The Tire Rack Street Survival program is a lifesaver, both literally and figuratively. Through classroom and behind-the-wheel experiences, this program places students aged 15 to 20 in their own vehicles in simulated scenarios that, should those events occur in the real world, equip young drivers with the skills needed to safely navigate the situation. Yet while Street Survival schools are keeping teen drivers and those around them safe, they’re also an incredible tool for SCCA Regions searching for new autocross sites– as St. Louis Region discovered.

“In the St. Louis Region, we're kind of real fortunate with one particular site, which is located in Saint Charles, just west of the St. Louis region area,” Matt Pirrello, St. Louis Region’s Regional Executive, explains of how the Region reclaimed a vital location thanks to Street Survival.

The Family Arena is an ideal location for SCCA events with ample parking lot space and room inside for classroom instruction. Unfortunately, St. Louis Region’s decreasing use of the facility ultimately led to the complete loss of events on the calendar.

“In 2022, we only had one school, and I believe in 2023 we didn't have any schools,” Pirrello explains. “Before that, we had used The Family Arena area pretty extensively and had had some pretty good stuff going.

“What ended up happening was, because we didn't schedule or keep that arena on the books ... and we didn't really have any schools going, we found ourselves in a situation where we kind of lost the site because of competing interest.”

Pirrello says that it’s not that the arena didn’t want events at its facility; it’s that SCCA isn’t the only game in town. “We're not the only organization out there that's actually looking for some place to be able to host an event like this,” he points out. “You're typically competing with a lot of other car clubs, police departments, other various training folks, and venues that want a large lot to be able to do motorsports or trucks or bicycles or motorcycles, things of that nature.”

The Region was left needing to rebuild its autocross program, and the Street Survival program was key.

Finding Sites

Pitching a location you’d like to host an autocross at can be challenging, especially since those who control the location might not understand what the sport is. This, however, is where the Tire Rack Street Survival program shines, allowing Regions to pitch an event that benefits teens and the community.

An arena, Pirrello says, is probably one of the best opportunities for a facility capable of hosting a Street Survival school, but since St. Louis Region was starting from scratch when looking for a new location to host Street Survivals (and autocrosses), the Region’s net was cast wide.

“We went out looking at schools and community colleges, because they have an indoor facility that you can use as well [for classroom time during a Street Survival school],” Pirrello explains, adding that the Region also looked at churches. The first taker, however, was an airport.

“We didn't really think we would find ourselves at a regional airport, but Saint Charles County actually owns an airport in the northern region,” says Pirrello. “It had … an area where they parked planes, and we went in and talked to them about how we can do this. The biggest challenge you're going to find with looking at things like airports is competing with the FAA regulations associated with whether or not you can do certain things on an airport facility, because all of that is federally regulated.”

One Thing Leads to Another

“We didn't really talk about what our needs were,” Pirrello explains of their early conversations with St. Charles County Regional Airport, adding, “We really focused more on what we're doing for the community, what we're doing for the children, and what the program itself does, and sold that [idea] pretty big on the front side for basically getting them to nibble at it.”

St. Louis Region leaders met with the county board, and once everything was approved, St. Louis had a new location to host Tire Rack Street Survival schools. But the Region didn’t stop there.

“We try to bring in as much sponsorship as possible to help offset costs, and then along the way, we were fortunate enough to acquire a St. Charles County Police Department safety officer, who participated in all four of [the Street Survival] events,” Pirrello adds.

Despite having locked in the regional airport, St. Louis Region’s hunt for new sites never ceased, then, Pirrello says, “Somewhere along the lines, last year I was able to get The Family Arena.”

A Bright Future

Due to size constraints, Saint Charles County Regional Airport can only support 10 or so students per event. The Family Arena, meanwhile, is so large it can host more than double that. In all, St. Louis Region hopes to have more than 200 students participate in their Street Survival schools during the 2025 season, with four more dates slated for 2026.

Thanks to the conversations that began around the Street Survival schools, St. Louis Region is autocrossing once more at The Family Arena, with 10 autocross weekends and a Solo Novice School already on the calendar.

For more information about the Tire Rack Street Survival program and how your SCCA Region can host one of these lifesaving schools, contact Melanie Murray at StreetSurvival@SCCA.com.

The Street Survival program is made possible by funding through the SCCA Foundation. Donations to the SCCA Foundation can be earmarked for the Tire Rack Street Survival teen driving schools via this link.

Photo by Matt Sheets