For those who don’t know, the SCCA puts out a magazine for its members called SportsCar. It’s actually kinda cool, because it’s an easy way to keep up with everything going on in such a huge club.
I have a but, though… And that’s a bone I’d like to pick with them.
I really love the SCCA, I just have a tiny irk with one bit of the mag they publish, lol.
The Bone…
One of the features is called “First Gear,” which as they say interviews up-and-coming members. That’s all fine and dandy, but after a few issues I saw the same, unnerving pattern…
Almost everyone interview is 17-ish and has been involved in motorsports for the better part of their, oh, ENTIRE life.
Talk about disheartening.
So? What’s the deal?
Okay, I could be a bit whiny about it, but seriously. If you want to attract young people into racing, I dare say you don’t want to talk about how awesome somebody the same age is and how much better because they happened to be born into a family already involved in the SCCA.
For once, please, can I read an interview of another 22-ish year old, who started autocrossing locally with their chapter of the SCCA and is great but not super amazing? Why do all these people have to be on the verge of professional careers at 20 to be included?
Kinda De-Motivating, Really
For me, it’s always been a sore spot. People not much older than I am making huge strides in racing, when I struggle to pay for the few track days I might be able to get to, if I’m lucky, because I’m trying to make it on my own.
No, it doesn’t take away from what these kids are doing or have managed to do already.
I just wish the focus wasn’t completely on those who were lucky enough to be a member of the SCCA since they were born. Of course they’re amazing while they’re still so young. They’ve already been doing it for years themselves.
I bet if I started racing years ago, I could be a part of Club Racing by now too....? (Still a goal of mine right now!)
SportsCar, could we please…
Hear more about the kids who maybe aren’t so great? Maybe those just starting out? A tribute to the ordinary Rookies of the Year who may have only made it to local events? People who may be just as great drivers but haven’t gotten to find out yet?
I want to hear the story of the 18 year old who had parents who thought racing wasn’t feasible, he said it was though and made it so. The kid who works and goes to school and scrapes everything he can together just to get to races… Without the support of a family who’s been doing it for years.
Somebody who bootstrapped their way up into it. Somebody who could be a little bit more like me. :/
Is that too much to ask? Pretty please?
No related posts.
At some level or another, I agree. While it seems the only way to get into professional motorsport these days is to be simply born into the right family (insert factors here), there are plenty of “faces in the crowd” who are enjoying themselves and contributing more to the community than just FTD’s at all the events. Perhaps that’s more of what the magazine needs.
Yeah, that’s what I was kinda going for. It’s just disheartening to *only* ever read about the people who have been doing it from so young that they’re lightyears ahead of me. :/
I’d like to see more about people like me, who aren’t super impressive but, well, more normal? Then again, that probably doesn’t make for a super great story, huh?
Well, it depends on what you’re trying to do. A “Faces in the Crowd” column just isn’t going to be that long per issue. You might be able to cover the same person for no more than an issue or two. The reason is simple: most folks don’t really want to read an open-ended series unless they feel that they are getting something (in the case of a competition automotive journal, advice on being more competitive). As any rookie knows, you ask the people who are competitive how to be fast–you don’t ask Joe Schmoe how to do it. Therefore, a “Face in the Crowd” series becomes “Before They Were Famous” and is more of what you don’t want.
A true “Faces in the Crowd” article is no more than a page, maybe half, that gives a blurb about someone in the organization. The question of course becomes how you pick random people out to feature…
It’s not that I disagree, Meg, but when you really break it down, talking about the average racer just isn’t practical.
No, I do see the point… And maybe if I had been doing it more, I wouldn’t feel so bad about it. But constantly hearing people praise the ones who have been doing it their whole lives, then sometimes often wondering why there just aren’t that many new members is kinda odd.
I’d just like to see it mixed up every once in a while. The column itself is only ever a page on a young person, typically one who’s been into racing since they were knee-high to a grasshopper so of course they’ve been karting since six and transitioned to cars as soon as they could with usually dad’s old national winner. It’s kinda like, “Oh, that’s great, apparently being young and just getting into it means nothing.” There are a lot of challenges people like I do face, I’d like to read about that once in a while other than just getting the feeling that I’ll never make it in racing anywhere because I wasn’t born into it.
Maybe that helps clear it up some? Not sure if I did a good job explaining what I was going for or not. I’d like some supplement to the current selection, not getting rid of it.
What you’re saying makes sense, though it’s still a question of how you pick someone other than recent race-winners and the children of famous members. I’d love to get that kind of attention!
Haha, true…. Maybe just someone a *bit* more up-and-coming without the “pedigree.” I’ve seen that before, but only once or twice. It’s mostly the family and simply being involved in the sport for so long and getting all that experience. (I was so jealous of the kids in the racing suits running around yesterday at the karting event for that reason.
)
I’d like the attention, but I don’t like being too much of an attention whore…. Lol. People are already fairly impressed with my Rookie of the Year accomplishment. I think maybe even mentioning each region’s Rookies of the Year would go a long ways, really. I don’t think they do?
Perhaps. I honestly don’t know (don’t have a subscription).