Rich Wesorick
Enthusiast
Texas dentist Dr. Deborah Loth made it a “Weekend of Firsts” this past weekend as she won the first T1 race of 2002 in the SCCA’s Midwest Division at Hallett Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 14th. Dr. Loth, who earned her National license near the end of last year after winning several Regional T1 races, drove her yellow No. 23 Bobby Archer Motorsports / ViperSpeed Viper to a new track record of 1:25.5, breaking the previous T1 record of 1:26.3 set by her mentor, Bobby Archer, in 2001. Speaking of 2001, it was at the Hallett track last year that Deborah set her first track record (only to be broken a day later by Archer) and won her first Regional race.
Dr. Loth started her weekend off with a bang by taking the pole for the T1 race, despite a slick track in the morning due to rain overnight. According to the Chief Steward, it was the first ever pole for a female driver in a National race at Hallett. The race which included the T1 field started shortly after lunch on Sunday afternoon, with a total of 19 cars from eight different classes. Loth got a good jump at the start of the race and never looked back. She had driven the Hallett track before and this experience, combined with a well set-up car, helped her quickly distance herself from the rest of the field. Loth began encountering lap traffic fairly early on in the race and found her biggest challenge in the race was to quickly and safely negotiate her way through the slower cars, which she did like a seasoned veteran. By the time the race was over, Dr. Loth had a commanding 30 second lead over the second place T1 Corvette Z06 of fellow Texan and SCCA Run-Offs competitor Kevin Mixon. When the Chief Steward brought her the checkered flag for her victory lap, he told Deborah she was the first-ever female driver to win a National race at Hallett - a perfect culmination to her “Weekend of Firsts”!
Dr. Loth’s decision to compete in the SCCA’s Midwest Division this year looks like a good move as she is now the points leader in the division. Next up for Dr. Loth will be a few ViperDays club races, starting with Mid-Ohio on April 26 and then the new Mid-America Motorplex in Omaha, NE on May 18-19. Loth will resume T1 competition in the Midwest Division later in May, and also plans to compete in both the SCCA June Sprints at Road America and the newly-announced SCCA Grand Prix of Texas at Texas Motor Speedway in July. More information on Dr. Loth and her progress throughout the 2002 race season can be found at www.bobbyarchermotorsports.com and www.viperspeed.com.
Dr. Loth started her weekend off with a bang by taking the pole for the T1 race, despite a slick track in the morning due to rain overnight. According to the Chief Steward, it was the first ever pole for a female driver in a National race at Hallett. The race which included the T1 field started shortly after lunch on Sunday afternoon, with a total of 19 cars from eight different classes. Loth got a good jump at the start of the race and never looked back. She had driven the Hallett track before and this experience, combined with a well set-up car, helped her quickly distance herself from the rest of the field. Loth began encountering lap traffic fairly early on in the race and found her biggest challenge in the race was to quickly and safely negotiate her way through the slower cars, which she did like a seasoned veteran. By the time the race was over, Dr. Loth had a commanding 30 second lead over the second place T1 Corvette Z06 of fellow Texan and SCCA Run-Offs competitor Kevin Mixon. When the Chief Steward brought her the checkered flag for her victory lap, he told Deborah she was the first-ever female driver to win a National race at Hallett - a perfect culmination to her “Weekend of Firsts”!
Dr. Loth’s decision to compete in the SCCA’s Midwest Division this year looks like a good move as she is now the points leader in the division. Next up for Dr. Loth will be a few ViperDays club races, starting with Mid-Ohio on April 26 and then the new Mid-America Motorplex in Omaha, NE on May 18-19. Loth will resume T1 competition in the Midwest Division later in May, and also plans to compete in both the SCCA June Sprints at Road America and the newly-announced SCCA Grand Prix of Texas at Texas Motor Speedway in July. More information on Dr. Loth and her progress throughout the 2002 race season can be found at www.bobbyarchermotorsports.com and www.viperspeed.com.
