[Portland Tribune] Portland-area drivers go East for some serious competition
By Jeff Zurschmeide
for the Portland Tribune's Accelerate section
Friday, September 17, 2004
(excerpts from the full article)
Each September, drivers from across North America head for the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to compete for the Sports Car Club of America National Championship Runoffs.
Fourteen drivers from the Portland area, along with family, pit crew and friends, are making the journey. I'll be joining them, and on Oct. 1, I'll let you know how they did.
But first, let me introduce you to some of our neighbors who are potential champions.
There are 24 classes in SCCA national racing, and each will crown a champion from among the 700 drivers who attend the event.
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The most exciting prospect for a championship this year is Cindi Lux of Aloha. Lux drives a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 in the Touring 1 class. Touring 1 is the ultimate class for late-model sports cars.
If she wins the runoffs, Lux will be the first Oregonian and the first woman to win SCCA's prestigious "triple crown" of racing: the national championship, the June Sprints at Road America and her divisional championship here in the Northwest.
Lux already has the June Sprints victory and the divisional title for the year. But the competition at the runoffs will be fierce at the runoffs [sic].
"I attack each race the same: Get to that waving checkered flag first. I try to keep things simple," Lux says.
Each of these drivers is already accomplished locally and regionally. All have invested a great deal of time and money to attempt a championship for which there is no purse and no set of endorsement contracts. The endeavor is about excellence in amateur motor sports.
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