By alley - May 15, 2017, 5:14 PM ET

Why SCCA’s new president brings incredible potential

Following a search that began nine months ago, the Sports Car Club of America announced earlier today

the hiring of a new president and CEO

. Starting June 1, SCCA's leader will be Michael Cobb. While SCCA's announcement concentrates on Cobb's experience as a marketing and branding professional with multiple decades of experience leading national brands to success, what interests me most is that for the first time in recent memory, the 60,000-plus member amateur motorsports club will be led by someone whose primary interest is autocross.

Let me step back – it would be incorrect to paint Cobb strictly as an autocrosser. While I haven't spoken directly to Cobb yet, from what I've been told by those who have is that even though much of his involvement with the SCCA concerns autocross, his interests span the breadth of the club; he even traveled to the SCCA National Championship Runoffs one year as a spectator. Beyond that, I'm told his enthusiasm for all things SCCA is contagious; when it comes to growing an organization that heavily relies on volunteers, enthusiasm is a necessity.

Marketed correctly and enthusiastically, both of which seem to be Cobb's forte, and leveraging SCCA's various initiatives, which includes autocross (SCCA's gateway drug, the very thing that hooked Cobb), it's not unreasonable to think that SCCA membership numbers could rocket north under his leadership, while reinvigorating existing members. For sure, the decision to hire Cobb is a bold one by SCCA's Board of Directors, but it's also one the SCCA stands to benefit greatly from.

Once Cobb settles into his new chair, we'll bring you exclusive interviews with SCCA's new president where we'll get his take on the SCCA, motorsports in America today, and his vision for the future of the SCCA.