Women on Track Showcase: Week 4

As has become tradition, the SCCA Women on Track Initiative is celebrating Women’s History Month by showcasing women from all across the SCCA during March. Some of these women blazed the path for others behind the wheel, while many have left their marks or continue to inspire women in leadership and support roles.

This week, we wrap up the month with the last group of amazing ladies! Profiles have been posted daily on the SCCA Women on Track Facebook Page.

For questions about the SCCA Women on Track initiative or to get involved, visit their webpage. Submit your profile details or those of a woman in your life to be featured in future posts and showcases by filling out the form.

Gayle Lorenz

Washington DC Region | 34-year member | Trackside, Road Racing

Gayle joined in 1989 and was crew for her husband, Richard. She was recruited to work Grid, and became a local chief. From there, she was asked to run for the WDCR BoD and was elected and served 6 yrs, 5 of them as RE. In addition, she served as Director of Club Racing for the Region for 15 yrs. She is a regular face on grid, and served as Divisional Admin for Grid and then National Admin until the program ended. She is currently serving as chair of the Hall of Fame Nominating Committee. "SCCA has become a huge extended family," says Gayle. "I have made so many friends and have been given the opportunity to do so many things that I never would have experienced. I got to split the very large SM field for their night race at the Daytona, which was definitely a thrill."

Natalie Haizlip

Washington DC Region | 1-year member | Time Trials

Natalie, an ovarian cancer survivor, uses her battle beating cancer to push the limits, both on and off the track. She has been tracking her Honda S2000 for the last two seasons, doing track days and time trials. Her goal for 2024 is wheel to wheel racing. She aspires to be a role model for girls and women interested in getting involved in motorsports. "SCCA is a welcoming and friendly environment where all are welcome, regardless of experience level or car classing," said Natalie. "It is a place in the paddock to call home with like minded people. It is a place where I go to grow and learn within the motorsports community with some of the most amazing people you will ever meet."

Lorien Feighner

Saginaw Valley Region | 32-year member | Solo

Lorien's SCCA life began in the early 90’s when she started attending regional autocrosses with her husband. With some encouragement from female drivers, she started driving too. It took some time, but eventually her competitive nature kicked in and she was hooked! She has served on the Saginaw Valley Region executive board in a variety of positions. Along with Velma Boreen, she created the popular SVR Ladies Day solo event and she continues to chair it annually. Her greatest driving achievement is four Solo National Championships, all in ESPL. "The best thing about being an SCCA member is the lifelong friendships that I have made," said Lorien. "And after all these years, the last two have been the most fun, mentoring and competing with a new woman driver as she begins her SCCA journey."

Rachel McLaughlin

Central Florida Region | 1-year member | Solo, Track Events, Time Trials

Rachel is a 24-year-old enthusiast from Winter Springs, Florida. She has always loved cars since she was little, but recently entered the realm of motorsports after years of wrenching. Her little Toyota hatchback is her partner in these endeavors, and when she's not competing, she enjoys casual cruises and car maintenance. She's been competing for three seasons, and will be traveling to Nationals for the first time this season! "SCCA has provided so much for me. Within this Club, I have a safe place to learn and succeed. To gain knowledge, seat time, and friends," said Rachel. "My fellow Club members have become family, and the Club has become my home."

Terry Ozment

Chicago Region | 42-year member | Trackside

Terry Ozment has worked to make the Sports Car Club® of America better through leadership roles at the Regional, Divisional, National, and professional levels. Ozment joined the Land O’ Lakes Region in 1980 and over the years served in Flagging & Communications, Registration, Race Chairman, Timing & Scoring, as a Steward, and the CenDiv Scheduling representative. She served there as Treasurer and on the National Convention Committee. A short time later, she moved to the Chicago area and transferred her membership to the Chicago Region, but her work didn’t slow down. She spent two years there as the Regional Executive, and her overall knowledge of the Club, especially the road racing department, led to her appointment as the National Office’s head of Club Racing. During her time at the National office, where she grew to become the Vice President of Club Racing, Ozment took her knowledge of Region activities and provided a model for other Regions to follow.

Ruth Wolf

Philadelphia Region | 42-year member | Road Racing

When Ruth won the NorthEast Divisional Championship in C Sports Racer in 1996, the plaque said Rulf Wolf. She never had it changed. She keeps it as a reminder of the uphill battle women face in motorsports. "It reminds me that while we, as women have put ourselves in the driver's seat, we can never coast," said Ruth. "SCCA is an arena where I can put on a helmet and compete on merit. It is a place where teamwork is defined and acted upon, and bonds are formed."

Kelsey Karanges

Texas & Northeast Oklahoma Regions | 4-year member | Solo, Time Trials

Upon graduating college Kelsey was looking for an outlet for fun and bought herself a 2015 Ford Mustang. She eventually traded that car for a BMW e92 M3 which is where she really found her way to solo and track events thanks to a local enthusiast who stopped her one day while running an errand to compliment her on the car and encourage her to check out the local autocross club. She went to her very first event out at Mineral Wells soon after that meeting and was hooked. From there it spiraled into her first track event with TNiA, and now competing in Time Trials and National-level solo events including winning a national championship in STXL at her first solo nationals in 2021. She has also dipped my toes into road racing and is looking forward to transferring her competition license to SCCA and racing in some regional events possibly later this year. "SCCA has meant a great deal to me in terms of providing an outlet to compete and enjoy myself along with the great opportunity to travel and meet like-minded people from many diverse backgrounds who all enjoy playing and having fun with their cars," said Kelsey. "I am really excited to take that next step forward by now getting involved and giving back towards my passion for the Club as the chairwoman for the Women on Track Committee and continuing to encourage women to join into motorsports and grow more involvement of women in the many facets of motorsports that SCCA has to offer."

Anna Crissman

North Carolina Region | 22-year member | Trackside

Anna's dad was a car builder, and her mom was a staple of the timing tower. She's a second-generation SCCAer who started in Timing and Scoring at the age of 12 at the 24 Hours of Daytona. She's served as Timing Chief for NCR, and Divisional Administrator for Area 12, and now the entire Southeast Division. She has volunteered annually at the Runoffs for decades, and in 2020 stepped up to become Regional Executive of North Carolina Region. In 2015, she was SCCA's Timing and Scoring Worker of the Year. "SCCA overwhelmingly means family to me," said Anna. "The people I work with in the Club have become my extended family and that family gets bigger every year. It is in my blood to volunteer and apply my skills to make our events the best they can be. I have found that by helping to make others successful, my skills as a leader have grown, and that leadership ability has helped me grow in my professional life outside the Club as well."

Kristen Poole

Susquehanna Region | 9-year member | Track Events, Time Trials, Road Racing

Kristen found motorsports through her father and their vintage racing Porsche 914/6. But she found SCCA through a friend who took her to an autocross. From there, she advanced through the leadership ranks of Susquehanna Region before ultimately serving as RE as the Region won awards on a National Level. She then got involved in coaching at Track Night in America events, and later transitioned to a logistics role with the National Time Trials program. Since 2020, Kristen has been a member of SCCA's Marketing and Communications Department, taking over as Director of that department in 2021. "SCCA is unique in motorsports as we offer the most variety of programs," said Kristen. "In everything we do, we continuously work to be more inclusive to grow the diversity of this great Club and our members having #funwithcars."

Renee Dupuis

New England Region | 8-year member | Track Events

A life-long racer, Renee holds NASCAR WInston Racing Series Modified Rookie of the Year honors and is the highest qualifying and finishing female driver in the history of the series. But since the inception of Track Night in America, Renee has been a fixture at those events in the Northeast, serving as a driver coach. "It's a sport that I love, so it's been really rewarding to introduce the sport to new people and then encourage them," said Renee. "To be involved for six or seven years, I see people that were once in my novice group coming back and running the advanced group. It's pretty cool to have them hooked as well."

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