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RACING SCENE column - By Tim Kennedy
LOS ANGELES – A Saturday, April 23 media conference took place in a 30,000 square foot building that houses Tom Malloy's impressive 60+ race car collection in Corona. (Riverside County). Courtney Crone, a 15-year old high-school freshman and graduate of junior speedway motorcycle racing, was present with her father Jack for the formal announcement of her 2016 racing scholarship. Malloy is the son of late 1950s Indy car owner Emmett Malloy, who sponsored Jimmy Reece in the Indy 500 from 1953-55. Tom attended races with his father and also has been a long-time auto racing sponsor, including Rocky Moran in Indy Cars. Tom is Courtney's 2016 financial backer. She will wear a green/black fire-suit with Malloy's Trench Shoring firm displayed prominently.
Lyn St. James, the 1992 Indianapolis 500 rookie of the year and seven-time Indy 500 starter with a P.11 finish, was present and announced the 2016 award recipients. She also raced in nine CART and five IRL races with a best finish of eighth. Lyn's stat sheet also shows she raced in 53 SCCA Trans Am races with seven top five finishes and in 62 IMSA GT races with six wins, 17 top fives and 37 top tens.
In 1994 Lyn founded Women in the Winner's Circle Foundation. Since its inception more than 230 women racers from five countries and 33 states have received program cash awards. Recipients include Danica Patrick, Erin Crocker, Melanie Troxel and Sarah Fisher. In 2007 Lyn's Winner's Circle Foundation announced the first ever scholarship fund for women race drivers. Diverse racing disciplines--go kart, quarter-midget, open-wheel midget/sprint car, drag and sports car racing--were included. Participants were encouraged to apply for the financial incentives to further their racing careers. To be eligible drivers must show proof of raising sponsorship equal to the scholarship amount.
A program goal is to teach drivers how to raise sponsorship funds and how to relate with sponsors. In 2013 the Winner's Circle Foundation combined resources with the Women's Sports Foundation. It established the Women's Sports Foundation Women in the Winner's Circle Project Podium Grant for Women in Motor-sports. All applications are reviewed by a panel under the leadership of Lyn. She
described her foundation that awards cash to assist female drivers advancement in motor racing.
Prior to the award presentation, almost 100 persons, including drivers Jimmy Oskie and Wally Pankratz, toured the premises. Visitors included event emcee Doug Stokes, a board member of Motor Press Guild, and numerous MPG members who later visited a Riverside museum. Stokes, Irwindale Speedway VP Communications, was the 2015 MPG Dean Batchelor Lifetime Achievement Award winner. Guests viewed the extensive race car collection of Indy roadsters and rear-engine cars, midgets, dirt track roadsters, sprint and sports cars, plus helmets, racing uniforms, photos and autographed racing memorabilia. The private Malloy collection is not open to the public.
The two 2016 racing scholarship recipients are Courtney Crone and Makala Marks, a 14-year old kart racer. Recipients of the $2,500 grant a year ago were: Norwegian Ayla Agren, 20, USF1600; Sabre Cook, 19, F1600; Taylor Ferns, 17, USAC open-wheel; McKenna Haase,18, Knoxville 305 sprint cars; Shea Holbrook, 23, SCCA sports cars; Hannah Newhouse, 16, SRL and NASCAR stock cars; Melissa Parks 30, AMA motorcycles, and Kristin Teager, 26, sports cars.
In 2015 Courtney won her first Focus midget feature at Ventura Raceway and finished second in Perris Auto Speedway Young Guns (ages 14-25) 360 sprint car point standings. At the half-mile clay PAS she won the last three 360 Young Gun features, including the final 2015 race and the first two 2016 events. She started racing at age 4 in karts and quarter midgets prior to two-wheel speedway racing. Her stated goal is to race in the Indianapolis 500.
Courtney's ambitious and versatile 2016 racing plans including races on both paved and dirt tracks. Her March-November schedule shows 26 races including nine 360 sprint cars, 14 USAC midgets, and three SCCA Formula Mazda races at the Buttonwillow road course near Bakersfield. She also will have three BCRA midget races at paved Madera Speedway. Clay speedways on her itinerary include visits to Perris, Placerville, Bakersfield, Ventura, Hanford, Petaluma, Calistoga, Chico, Santa Maria and Tulare.
Her three car owners and several of her race cars were present for the April 23 scholarship announcement. Her 2016 car owners are: Ventura resident Steve Watt, USAC 360 Maxim sprint car No. 81, El Monte's Jerome Rodela, USAC No. 25 dirt and paved track midgets, and Bakersfield's Ed Lever, SCCA Formula Mazda No. 35. Jerome uses Ed Pink Toyota engines and has a Gerhardt chassis for paved tracks and a Breka (New Zealand) midget for Courtney's use on dirt. Malloy owns Ed Pink Racing Engines, Inc. and builds current engines and engines for vintage cars. Courtney and Jerome plan to enter the USAC Turkey Night GP on November 24 in Ventura.
Lyn, who has raced sports cars in the 24-Hours of LeMans, Daytona 24, Nurburgring 24, and Sebring 12-Hours races, spoke about the Women's Sports Foundation Women in the Winner's Circle Project Podium. The innovative financial grant program was created by the Women in the Winner's Circle Foundation in 2007 with a $10,000 donation from Paul Newman's Own Foundation to support and further the careers of talented young women in racing.
In two years $56,400 was distributed to 11 female drivers. In 2013 the fund was transferred to the Women's Sports Foundation (a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization) with $100,000 for use in all sports. The goal is to grow the fund and the support it provides. A grant review committee selects each recipient from a list of qualified applicants annually on a matched-funds basis. Project Podium is the natural progression to assist talented female drivers advance in motor-sports. Partners include Toyota, VW, Mazda, Rolex, IMSA, NHRA, Indy Car, and Paul Newman's Own Foundation.
Malloy's Trench Shoring business is located in a separate building near his race car collection. It has nine locations in California and one in North Las Vegas. The firm employees more than 200 persons. Tom has three employees working full-time on his 60+ race car collection. They are led by chief mechanic/restorer Marc Hart, a retired midget and sprint car driver.
Tom drives nearly all of his vintage race cars in VARA and WRA vintage car rallies and on-track events at speedways such as Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. He also has run them at Goodwood and they have been on loan to museums. Tom drives his Lister-Jaguar and Lister-Chevy in historic sports car events and rallies. His business card has a photo of Tom in his No. 18 Lister-Jag at speed.
Tom said he will be taking some of his vintage Indy 500 cars to the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 in May 2016. They include the No. 76 Weinberger Homes A. J. Watson roadster, a Miller/Novi-Ford, and perhaps the Burd Piston Rings Special. With Tom's love and care for the history of open-wheel racing, any car he brings to Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be in pristine condition and able to log demonstration laps on the track.
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