division, Mark Young San Diego; Craig Young, Cal Club; Lois Peterson, Arizona; Cindy Chin, Las Vegas; Gary Kitagawa, Hawaii

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First Awards Given, Members Talk with Grassroots Motorsports Panel on Second Day of SCCA Convention

With the ink barely dry on the announcement of his becoming the next SCCA, Inc. President, Jim Julow took a few moments Thursday afternoon to speak with the attendees of the 2006 SCCA Convention during the Board of Directors town hall meeting.

Sharing his passion for motorsports and his enthusiasm for SCCA with the crowd of more than 350 attendees, Julow’s address was met with loud ovation and highlighted the first day of the three-day convention at the Westin Crown Center Hotel – a day that also included several other town hall meetings and a morning tour of the new Heartland Park Topeka facilities for National Administrators.

Thursday concluded in the evening with the SCCA Welcome Reception Sponsored by Yokahama in the Union Café of Kansas City’s historic Union Station.

Armed with Thursday’s momentum, Friday’s schedule is set to begin first thing as motorsports business leader Herb Fishel will serve as keynote speaker following the Leadership Breakfast Sponsored by Heartland Park Topeka.

Following the Leadership Awards Ceremony and a small break, Scott Hollingsworth of the American Motorcycle Association (AMA), and Graham Light of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) will host the Grassroots Motorsports Growth Panel, giving insight into the growth strategies utilized by each person’s association and how those plans can be used within SCCA.

Sponsored by the Tire Rack®, the Rally and Solo Awards Luncheon will precede an afternoon full of seminars ranging in topics from Marketing within specific programs of the Club to Safety Steward Training.

Saturday will feature more town hall meetings, giving members the chance to speak with the respective boards of each competition program. Saturday evening will feature the induction of the second class ever enshrined into the SCCA Hall of Fame.

Check back with www.scca.com for daily Convention updates from Westin Crown Center.

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Julow Addresses Group, Big First Day Sets Stage For Friday at 2006 SCCA Convention

Turner joins the staff after more than 30 years with General Motors, serving most recently as executive engineering manager of road racing.

“The addition of Harry Turner to lead our technical staff elevates the level expertise and management to a point at which no other SCCA series has been,” SCCA Pro Racing President Steve Johnson said. “The addition of someone with such a rich and successful background in engineering, management and leadership will be vital as the series continues to grow and attract more professional teams and manufacturers. Harry comes from one of the most successful factory-backed road racing programs ever, and understands the challenges our World Challenge series faces as a result of its success.

“Just as with all other facets of our business, we owe it to all of our teams, whether they are manufacturer-supported or independent, both current and future, to protect their investments by having the highest level of expertise and service from a technical standpoint.”

“My 32-year career at General Motors gave me an opportunity to turn my passion for high-performance vehicles into my profession,” Turner said. “My father retired from GM after 30 years, so I have been a life-long member of the GM family. As a young man, I aspired to work on sports cars, and my years with GM Racing fulfilled that dream. Beyond learning about the nuts and bolts of racing, I also learned the principles of operating a successful business, from strategic planning to managing a budget and meeting business objectives.

“With the start of my second career with SCCA Pro Racing, I now have an opportunity to be involved with performance cars from many manufacturers. The sanctioning body’s role is to provide a venue where manufacturers want to race, to maintain a level playing field for competitors and to produce compelling entertainment for our fans. It’s an exciting challenge and an opportunity to make a great series even better.”

Turner graduated with a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Illinois and later added an MBA from Oakland University. His General Motors tenure includes time as the Chevrolet Sporty Car Segment Manager, where the 1993 Camaro and fifth-generation Corvette were born from the direction of his department’s planning and design. This position led to his assignment as strategic business planner to GM Racing in 1996, where he conceived and developed the C5-R racing program.

From 1997 through 2001, Turner served as executive manager for GM Racing’s championship-winning NHRA drag racing and the off-road truck programs that produced victories in the Baja 1000 and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. He returned to the road racing side of GM Racing in 2002, and ultimately led the charge in the formation of the CTS-V SCCA SPEED GT program.

Turner and wife Elizabeth have two adult children living in Michigan. He will work out of the main SCCA offices in Topeka, Kan.

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Harry Turner Named Senior Tech Director for Pro Racing

As part of the agreement that will provide World Challenge staff with a complete attire package for events, “The Winning Team Rookie of the Year” and “The Winning Team Rookie of the Race” will be recognized in both SPEED World Challenge GT and Touring Car races.

“As the SPEED World Challenge series continues to surge to the front of the motorsports world, it’s important to make sure our apparel reflect SCCA Pro Racing’s desire to be the best,” said Garret Mudd, SCCA Vice President of Marketing. “With The Winning Team becoming Pro Racing’s official outfitter, we feel that goal has been reached.”

The Winning Team President Harris Birken said the agreement with SCCA Pro Racing and The SPEED World Challenge was a natural fit.

“We are extremely excited to have this opportunity to work with such an exciting race series as SPEED World Challenge,” Birken said. “We are also very proud to have ‘The Winning Team Rookie of the Year’ and ‘The Winning Team Rookie of the Race’ awards.

“Having World Challenge staff wear our apparel provides us with additional exposure and other marketing opportunities.”

The California-based racing apparel company has supplied apparel for clients in other high-profile racing series including the IRL, NHRA and NASCAR.

For information on The Winning Team and its apparel, visit www.thewinningteam.com. For information about SCCA Pro Racing and the SPEED World Challenge, visit www.world-challenge.com or www.scca.com.

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The Winning Team Now Official Outfitter for SCCA Pro Racing

SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Champion Bill Auberlen, of Rolling Hills Estates, Calif., headlined the SCCA selections by being named to the First Team in the At Large category for his 2004 efforts, which included nine top-10 finishes, five podiums and three wins along with a second-straight series championship. Auberlen also won the Grand Touring class of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series.

This marks the third time Auberlen has been named to the AARWBA team, but his first as a First Team selection. NHRA legend John Force, IRL top gun Tony Kanaan and NASCAR superstar Kurt Busch were among those who joined Auberlen on the First Team.

Canadian Ron Fellows, of Toronto, Ont., was also named as a First Team selection. He joined the list out of the Road Racing category after competing in three rounds of the SPEED World Challenge and taking the Round Seven win at Mosport in addition to becoming the first three-time champion of the American Le Mans Series.

SCCA ProRally Championship Presented by Hot Wheels® driver Pat Richard, of Garibaldi Heights, B.C. (Can.), was also named to the All-America list as an Honorable Mention in the At Large category. It is Richard’s first selection as an All-American and comes on the heels of the most successful SCCA ProRally season of Richard’s career, which included the Overall Driver Point Championship and FIA Group N class Championship.

Two more SCCA selections came from the Trans-Am ranks as both Paul Gentilozzi, of Lansing, Mich., and Tommy Kendall, of Santa Monica, Calif., were named to the Second Team. Gentilozzi, who won the Trans-Am Championship by way of tiebreaker over Kendall, earned just one more vote than Kendall, and their selections swept the second-team Road Racing slots for SCCA.

2004 AARWBA All-America Team

FIRST TEAM
OPEN WHEEL: Tony Kanaan, Sébastien Bourdais
STOCK CAR: Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson
ROAD RACING: Ron Fellows, Max Papis/Scott Pruett
DRAG RACING: John Force, Tony Schumacher
SHORT TRACK: Steve Kinser, Bobby East
TOURING SERIES: Martin Truex Jr., Bobby Hamilton
AT LARGE: Bill Auberlen, Thiago Medeiros

SECOND TEAM
OPEN WHEEL: Buddy Rice, Paul Tracy
STOCK CAR: Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne
ROAD RACING: Paul Gentilozzi, Tommy Kendall
DRAG RACING: Greg Anderson, Clay Millican
SHORT TRACK: Danny Lasoski, Jay Drake
TOURING SERIES: Kyle Busch, Frank Kimmel
AT LARGE: Scott Speed, Rob MacCachren

HONORABLE MENTION (At least 5% of the vote)
OPEN WHEEL: none
STOCK CAR: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Mark Martin
ROAD RACING: JJ Lehto/Marco Werner
DRAG RACING: none
SHORT TRACK: Dave Steele
TOURING SERIES: Andy Santerre
AT LARGE: Jon Fogarty, Patrick Richard

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SCCA Gets Five On AARWBA All-America Team

Johnson joined some of the most influential individuals in motorsports worldwide, including FIA President Max Mosely, NASCAR President Mike Helton, NHRA President Tom Compton and IRL President Tony George on the Business Panel Tuesday morning.

SCCA Club Racing Board Chairman Kurt Weiss will also serve on an expert panel. On Wednesday, Dec. 1, Weiss, along with expert Hubert Gramling (FIA Institute), Andy Mellor (FIA Institute), John Melvin (IRL and NASCAR consultant), Gary Nelson (NASCAR) and Dr. Terry Trammell will discuss steps on further reducing fatalities and injuries and the increasing value of this research to road safety. The panel is scheduled to hold its discussion from 8 a.m. – 10 a.m.

Barb Lundquist, Director of SCCA Foundation and SCCA University, will also present her paper “Closing the Chasm: SCCA and SAE in Partnership” at the conference.

The Society of Automotive Engineers has more than 84,000 members – engineers, business executives, educators, and students from more than 97 countries – who share information and exchange ideas for advancing the engineering of mobility systems.

For more information about the SAE, visit www.sae.org. For more information about SCCA, visit www.scca.com.

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SCCA Leaders Speak at SAE Conference and Exhibition