The Rivergate Racing drivers wish to honor our heroes involved in road racing. Our heroes aren’t the drivers in club racing who are out there trying to beat us. Our heroes certainly aren’t any of the professional drivers that are paid to road race, as much as we admire their skill.

No, our Road Racing Heroes are the SCCA workers who make personal sacrifices and put forth so much effort supporting Club Racing so we can enjoy our hobby. We aren't just talking about the kind of heroism represented by a corner worker dragging a driver from a burning car. But also the worker also who is heroic in their efforts to make Club Racing possible--working late nights getting ready for race weekends and rising early on race days to take care of duties at the track.

The Rivergate Racing drivers wish to honor all the workers. We have elected to do so by selecting a few who exemplify the best of SCCA workers in Club Racing.

Phil Mellor is also a hero to all SCCA members, especially those in Area 12. Phil Mellor started his sports car activities soon after leaving the armed forces in 1958. While in the Aerospace industry at Huntsville, Alabama and later, Cape Canaveral he began participation in our sports. He competed in a “double bubble” Abarth.

But , unlike many of us, much of Phil’s SCCA activity has been as a worker supporting racers and members in general. He advanced thru the Scruitneering group until, beginning in 1983, he was chief for Formula and Sports Racer cars at the Runoffs. He held this position for years, in recognition of his knowledge and dedication to the sport.

About ten years ago, Phil was appointed to the job of Division Administrator of Scruitneering for the Southeast Division of SCCA. The technical knowledge he had developed and his administrative ability made him an obvious choice for this responsible position. The competent tech staff at most SEDIV venues is a result of his efforts. He continued to serve in Tech at many SCCA events, including many years at the Runoffs both in their Road Atlanta and Mid Ohio years. He even served as scrutineer at Performance Rally events when they came to the Southeast.

In late 1997 members of the Southeast Division elected Phil as a Director. This demanding position put him in the elected group who direct overall SCCA activities. He was reelected to the director position in 2001 and remained after Area 12 was created within the Division. Among his special assignments as a SCCA Director was serving as Liaison to the Performance Rally Board. After his term ended as this liaison, Performance Rally suffered a disastrous period of accidents, ending with the deaths of two of the most famous professional ralliests competing in the US. He was immediately put back into the liaison position to help during this difficult period. This was in recognition of his exceptional ability and his dedication to Performance Rally. As our representative on the Board of Directors of SCCA, Phil has taken the position as representing membership in the SEDIV, and we have never known him to pursue private agendas. He is tremendously respected throughout SCCA.

Even with the demanding duties of his national SCCA position, Phil has supported Club Racing as a scrutineer.

SCCA bylaws restrict Directors to two three-year terms. At the end of 2004 Phil will reach this limit. He is due thanks from us all for his service, presently extending over a period of about thirty years. And for the service he will continue to provide to Road Racers through years to come.

November 2004

At the Southeast Division Annual Meeting in Jeykll Island in Januray 2005 Phil Mellor won the Robert W. Clark Award. It is awarded to a SEDIV member who has shown "spirit of SCCA in participation, dedication and service in more than one area and service to the SEDIV over a long period of time". Later the same evening, Phil won the John C. Reuter Award. This award has been presented each year since 1963. It also honors service to the Club. We don't recall anyone ever being honored with two such awards by the SEDIV in one year. Thanks Phil, for the work that earned you these honors.

Phil Mellor - Hero!

January 2005

Kaye (Baum) Fairer, North Carolina Region. The Rivergate drivers first noticed Kaye's dedication when we went through registration at Rockingham after 10 PM Friday where she was working. After 11 PM she came by to be sure we had found the source of electricity we had mentioned needing to charge our radio batteries. At 8 AM Saturday we found her serving as chief of grid. To talk to her, one of our drivers had to jog along side her to tech. She was going there to retrieve a tech sticker for a forgetful driver (not one of us) so that he could go out to practice on time. The next time we saw her she was waving down to drivers while working F & C Station 11 at Road Atlanta. Next, she was grid chief at Roebling Road. Always smiling and pleasant - always looking after drivers & crew - this is Kay Fairer (formally Kaye Baum).

Kay confirmed her status as one of our Heros after Will's big crash at turn one at Road Atlanta on June 13, 1999. After we got what was left of the car loaded in the trailer he figured out his earphones were missing. He shouted across turn one to Kay and told her about them being gone. She immediately went across the track and up the hill to the accident site and found them. Thanks again Kay!

Kay was named 2000 BF Goodrich Worker of the Year for her work on Grid. We knew she deserved it all along.  Congratulations Kaye!

1999

Kathy Daniels, Atlanta Region. Kathy serves us as the Administrator, pointskeeper and general ramrod of the very successful Endurance Championship Racing series in the SEDIV. She served as race chair for the ARRC/Sunoco 500K last year - and put on a fine event. She worked from chairman, to registration, to sweeping up after a crash during the Sunoco Race. Who else could be in charge and still sweep except for an SCCA Hero. In all her work with SCCA she seems to keep the needs and desires of the racing community (drivers, crews & workers) above all other concerns. We have noticed that one reason she is able to do so much more than seems reasonable for one person, is that she is so ably assisted by husband, Larry.

Kathy presents Will Perry's ARRC Award

1997

Roe Lyle.  If you saw the 1997 Runoffs on Speedvision (and we hope you did - it was great!) you have seen Roe Lyle at work. On the pace lap for the E Production race, a car blew an engine in turn one. He trailed oil (lots of oil!) for a couple of hundred feet on the line through the corner. Roe ran out and began spreading oil dry as the TV camera recorded his work. He ran out of oil dry before he ran out of oily race track. While he was still working on the line in turn one, the race was green flagged on the back straight! Despite Roes heroic efforts to clean up the mess, the pole sitter and leader, John Baucom, and others spun out in the remaining oil on lap one.

Roe Lyle, an East Tennessee Region member, is a frequent and skilled corner worker. Even on weekends when he drives his Datsun 1200 racecar, he still works corners. After his races, he strips off his nomex, pulls on the whites and heads to a corner. As we have noticed with several other experienced corner workers that take up racing, his cornering line is just about perfect. Obviously, an observant corner worker can learn the best line through the corners by close observation of the best drivers. We have only watched Roe drive at Road Atlanta, but he has this tough track down, as evidenced by his second place in the 1997 ARRC.

Roe Lyle, a corner worker and driver, who has used both these efforts to make him better at the other.

1997

If other road racers wish to nominate a worker as a Road Racing Hero, send their name, region & why you think they deserve this honor to Rivergate Racing, c/o Carl Blevins (carl@dixierally.org). A photo of the nominated worker would be appreciated.

Thanks to all the Heroes