For more than a decade, the Wendi Allen Scholarship Fund (WASF) has supported the involvement of women in SCCA’s Solo® community. WASF recipients in 2024 were Sarah Miles, Ashley Weaver, and Shelby Redding; with all three in Solo Town this week to partake in the 51st Tire Rack SCCA® Solo National Championships going down Sept. 3-6 in Nebraska’s capital city at Lincoln Airpark.
Each woman received a $1,500 scholarship to support their travel to Tire Rack National Solo events. Additionally, SCCA® waived entry fees to these events for scholarship recipients and collaborated with the Solo community and commercial partners to seek out other forms of support for driver training, mentoring, products, and logistical assistance.
WASF Year in Review
Ashley Weaver, Atlanta Region – A member of SCCA since 2019, Weaver made the most of her scholarship opportunity earlier in the year by attending Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo® and Solo National Tour events in Lincoln, Cleveland, and Bristol. She also partook in the Tire Rack SCCA Red Hills Solo National Tour, and Tire Rack SCCA Charlotte Solo National Tour.
“This year has been so much fun getting to attend lots of events, seeing everybody out there, and getting to travel to areas I haven’t been to,” Weaver said. “I’m so thankful to Mazda for funding this scholarship. It allowed me to attend more events than I initially planned at the beginning of the year.”
This week in Lincoln, NE, Weaver took part in both the Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo Championship Finale and Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships. She turned in a respectable performance in Ladies Class 3 at the ProSolo and was downright awesome at Solo Nats. She earned a trophy in C Street Prepared Ladies by driving a 2002 Mazda Miata to the runner-up spot in her fifth Solo Nats appearance, finishing only 0.463sec behind winner Molly Thore Maxey.
“This was my first time trophying at Solo Nats,” a grinning Weaver said. “I really enjoyed the car … and it’s just a blast to drive.”
Sarah Miles, Steel Cities Region – Three years is how long Miles has been an SCCA member, but her 2024 was certainly a busy one thanks to WASF support. She jumped in to #funwithcars by joining the Cleveland ProSolo party, both the Charlotte and Romulus Solo National Tour experiences, and competed at the Grissom and St. Louis Tire Rack SCCA Autocross Challenge stops.
“My husband and I, we were not planning on doing a ton of National events this year. But when I got the scholarship, everything changed,” Miles said. “The other thing I decided with this scholarship was to try running in Open classes at National Tours this year.”
And she excelled, driving a 2016 Porsche GT4 to victory in the Xtreme A Ladies class in only her third visit to Solo Nats.
“I felt physically prepared to drive the car, but not mentally prepared because this is the big stage,” Miles said about Solo Nats’ level of competition just before she walked in front of the TREC Tavern audience Wednesday evening to receive adulation with other winners during the annual Tire Rack Solo Awards Celebration.
“I’m incredibly thankful for the Wendi Allen Scholarship,” Miles continued. “There were so many events I couldn’t have done this year without that support. It’s amazing that they would want to support me, and I really feel like I was able to do them proud, which makes me happy. I really hope that makes Wendi’s kids and husband happy that they’re supporting us to do this kind of stuff.”
Shelby Redding, Snake River Region – The third WASF recipient running at Solo Nats was Redding, who joined SCCA a decade ago. For many years, she supported her husband from the sidelines while taking care of their two kids and wasn’t sure if autocross was something she’d be good at. But another female driver suggested in 2022 that she give it a go. By the second event, Redding was hooked on the whole experience.
This year, thanks to support from WASF, Redding headed out and competed at the two Tire Rack Las Vegas ProSolos, as well as the Tire Rack Solo National Tour and ProSolo in Packwood. Along the way, she took advantage of some Evolution Performance Driving School instruction, and actually won the Packwood ProSolo Bonus Challenge.
This week in Lincoln, Redding started her #funwithcars by competing in the Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo Championship Finale. She followed that up by driving a 1988 Honda CRX Si at Solo Nats Thursday/Friday in the Street Touring® Sport Ladies (STSL) class.
After an amazing battle with Laura Harbour, Redding eked out a 0.098sec advantage. That earned her an STSL National Championship in only her second appearance at Solo Nats.
“I feel fantastic,” an out-of-breath Redding said immediately after learning she’d secured a Championship jacket. “I didn’t think I had it in me. But it was all a matter of having confidence and trusting the car.”
Redding credits WASF for giving her a path to improve her skills throughout the year, as well as offering the opportunity to get out and meet more people involved in the sport.
“I’m so grateful for all the mentors who have helped me throughout the year,” Redding added. “Now, I’m taking this trophy home and coming back to Solo Nationals next year for sure.”
More About the Wendi Allen Scholarship Fund
WASF, jointly supported by SCCA Foundation and Mazda Motorsports, was named and established by the family of Allen to honor the multi-time National Solo Champion. Wendi loved the SCCA Solo Community and wished to give back to the sport by helping young women become more successful drivers and contributing SCCA members. Learn more about the 2024 WASF award recipients here.
SCCA Foundation is always accepting donations earmarked for the WASF, as well as other initiatives advancing opportunities for women's involvement in the Club. Go to SCCA Foundation’s website to discover more about the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization. That is also the portal where online donations can be made and earmarked for the WASF initiative.
Photo: The 2024 Wendi Allen Scholarship Fund winners running at the Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships. Clockwise from top: Sarah Miles (No. 83 ), Ashley Weaver (No. 95), and Shelby Redding (No. 88).
Photos by Andy Shultz and Jeff Loewe
