“For decades, autocross events have served as the starting point for the careers of countless racers” – that’s the opening line of an article in the March 2024 issue of Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Magazine, where the topic soon shifts to high-performance driving events. As Bradley Iger writes in the PRI article, track days offer enthusiasts the opportunity to stretch their performance legs on the track – and, he notes, SCCA® does that in its own unique way through Track Night in America® Driven by Tire Rack.
Talking to SCCA’s former Partner Relationship Manager Dan Dennehy-Rodriguez, the article dives into SCCA’s Track Night program, and what makes it unique. “Access was the core concept,” Dennehy-Rodriguez noted. “We wanted to break down as many barriers to entry as possible so that whoever wants to pursue going on track in their car is able to do so in an enjoyable way. And a big component of that is scheduling. Doing this in the afternoon during the week allows someone to take a half-day from work rather than committing a full day or a weekend to it.”
SCCA’s Track Night in America program offers drivers the ability to get on track for a few hours during a weekday, all for less than $200 – plus, SCCA members get a discount on top of that. Drivers are monitored by Track Night coaches, not to encourage or discourage speed, but to ensure everyone is maximizing their fun. There’s no lap timer or scoring – Track Night’s solitary mission is on-track fun through an easy-access program.
But that doesn’t mean a Track Night participant can’t move to other forms of motorsports, like wheel-to-wheel road racing – a point noted in the PRI article.
“There are so many stories of folks using Track Night as that pathway, but the one that immediately pops in my head is about my friend Alan,” Dennehy-Rodriguez said in the article. “He has always had an interest in cars and works in the industry, and when the Track Night program began, he started taking some of his show cars out to these tracks. After a while, he decided to take one of those cars – a late 2000s VW GTI – and convert it into a prepped race car. In 2021, he made his debut at the Runoffs® at Indianapolis [Motor Speedway] in the T3 class, driving something that had been a street car just two years prior.”
In addition to being available in PDF form, the story can be read online on PRI's website.
Has the talk about getting on track with little more than your street car, a helmet, and pocket change intrigued you? Get familiar with SCCA’s Track Night in America Driven by Tire Rack program, then sign up for an event near you.
