Parella Motorsports Holdings (PMH) has announced its recipients of the PMH Powering Diversity Scholarship, which helps diversify the fields in the SCCA Pro Racing-sanction series Formula Regional Americas Championship Powered by Honda (FR Americas), Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda (F4 U.S.), and – new for 2023 – the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli. Of the five female racers who will receive the 2023 scholarships, several are longtime SCCA members, with one beginning her motorsports journey in SCCA Autocross.
This year’s PMH Powering Diversity Scholarship recipients are Amy Ruman, Michele Abbate, Hannah Greenemeier, Ava Dobson, and Kaylee Bryson.
“We’re excited to welcome another class of the PMH Powering Diversity Scholarship – and to not only just continue the program, but to grow it and expand into other race series,” said Tony Parella, CEO of PMH. “We’ve seen drivers from previous classes like Ernie Francis Jr., Chloe Chambers, and Raoul Hyman successfully use this opportunity as a springboard to help grow their careers and move to the next level. We hope that we’ll see the same level of success from this year’s class.”
Amy Ruman
Amy Ruman’s SCCA membership and involvement within the Club spans more than 30 years, with numerous SCCA Pro Racing records to her name, including being a two-time Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli champion. Per PMH’s Powering Diversity Scholarship announcement:
Ruman made history in 2015 when she became the first female to win a Trans Am title since the series’ inception in 1966. The following season, she set the bar even higher, becoming the first female to earn back-to-back Trans Am championships. Competing in the TA class since 2009, Ruman has tallied 16 victories in the series. In 2014, she became the first female solo driver to win a professional automobile race at Daytona International Speedway with her TA victory. In 2023, Ruman will once again pilot the No. 23 McNichols Co. Corvette for family-owned Ruman Racing, where she also serves as co-manager of the team.
As a PMH Powering Diversity Scholarship winner, Ruman’s role will differ from the others, as she will serve as a scholarship ambassador to this year’s class of female drivers.
Michele Abbate
Michele Abbate is a longtime SCCA member who began her motorsports career with Regional SCCA Autocross at the age of 16. With determination, she parlayed that into a factory Toyota ride, a Runoffs podium, and Trans Am records, logging numerous successes along the way:
Earning five club racing championships in her career, Abbate transitioned into stock cars in 2018 and finished third in her debut in the GT-1 category at the SCCA National Runoffs. She is the only woman to have competed full-time in the Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series, and set the record for the highest-finishing female in TA2 history at Circuit of The Americas in 2021. Abbate will compete for Showtime Motorsports in the Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series in 2023.
Hannah Greenemeier
A member of the Colorado Region of the SCCA since 2018, Hannah Greenemeier earned her way to this scholarship through SKUSA. PMH explains:
Hannah Greenemeier made history when she became the first female driver in SKUSA history to win the X30 ProTour Championship class in 2021, as well as the first female in SKUSA history to win an X30 ProTour race. At age 20, she already has more than 15 years of experience racing karts, competing in Rotax in Mini, Junior, and Senior classes. She got her first taste of single-seater cars at the Lucas Oil Racing School, before being invited to the W Series test in 2022.
Greenemeier will compete in the F4 U.S. series in 2023 driving for Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport.
Ava Dobson
At just 14 years of age and coming to the sport via go-karts, Ava Dobson is new to the SCCA – although as PMH notes, the new Milwaukee Region SCCA member will have to wait before jumping into competition:
Fourteen-year-old Ava Dobson will need to wait a few more months until she can take to the track in F4 U.S., as she doesn’t turn the FIA-required 15 years old until June. After spending half her life behind the wheel of a go-kart, Dobson will team with Jay Howard Driver Development to transition from karts to cars. With her F4 U.S. series debut scheduled for Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the Brookfield, WI, native will continue her development program, gaining valuable track time in the Ligier JS F4 car until joining the championship this summer.
Kaylee Bryson
Like Dobson, Kaylee Bryson is new to the SCCA, with her new SCCA membership card reading Northeast Oklahoma Region. Similar to the other recipients, Bryson’s motorsports journey began early before landing this diversity scholarship that will put her behind the wheel of a Trans Am TA2 car:
The Muskogee, OK, native is scheduled to drive a TA2 car for Sam Pierce Racing in SVRA’s Group 10 as she works toward her Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series debut. Starting her racing career at age 9, the now 21-year-old has well over 500 races under her belt, taking the victory in the 2015 Tulsa Shootout and winning the 2022 Chili Bowl Nationals’ B-Main to become the first woman to transfer to the prestigious A-Main. Spending most of her time competing in USAC and POWRi, she started the move from dirt to asphalt with some late model races, and will continue that transition in a TA2 car this season.
About PMH
More information about the SCCA Pro Racing-sanctioned PMH series can be found by following the links below:
