SCCA took the lead in developing protocols to mitigate the risk of COVID transmission as much as we reasonably could. But mitigation doesn't mean elimination, and the 2020 season has been gutted.  States and localities have adopted closures and restrictions which, combined with our collective caution about exposing our members to the risk of a highly contagious - and often deadly - pandemic resulted in postponement and cancellation of events around the country.  This has been financially hard on SCCA and its regions, but our main concern is and must be the well-being of our members.  We're particularly concerned about events which involve a "gathering of the tribe".  As has been so sadly demonstrated in states which dropped proscriptions against meetings of large groups, such events can be a Petri dish for COVID transmission.  
    In this context, the Solo Events Board (SEB) took deep look at this year's Solo Nationals.  They polled potential participants and looked at factors such as travel restrictions, quarantine requirements, and spiking of COVID cases in the Lincoln area.  The SEB's polling showed that over half of potential participants preferred not to attend due to COVID risks.  After all this, the SEB sadly made the recommendation that the most responsible thing for SCCA to do was to cancel the 2020 Pro Solo and Solo Nationals.  That recommendation also supported by SCCA's national staff and was submitted to the Board of Directors.  We voted to accept that recommendation.  So, as sad and unfortunate as it is, there are no Pro Solo or Solo Nationals this year.  
    It's important to note that, while SCCA's core business is to conduct motorsports events, our mandate is to make our events as safe as reasonably possible.  Our primary responsibility is to our members, without whom we wouldn't exist.  The SEB, national staff, and Board of Directors simply did not feel we could assure the safety and well-being of our members at an event as large and held at a location virtually devoid of protective facilities as Solo Nationals.  I've long said that the COVID pandemic would make 2020 an anomalous year for us.  Nowhere is that more plainly borne out than in the sad decision to cancel this year's Solo Nationals.  
    This raises the question of what will happen with the club's other championship events or if solo was somehow singled out as a "second fiddle" to other competition programs.  That is absolutely not the case.  As I write this our RallyX championships are taking place at Heartland Park, Time Trials nationals are still scheduled in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and the Runoffs are still scheduled at Road America.  While this may seem somewhat inconsistent to some, there are significant differences that set them apart from Solo Nationals.  None of the other three events draw the sheer number of people as the Solo Nationals with the resultant compression of participants necessary at Lincoln.  The venues for the other three are permanent racing sites which have the type of permanent infrastructure to mitigate risk factors as well as paddock areas which provide for the type of social distancing required in this pandemic.  
    So, cancellation of the Pro Solo and Solo Nationals is heartbreaking to SCCA and a large chunk of our membership,  but it was the responsible recommendation by the SEB and national staff and approval by the Board of Directors.  This was a classic case where it's easy to make decisions between obviously good and bad options; the hard decisions are those where we need to discern the last bad option.  But we'll be back in Lincoln next year, bigger and better than ever.

Note From The RE
 

It was great to see everyone out at our first few events we had in July - things actually felt a little “normal” for the first time in months.  I appreciate all of you who came out, and I hope that you all enjoyed yourselves. 

I’m happy to say we have another Autocross coming up at the end of this month, and Rallycross has one at the end of September.  I hear rumblings from some of the Rallycross peeps that (after 3 years) my Rallycross car may be back together and running - so I may finally be able to attend an event!

I look forward to seeing all of you at the upcoming events. Even though we have abbreviated schedules this year, we are still extremely lucky that we can participate and get together at all. So for that, I’m grateful!

As always, if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Keep It Classy, Susquehanna
Melissa Mauro

Autocross Events 3 & 4 Happening Next Week

By Melissa Mauro

Our first double header at the new Farm Show Elmerton lot was a great success.  We had 93 competitors for the morning event, and 65 in the afternoon.  The course was really fun, and even with the additional restrictions we had to put in place for COVID-19, we got to see each other and have some fun with our cars.  As our season continues, our next event (#3 and #4) are happening next Saturday, August 29.  Registration closes Thursday, so make sure you sign up before it’s too late!

Dirt Therapy 2 at Farm Show Harrisburg

By Nick Landis

Hello all of my dirty compadres! I hope that everyone has had a chance to clean the dust out of their cars, clothes, shoes and those hard to teach areas of their bodies.  After that last event most of us are still coughing up dirt. It may not seem close, but our next event is approaching quickly as we have our next event scheduled for September 26th at the Farm Show lot.

I hope everyone has brushed up on their rain dance skills so that we can get some moisture into the ground for this event to avoid the massive dust plumes of the last event.  As the year goes on I want you all to know that we are still working hard on the development of the new venue that should really help cut down on the dust issues (trees really help stop the flow).  We're looking to have that venue up and operational for a RallySprint before the end of this year, so we will be asking for course workers for that event as we get closer.  I personally am looking forward to being able to unveil that venue for both RallySprint and RallyCross for next year so that we can have a full season of one of a kind racing and excitement.  Once again, I'd like to thank each and every one of you for making our program fun and exciting and I look forward to seeing you in September.

Susquehanna Region Gift Certificates for Motorsportreg.com Available

Do you have someone who’s hard to shop for? Are your family and friends always bugging you for birthday ideas? ...We have the solution.  We now have gift certificates for Motorsportreg.com available!  You can send someone a gift for a special occasion or receive credits for some free racing events from your loved ones.

August Regional Meeting

This month’s membership meeting will be for the Board members, Program Chairs, Program Chiefs, and anyone who provides information for the meeting (see the agenda). We are working on having an in-person meeting, but we’re trying to keep our numbers smaller to keep everyone safe and healthy.   If you are interested in attending, please contact me by email mmauro@scca-susq.com before Wednesday, August 26, so I can get counts and make proper accommodations (setting up a Zoom meeting or conference call line if needed).

Susquehanna Region - COVID-19 Guidelines

Please make sure to read the below document regarding the policies and guidelines we have in place for any upcoming events we have during the COVID-19 pandemic.  We have used input from other Regions, as well as SCCA National’s guidelines they have made available to us.  If you have any questions on this, please make sure you reach out to me by email - mmauro@scca-susq.com.

Staying Updated with SCCA National

You can stay informed on a National level with SCCA’s dedicated COVID-19 page here. 

News from SCCA

2020 Rules