We recently had the opportunity to spend some time with the new President of SCCA, Jeff Dahnert. In an effort to bring our readers relevant and topical information, Jeff agreed to an interview with Rogues-racing.com.
We want to thank Jeff Dahnert for sitting with Rogues-racing.com, and helping our readers better understand his views and philosophies regarding Solo.
RR: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself (married / not married, children / no children, hobbies, education background, and career background)?
JD: I’m married and have a 17 year old step-son. I was born and raised in Minnesota. My father was a carpenter and I grew up helping him build houses, which is great experience for anybody. My degree is in accounting and I hold a CPA license, although it is no longer active. I spent four years in public accounting and have been in finance positions in industry since then. My last two positions prior to SCCA were in the finance department of Sprint in Kansas City, and prior to the Sprint job I was the finance director at an arena and civic center in Minnesota I’ve always been involved in sports such as running, basketball, and triathlons. I’m currently preparing for a half-ironman triathlon scheduled for mid-June. I’m often asked what my first car was. It was a 1969 Opel GT which was a very fun car to have as a senior in high school.
RR: You have been with the Sports Car Club of America since November 2004 in a financial position. How is that background important in the execution of your new responsibilities?
JD: In addition to the inherent financial perspective that I gained, that position gave me visibility to the operations of all areas of the Club. I became familiar with many of the region volunteers as well as the members of the Board of Directors.
RR: Many of your predecessors have had some connection with motorsports. It appears you do not have that sort of background. Is a motorsports background necessary to understand what is important to the membership? Why or why not?
JD: I think it’s all a matter of your point of view. You could look at it this way; I have spent the last four years as the financial and business manager of the largest amateur motorsports organization in America. So, saying I have no motorsports background is a bit misleading. But I know where you are coming from. I think it’s more important for this particular position to have a business background and a personality that can work with the many different groups that make up this Club.
RR: Describe your first National Convention as President of SCCA. Did it meet your expectations? Why or Why not? What were the most important issues that members expressed? Has member feedback shifted your agenda?
JD: I was a bit nervous going into the convention, I won’t kid you. However, it went very smoothly and the comments from the attendees have been overwhelmingly positive. Most of this is due to the efforts of the staff that handle all of the details of putting on an event of this size. As for member feedback, almost everyone I spoke to agreed with our initiatives to shift our marketing focus to the local level and work to make participation easier and more fun.
RR: How do you and the BoD intend to make participation easier and more fun?
JD: One way is to simply make people aware of our events. This will be accomplished in part by a new “marketing toolkit� aimed at helping the local regions promote their events. Another part of the process is to get everyone to think in terms of our participants being customers and to have a customer service mindset that makes the participants want to keep playing with us. Please note that when I say “participants�, I’m referring to drivers and workers alike. Honestly, I think a lot of the best ideas will come from the regions themselves once they start looking at “how� and “why� they do the things they do. They are the ones on the frontlines with the most visibility to what works and what doesn’t.
RR: What is your perspective on the responsibility of your position relative to that of the Board?
JD: My job is to carry out the policies that the BoD establishes. They set the direction of the organization and I manage the staff and resources to get us there. I also bring forth to the BoD any issues or improvements that I feel will benefit the Club.
RR: What do you hope to accomplish in your first twelve months on the job? In twenty-four months? In thirty-six months?
JD: There is a slogan that we used at the convention, “Make it Easy. Make it Fun.� My efforts and those of the staff will be to bring this slogan into practice. I haven’t put a timeline on it but I suspect there are enough areas to be looked at to keep us busy for a while.
RR: Why are these actions important?
JD: We are a club of participants. Our focus should be on doing whatever we can to drive increased participation.
RR: How many members does the SCCA have? Out of that number what is the breakdown?
JD: We have approximately 48,500 members. As for a breakout, we do not have a definitive way to identify between the programs. However, a large percentage of our new members are coming out of the Solo weekend membership program.
RR: Membership decreased 2.5% in 2008. What factors contributed to this? The economy? NASA?
JD: The economy definitely has had an impact on all areas of the Club. However, we did a survey of non-renewing members last year and the number one reason they did not renew their membership was because of how they were treated when they went to their first event.
RR: What specifically is on your agenda to grow membership and / or improve the experience in SCCA?
JD: We have developed a “marketing toolkit� for the regions to use at their local events which will drive participation and membership. We are also going to work to support the BoD in simplifying rules as much as we can.
RR: What specifically is going to be included in the “marketing toolkit�?
JD: There will be banners, posters, and “yard signs� that will help direct people to the events. There will also be a CD that will have digital copies of forms that can be customized with the local event information. In addition there will be a guide and timeline that will help the region work with local media outlets to publicize their events. If a region wants more information they can contact Rick Myers our Region Development Manager.
RR: Is there an effective communication channel for regions to share what is and isn’t working to ensure best practices are being identified and implemented on a broader level?
JD: Last year the Jumbo Regions formed a group to share ideas of what is and isn’t working for them. We are looking to expand this approach to other sized regions in 2009. At the convention the Jumbo Regions held a session where anybody could ask them questions about how they operate their regions and events.
RR: Do you subscribe to the point of view that SCCA appears to be road-racing-centric?
JD: I know that this view exists but I feel that Solo and Rally are just as important.
RR: In many regions there exists a distinctive ‘Road Racer’ mentality that looks down upon Solo and conversely in other regions, a ‘Solo’ mentality that looks down at the Road Racers. Is the SCCA aware of this, and are there any plans to address it?
JD: Yes, we are aware of the regional differences that exist. The best way to address this is through open communication and interaction. One very effective event that accomplishes this is the Tire Rack Street Survival teen driving program. We see volunteers come from the Club Racing, Rally, and Solo areas within a region to put on these events. It gets them together and working with each other which helps to break down the “us� and “them� mentality.
RR: How do you perceive Solo’s role? Do you see it as a core component? Do you see Solo as a ladder for SCCA members?
JD: I believe Solo is definitely a core component of this Club. It is one of the easiest programs to get involved in and we always hear stories about people who start in Solo or Rally and move on to Club Racing. That said Solo has certainly proven to be the chosen activity for many people who have no interest in doing anything else. It’s both a great point of entry into motorsports and a destination wrapped in one.
RR: When did you first autocross? If you have not participated in an autocross what are you waiting for?
JD: My first autocross was a couple of years ago when I co-drove Cal Craner’s A Stock Corvette at the Solo Nationals. By the way, I don’t believe I came in last.
RR: Last year SCCA instituted a program requiring non-SCCA members to purchase a ‘weekend membership’ if they wanted to participate. What was the reason for instituting the program? Has feedback from regions been positive or negative? Any changes for 2009?
JD: The SCCA by-laws state that we are to put on events by and for our members, so we needed to get the realities of our events in line with the purposes of the Club. This was secondarily driven by liability issues. As a member you have $1 million in Participant Accident coverage whereas a non-member only has $10,000. We were concerned that injured non-member participants posed a potentially significant liability exposure that could be reduced through making all participants members. There was some initial resistance to the program, but most of that was either lack of information or a misunderstanding of requirements. I did receive numerous comments during the convention and all were very positive in regards to the program.
RR: The number of classes in Solo has continued to increase over the years. In SCCA Road Racing there is a cap on the number of classes that can participate in the Runoffs. Is this something that Solo should consider doing for their National Championship?
JD: While Solo has a significant number of classes, the nature of a Solo event allows this without running into logistical issues with the site. If the number of classes continues to increase this may need to be looked at.
RR: If yes, expand upon why you think there is a practical limit and talk about what the SCCA and its membership can do to address the issue. If no, how do you address the issue of class dilution?
JD: The SEB is looking into the issue of class dilution and I will defer to their expertise on this subject. The hope with each new class is not to “cannibalize� existing classes but to draw new participants into the sport, such as with Street Touring.
RR: Do you think that National Champions should be crowned if there are no other competitors in the class? If a particular class is under, say less than five entrants, would it make sense to combine classes at any event that has National status (including Tours for example)?
JD: If there is a recognized class at the national championship event, then it should have a champion. I would think if a class continually only had one participant it would be phased out naturally.
RR: Despite the best intentions with regard to classing cars, there often seems to be one or two cars that manage to rise to the top. This drives many competitors to gravitate to the ‘perceived’ cars to have in the class. The competitors that don’t change to these cars often lobby for another class for ‘their’ car. Has this trend contributed to ‘class creep’? Should everyone just acknowledge this is always going to happen and just set up a Mazda RX-8 class, a Honda S2000 class, etc.?
JD: This is an issue that the SEB has wrestled with for years. The goal is to have as many marques competing as possible, but I think it is inevitable that one or two cars will rise to the top in each class.
RR: How long are we committed to Lincoln?
JD: Currently this is a one year contract with the option to renew it as a multi year contract.
RR: Initial testing has shown significant tire wear at the Lincoln site versus previous sites. Does the SCCA plan to treat the surface? Will a solution be completed by the May 2nd Pro Solo?
JD: In April the facility will be sweeping the area with a runway sweeper which will basically “exfoliate� the surface.
RR: Many Soloists believe Pro Solo has a more compelling format versus ‘conventional’ Solo. Significant money has been spent to improve the equipment and process over the past few years for the Pro format, which many believe has not been money well spent. What is your view?
JD: Pro Solo is viewed as an integral part of the Tire Rack National Solo program and we’ve tried to make a number of these upgrades, such as laptops and wireless capability, also be usable for the National Tour program. Many of the specific Pro Solo investments were done to allow more participants at each event by increasing event efficiency and therefore the cost of these investments will ultimately be paid for by increased participation.
RR: Why are there only two Pro Solos in the east in 2009?
JD: If you use the Mississippi as your dividing line there are actually three events in the east, three events in the west and one in the center of the country in 2009.
RR: Have teen participants become active in Solo? If no, is that a goal? How will you achieve it?
JD: At this time we cannot easily quantify the number of teens participating. However, classes such as “Street Touring� were put in place to draw a younger audience and many regions have told us that their average age of a participant has dropped dramatically in recent years.
RR: Does participation in the Street Survival program lead to increased participation in Solo?
JD: First I would like everyone to understand it is not the goal that the Street Survival program be a lead in to increased Solo participation. Rather, the purpose is to teach basic car control skills for street driving with the goal of saving young peoples’ lives. Additionally, the program has not been in place long enough to know if program participants are signing up for Solo events.
RR: What initiatives are in place to specifically grow participation in Solo?
JD: I believe the marketing toolkit I mentioned above will greatly improve the visibility of Solo events and drive participation. The revised Tire Rack divisional program, the Solo Triad Award, and the new Nationals location are all components expected to increase participation at various levels.
RR: What is the greatest strength of the Solo program to SCCA?
JD: Ease of participation by new members.
RR: The greatest weakness?
JD: Lack of consistency from event to event at the regional level.
RR: The greatest opportunity?
JD: The current wave of automobiles that are well suited to the sport.
RR: What is the largest threat to Solo?
JD: Safety issues and site availability.
RR: NASA has enjoyed tremendous growth in the last few years especially in the area of road racing. They are now beginning to actively promote their Solo program. One of the chief ways they differ with the SCCA is their establishment and promotion of a points system to get a handle on the many kinds of cars and modifications to limit the number of classes. What is your opinion of this?
JD: I’m not yet familiar enough with the details of their program to be able to comment with any level of surety. I’m sure that the SEB will review NASA’s methodology to see if it is applicable to SCCA.
Have a question for Jeff we didn’t ask? Email us your question at info@rogues-racing.com
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