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2010 Hall of Fame class announced

SCCA Announces 2010 Hall of Fame Class TOPEKA, Kan. (Dec. 1, 2009) - Sports Car Club of America has revealed the names of the five individuals who will be inducted into the SCCA Hall of Fame at the 2010 SCCA National Convention. The distinguished ...

SCCA Announces 2010 Hall of Fame Class

TOPEKA, Kan. (Dec. 1, 2009) - Sports Car Club of America has revealed the names of the five individuals who will be inducted into the SCCA Hall of Fame at the 2010 SCCA National Convention. The distinguished group includes: Nick Craw, Briggs Cunningham, R. David Jones, Berdie Martin and Wayne Zitkus.

The SCCA National Hall of Fame was created in 2004 to preserve, protect and record the history and accomplishments of the Club by acknowledging those members who've made a significant impact on the development of the SCCA, be it through service to the national organization, achievements in national competition or brining national recognition to SCCA. Nominations were submitted to and reviewed by the Hall of Fame Nomination and Selection Committees. Of the nominated individuals, five were selected for the 2010 Class.

Serving as SCCA President for 17 years, Nick Craw was the longest serving SCCA President in Club history by more than a decade. During his tenure, SCCA experienced its greatest period of growth, as membership doubled and revenue increased by more than 500 percent. Craw oversaw the creation of SCCA Club Racing's most popular class, Spec Racer Ford, and implemented an industry-leading insurance plan for race workers and drivers. The opinion of the membership was important to Craw; he regularly conducted surveys and interacted with members on the grassroots level, taking his race car on a tour of SCCA Club Races and challenging members to "Beat the Boss." Recognizing that SCCA was too big to be just a club, but tied too strongly to its roots to be just a business, Craw pushed SCCA to become a stronger club, run with sound business practices. Today, Craw's foresight is being put to use as the head of the Automobile Competition Club of the United States (ACCUS), where he represents American racing interests at the international level.

Briggs Cunningham is already recognized by several motorsports hall of fames and now joins his SCCA contemporaries John Fitch, Cameron Argetsinger and Bill Milliken in the SCCA Hall of Fame. Cunningham competed in SCCA's very first road race at Watkins Glen in 1948 and continued to have an illustrious racing career that spanned 25 years. He was best known as the first man to assemble a team of American cars with American drivers that was capable of challenging Europeans on the international circuit. The most successful cars in Cunningham's stable were those that bore his own name. Cunningham was also an accomplished sailor, serving as captain on the Columbia in 1958 when it won the America's Cup. Cunningham was a past recipient of SCCA's highest honor, the Woolf Barnato Award.

Another Woolf Barnato Award winner in the crowd of inductees is R. David Jones, whose 50-plus year membership in SCCA began while he was in quest of a drag race. When Jones arrived at Eagle Moutain Air Base in Texas, there was no drag racing, but rather an SCCA event. Not deterred, Jones stuck around to volunteer and was hooked. Volunteering led to crewing and crewing to driving, all while Jones became more involved in the operation of his local region. Racing in Formula Vee and holding a variety of Divisional positions, Jones was eventually elected to the Board of Directors, where he would serve as Chairman for a record seven years. Those years were some of the most turbulent in Club history, with the creation of Spec Racer Ford and the purchase of Pro-Solo by SCCA. Jones continues to race today in Formula Mazda and serve as a race steward. He was recently elected to another term on the SCCA Board of Directors.

Burdette "Berdie" Martin is credited with making SCCA a powerful force on the American professional racing scene. Another Woolf Barnato Award winner, Martin was a mentor to a generation of race stewards by setting an example of professionalism and teamwork. He served as the Chief Steward of the Unites States Grand Prix and SCCA's two most successful racing series, Can-Am and Trans-Am, before being named Director of SCCA Pro Racing. After seeing SCCA Pro Racing through a fruitful era of expansion, Martin went on to head ACCUS and became one of the most recognizable American faces within international racing circles.

Though he has not actively competed for the last 25 years, Wayne Zitkus remains sixth in lifetime RoadRally points. His rallying career began in 1962 with road rallies, before expanding his participation to Performance Rally. After chairing numerous National and Divisional rallies he was named Chairman of the Road Rally Board. The SCCA ProRally series was created during his tenure. Zitkus was elected to the SCCA Board of Directors and served the club as treasurer. Even after his elected term had expired, so esteemed was he in his position, that Zitkus was asked to stay on as treasurer. His induction into the SCCA Hall of Fame completes a long list of SCCA accolades, which include both the Arthur Gervais and Robert Ridges Award for rallying and the Woolf Barnato Award for outstanding contributions to the club.

Craw, Cunningham, Jones, Martin and Zitkus will be inducted into the SCCA Hall of Fame at the 2010 SCCA National Convention in Las Vegas. The ceremony is scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. (PST), Saturday, Jan. 30, at the South Point Hotel and Casino.

The five inductees will join the five previous classes, including:

2005: Cameron Argetsinger, A. Tracy Bird, John Fitch, Arthur Gervais, Harry Handley, Vern Jaques, Bill Milliken, Sue Roethel, Art Trier and Rob Walker.

2006: John Bornholdt, John Buffum, Mark Donohue, Denise McCluggage and Grant Reynolds. 2007: Marge Binks, Marc Gerstein, Carl A. Haas, General Curtis E. LeMay, and Theodore F. Robertson.

2008: Roger E. Johnson, Don and Ruth Nixon, Kjell Qvale, Robert Ridges and Fred Schmucker.

2009: Bill Chambres, Bill Johnson, Kim Kimberly, Paul Newman and John Timanus

For more information on the SCCA Hall of Fame and the 2010 SCCA National Convention, visit www.scca.com.

-credit: scca

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