Those in the Sports Car Club of America® who knew Northern New Jersey Region member Bob Dowie, knew a person who should be listened to when he spoke. Bob’s knowledge of SCCA Road Racing and the Club was equally expansive and respected, with him offering that knowledge selflessly through years of service to the SCCA. It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of this 36-year Club member and friend.
A resident of Chester, NY, where he owned Village Auto Works for more than 40 years, Bob spent 10 years serving on the Club Racing Board (CRB), with him stepping down as the Chairman in 2011. He also held Divisional Scrutineer and Full Competition licenses, racing in GT-5 and GT-Lite.
In his final monthly CRB column in the January 2012 issue of SportsCar magazine, Bob discussed many of the lessons he’d learned over the prior decade, along with his experience working with the SCCA Board of Directors (BoD). “I would be lying if I said I was never frustrated [with the BoD], but those tough issues are few and far between and, for the most part, the BoD lets the CRB do the job the CRB members were appointed to do.”
Four years after departing the CRB, Bob ran for a position on that very same SCCA Board of Directors, joining the BoD in 2016 for Area 1, representing SCCA’s New England, New York, and Northern New Jersey Regions, where he served two full terms, ending in 2021.
“I first got involved in the Club in the early 1970s as a spectator at Lime Rock Park,” he told SportsCar in 2016 shortly after joining the BoD. “As I got to know some of the competitors, I would occasionally help them in the paddock. In 1980, I opened my own import car repair shop and wanted to get involved in racing. I had come to realize that I really enjoyed road racing and was looking for someone to work with.
“As luck would have it, as I was pulling into a local gas station, I saw a guy pulling out with a Showroom Stock A 260Z on a trailer. I followed him home, introduced myself, and told him I’d like to work with his racing effort. It was the start of a great friendship….”
Bob’s SCCA membership spanned from June 25, 1987, until his passing on June 30, 2023, at age 71.
“I first met Bob when interviewing for the President/CEO job,” said SCCA President and CEO Mike Cobb. “He asked some tough questions – but he was always fair, and if we ever disagreed, he would win in the end as he would always close with that trademark ‘Dowie smile and laugh.’ He was a friend to many, had a real passion for the Club and the people in it, and spoke his mind while being open to hearing other perspectives. I truly enjoyed working with him and for him, and we are a better Club because of folks like Bob Dowie.”
Bob is survived by his wife, fellow Northern New Jersey Region member Leslie Dowie. A celebration of life will be planned by friends and family, taking place at Village Auto Works.
Photo by Mike Duvall
