(This recurring column offers a look into the SCCA Foundation, the charitable arm of the Sports Car Club of America®. The column’s author, Jim Weidenbaum, is a member of the SCCA Foundation Board of Directors.)

SCCA attracts fascinating folks from all walks of life, all brought together through the shared love of cars and motorsports. You can spend an entire event or race weekend paddocked next to someone and come away saying, “Wow, Fred sure is a nice guy! He helped me bleed my brakes, talked me through driving that tricky Turn 5, and even shared his snacks.” Someone then remarks, “Oh yeah, Fred – you know he’s a famous artist and a heck of a racer. He podiumed at the Runoffs® 20 years ago.”

There’s a way to get to know a bit more about some of those folks you see walking around the paddock – a topic that’s near and dear to SCCA’s Raleigh Boreen.

Raleigh is one of those racers and super volunteers we’re fortunate to have in the Club – he, along with his wife Velma, are highly active SCCA members and leaders from Indianapolis Region. It occurred to Raleigh that he wasn’t alone in wanting to know more about the people of SCCA beyond which car they compete in. As a CAM driver, Raleigh was familiar with the Good Guys Gazette, which has a feature article in each issue titled “5 Minutes with” in which the magazine interviews people of interest.

Raleigh recognized this type of feature article would offer readers of Indy Region’s Clutch Chatter newsletter the opportunity to learn more about their fellow SCCA members – both within the Indianapolis Region as well as from around the country. From this inspiration, Raleigh started writing “Sitting in the Garage with” articles. That was four years and more than 50 interviews ago.

This fantastic idea is one the SCCA Foundation can get behind.

“SCCA Legacy Stories” is in the early stages of what promises to be an engaging, fun, and helpful initiative to connect SCCA members with the Club’s history. In the coming weeks, the Foundation is pleased to offer Raleigh’s “Sitting in the Garage with” series of articles to all members via the SCCA Foundation’s website. Learning more about the wonderful members of the SCCA, understanding a bit about where they come from, their connection to the Club, and how they have #funwithcars energizes Raleigh and motivates him to have never met a stranger at an SCCA event.

We know you’ll enjoy Raleigh’s fast read “Sitting in the Garage with” articles, and hope it encourages you to shake hands with that person paddocked next to you. Undoubtedly, you’ll discover that person in the sweat stained t-shirt who has spent most of the weekend under his or her car has a fascinating story to share.

For more information on SCCA Foundation and the SCCA Legacy Stories project, visit sccafoundation.org/scca-history.

Photo by Jon Krolewicz