SCCA profile: Jake Namer

This article originally appeared in the June 2017 edition of SportsCar magazine, SCCA's official member magazine and sister publication to RACER magazine and RACER.com. Each month, SportsCar profiles a member of the SCCA, getting the member's take on their life with the SCCA, in their own words. An SCCA member since 2005, here is Jake Namer's story:

The rewards from a membership with the SCCA go way beyond discounts on Mobil petroleum products. Flashback 15 years to my senior year of high school; hanging out in the parking lot of the local convenience store in central Long Island, I was either reading the current issue of Sport Compact Car magazine or rereading the Mazda RX-7 Performance Handbook. Either could be found within an arm's reach of the driver seat of my beloved Honda Civic. The phone rang, distracting me from my studies. My buddy Dan sounded excited, mumbling about an RX-7 racing near a beach on the south shore of the island. Proper racing was foreign to me, so it didn't occur to me the RX-7 could have even been racing legally. Nevertheless, my interest piqued and I blasted down to the beach.

Dumbfounded and not sure what I was seeing, I had stumbled onto the first autocross of my life. Shyly observing from afar, I watched in awe as a gorgeous 1993 Mazda RX-7 took a lap. It was surreal. A year later, college classmates talked me into racing at a drag strip in south Florida. Discouraged with the far-from-neck-snapping-acceleration, I was encouraged by other drag racers to try my hand at autocross.

Despite the overwhelming urge to sleep in, I managed to peel myself from my bed on a Sunday morning to head to my first SCCA competition. I wasn't fast, but the experience was fun and the people were nice. I kept racing throughout college and continued upon returning home to New York, building great friendships based on a mutual passion for speed and cars.

Cars came and went from my garage until I finally found my RX-7. Now driving an RX-7 of my own, it didn't take long to finally meet the owner of that RX-7 from years back. We'd share tuning and maintenance stories and tips. Shortly after, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting his co-driver and daughter, Elena. We're married now and raising two car-crazy boys of our own. For the time being, they only drive Power Wheels, but we hope one day they, too, can reap the rewards of friendship and adrenaline that the SCCA so seamlessly delivers for its members. Thanks, SCCA, for my family.