Loss of WDCR Member Stephen Spector

We lost Steve Spector, a former Tech Chief and Driving Instructor. He was passed on Friday (9 February) at the Vally Health Hospital in Winchester, Virginia. Steve's history with the SCCA and Tech group dates back to the days of racing at Marlborough Raceway in Maryland. 

Steve has always been an active and involved sportsman. He spent a great deal of time working with Loudoun West and Fairfax Hunts, helping with foxhounds, horses, and hunting. He was known and respected in the hunting field as an excellent rider. 

Steve became active again with the SCCA around 2011 when he stepped in to help out with the Road Racing Tech program. He also became involved with our Track Events PDX/HPDE events as a Tech and Instructor. 

In our sometimes-long conversations, Steve and I discovered we had served at the same base in Vietnam at the same time. We never met there and didn’t find out until one of us mentioned having been to Phu Cat. That conversation was nearly 20 years ago. Stevewas active with Mercedes Autocross at the time and helped me get involved. When we needed some help in the Tech shed and he agreed to help out, I found out he had worked as a SCCA Tech at Marlborough in the 60s.

One of his favorite activities was to instruct driving on track. He spent every moment he could on-track and volunteering for any driving adventure when Summit Point would bring in factory cars for filming or testing. He especially loved teaching students how to really drive.

Quick to help, good with advice, and a sharp observer, one of the good guys.

—Wayne Armbrust

Loss of WDCR Member Dale Ferril

Dale finally lost his battle with Cancer this morning.    

 Dale has been a fixture in the Region at since the early 80s, if not longer. His many awards, or at least the ones we can find, include:

Novice flagger of the year in 1984, recipient of 110% awards in F&C, including the Trial Blazer Award in 1986 & 1989. Flagman of the year in 1985 & 2007. He was a founding member of the Bald Flaggers of America and, more recently, the Pit Worker of the year for 2022. He served a brief stint as the DC Region Flag Chief and was the Asst Flag Chief for Numerous PCA Race Weekends at Summit Point.

Dale was also a decent driver with numerous Win and Place awards from the MARRS Series. 

 He also served as the World Karting Assn. National Road Race Starter for 4 years, and more recently, he has been at Summit Point as a Flagger and Jack of all Trades. 

 We’ll grab our flags and go back out on station because that’s what he would have wanted. 

Please stay tuned as we wait for more information on arrangements. We do know there will be a Celebration of Life come Spring.

Loss of Matthew Yip, WDCR Member since 1995

We have lost Matthew Yip. In those words, a much larger picture is drawn. Matt was one of the key members of the Region that made things happen in the background that we often take for granite. He joined the SCCA and the WDC Region in 1995. His contributions began from the start and continued up until Monday the 15th.

Driver Rep, Club Racing Committee, Pit & Grid, among involvement in fund raising, helping everyone around him, building cars and a career all at the same time. Part of that career was to join OG Racing in supply and sales of racing equipment. If you remember an event program called PDX, Matt was a key figure in creating and developing the program we know known as HPDE. In the process, he took the steps to become proficient and licensed in Time Trials Safety Steward, Time Trials Competition Director, Tome Trials Technical Inspector, Time Trials and Track Events Driver Coach, and Time Trials Event Lead.

Matthew’s friendship and humor knew no bounds, he was open to helping everyone, often offering sage advice in forms of comments of wisdom.

Friends of Matt are working hard on helping sort things out and organize services at an appropriate time and venue. We will post any information as it develops and is released.

Loss of Long-time WDCR Member, Bob Cage

Long time DC Region member Bob Cage passed away yesterday - the following is his wife Jackie's message from Facebook:

"Bob always insisted on checking in everywhere we went, so here is his new location {Heaven} . He passed away very peacefully yesterday afternoon at the Hospice Center. The memorial service will be held at the Calvary United Methodist Church, 403 S. Main St, Mt Airy on Sat Nov 6 at 11am. At a later date there will be a Celebration of Life in Milford at EasySpeak, his favorite go to place. Thank you all for your prayers, calls, cards and most of all your living thoughts. Feel free to reach out to us via his phone. Live to all. Jackie."

Bob was a racer (Mazda pre-Miata) - held Regional F&C and National Start licenses. Many of us will fondly remember Bob's waving Checker with a thumbs-up from the Summit Point Start Stand. He'd been a DC Region member since 1995.

Bob had been fighting cancer with courage and grace.

Loss of longtime WDCR Member, Tom Hoffman

One of the difficult things we have to deal with as we make so many friends and as member of what we have come to affectionately know as our "track family," is the eventual loss of those we have learned to look up . Ours is a unique relationship in a family of hundreds from all across the region and country.

Today's news is of one such stalwart example of our best. Tom Hoffman has passed the checked flag. A member of SCCA and the Washington DC Region since January of 1984, he came to serve as one of the best know and leading SCCA Stewards in the Nation. An English teacher in his real life, translated to careful and clear communications in teaching and stewardship and training in administration of various Steward programs. He shared the job as the Straightpipe Newsletter Editor along with his wife Jeannie for several years.

To know Tom was an easy friend to make and to count on. He kept the ship on a steady course.

Wayne Armbrust, Region Executive
WDCR-SCCA

Howard Liebengood Jr, 2000 Motorola Cup ST class champion, has passed away

Howard Liebengood Jr., the 2000 Motorola Cup ST class champion, has died at the age of 51. Liebengood, who raced actively through the early 2000s, joined the U.S. Capitol Police in 2005 and took part in the defense of Capitol Hill during Wednesday’s riot in Washington D.C. which claimed the lives of four insurrectionists and one police officer. More at the Washington Post.

STEPHEN WHITE (1937 - 2020), passed away March 5, 2020

An excerpt from his obituary

“Anyone who knew Steve knew he had an enthusiastic love of cars. Racing them, working on them, going to car shows and events, and collecting them. Over his lifetime he found others that shared his passion. This circle of "car" people was always growing and he cared deeply for many of them.”

Viewing March 10th and service March 11.

Details and locations for his viewing and service are on Legacy.com