Binks Is Little Known; Her Clout Isn’t

When women are mentioned in the motor racing world, the names Shirley Muldowney, Lyn St. James and Janet Guthrie might come to mind first. All are drivers. More likely, the one most often mentioned would be Linda Vaughn, the trophy queen.

But Marge Binks of San Diego might have accomplished more for women than any of the others.

She is the newly elected chairman of the board of directors for the Sports Car Club of America, the 55,000-member organization that sanctions more than 2,000 amateur and professional motorsports events each year.

Binks, matriarch of a racing family, succeeds Carl Haas, co-owner of the Newman-Haas Indy car team. She is the first woman to hold the position in the SCCA’s 51-year history and is believed to be the first to hold such a high office in any major motor sports organization.

“I look at the SCCA as a club of people, and it will be my task to balance the wishes of the people with the budget,” she said. “And to keep a balance between all the parts of the club--the rally, solo and amateur club racing as well as the pro division. I want to work toward unity within the club, but I also want to give every member the opportunity to be heard.

“I should be able to handle another balancing act after years of balancing my family, my career and my racing habit. It’s a lot easier when your whole family is immersed in racing.”

Binks met her husband, Phil, at a race at Del Mar. He was a club racer and now competes in vintage events as well as serving as a starter at national championship races. Her son, Dan, has worked with car builder Jack Roush for nine years and is crew chief for Tom Kendall’s Trans-Am car. Son-in-law Brad Filbey works on Chip Ganassi’s Indy car team crew. Daughter Catherine is a former racer. Daughter Molly is a past board member for the Cal Club.

A nationally recognized chief steward, Binks has twice been race chairman at the Long Beach Grand Prix and held the same position for six years at the Del Mar road races. Last year, she worked at 29 races throughout the country in various capacities.

“I went to my first race on Labor Day weekend in 1959 at Santa Barbara, and I’ve been going to races ever since,” she said.

The SCCA consists of 11 areas, each of which elects a board member. The 11 board members elect the chairman. Binks, the first woman elected to the board four years ago, represents the Southern Pacific area, which includes Southern California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii.

As chairman, she and the board will set policy for the day-to-day operation of the club, which is administered in Englewood, Colo., by Nick Craw, former director of the Peace Corps; and Dan Greenwood, former president of Riverside International Raceway.

Greenwood, who joined the SCCA this year to head its pro racing division, remembers Binks from 1988, his last year at Riverside.

“When we had races where Marge Binks was involved, she always seemed to be the person in charge, the person everyone turned to when there was a problem,” Greenwood said. “She is definitely a people person who carries a good deal of authority, but at the same time is easy to talk to.”

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Motor Racing Notes

ALL-AMERICANS--Driver of the year Dale Earnhardt, Indy car champion Al Unser Jr. and drag racing funny car champion John Force head a 12-driver team selected by the American Auto Racing & Broadcasters Assn. One unexpected selection was rookie Jacques Villeneuve in the Indy car category. The Canadian won only one race but was chosen over Emerson Fittipaldi, runner-up to Unser in the PPG Cup series; and Paul Tracy, a three-race winner. Jeff Gordon, winner of the Brickyard 400, was another surprise as a stock car selection over Rusty Wallace, who won eight races.

Other selections: Scott Pruett, Steve Millen, road racing; Don Prudhomme, drag racing; Steve Kinser, Tony Stewart, short track; and Rod Millen, Steve Robertson, at large. The Millens are the first brothers selected since Rick and Roger Mears in 1991.

AWARDS--Scott Parker, five-time Grand National dirt track champion, was named American Motorcyclist Assn. professional athlete of the year. . . . Jim Smith, a Buena Park wheel manufacturer, was named off-road man of the year by SCORE International. Smith, 47, won the trophy-truck division of the Baja 1000. . . . Dave Turner of Hemet, driving a Mitsubishi Eclipse, won the production class of the SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally series.

NECROLOGY--Scotty Cain, who drove for more than 25 years in Southern California jalopy, sprint car, midget and stock car races, died of cancer last week at his home in Fresno. Cain, 74, was dubbed “the redoubtable Scotty Cain” by Dick Lane when the Jalopy Derby was a weekly event on television. Cain raced with Parnelli Jones, Jim Hurtubise, Nick Valenta, Bob Hogle and Allan Heath on local tracks in the 1950s and ‘60s. . . . Dean Batchelor, 72, a dry-lakes hot-rod racing pioneer and nationally renowned automotive journalist, died of a heart attack Nov. 21 at his home in Woodland Hills.