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Jane Thurmond Wins USCA Portland K&N Spirit of the Events Award and is going to OUSCI
Jane Thurmond is soaring high after her OUSCI Invite this past weekend. Jane, who has been co-sharing driving duties with her husband Greg and their ’64 bright red corvette named Scarlett, has had quite a journey over the past 6 months. Jane has gotten pretty serious about racing recently and her time in the driver’s seat is definitely paying off. Here is a glimpse since January of 2014 of Jane’s journey.
Jane is no stranger to an autocross. She has been running in the Goodguys Autocross for the past couple years in a 1964 Corvette. There’s not too many people like Jane Thurmond. When I first met her a couple years ago at Goodguys Del Mar, her energy, spirit and positive attitude could fill a room. Her outlook while initially getting started in our sport was also inspiring. Running towards the bottom of the pack, Jane did not let her position or the fact that she took out half the Goodguys course discourage her from coming back. In fact it did the opposite. She became determined to prove that she had what it took to be on top.
Greg and Jane rolled out Scarlett at the 2014 Goodguys Del Mar Autocross in April. Greg was already in Pro Class with the car, meaning that no matter how well Jane did in the Street Machine Category, per Goodguys’ rules she could not place. Jane’s driving was some of the best that weekend and she managed to remain in first all Friday. Though Jane was not eligible to move into Pro Class at any Goodguys Events, she still used her time wisely out on course. Jane knew that seat time would pay off in the upcoming months; though she probably had no idea just how great the rewards would be.
Greg made an important decision to put Jane behind the wheel of Scarlett at the USCA Fontana event in June. Unfortunately, Jane would miss her chance at victory once again when Scarlett broke on day 2 during the track portion. Though disappointed, Jane still maintained a positive attitude, which was noticed among many.
From her amazing personality to great sense of humor, I honestly do not know how Jane keeps such a high spirit. After breaking at USCA, Jane was more determined than ever to go back out and prove herself. We followed her journey through social media where she had a one-on-one Facebook chat with herself about what she needed to do to win. According to her husband, Jane’s post wasn’t quite accurate, but you can clearly see her sense of humor here.
That motivational self-chat on Facebook worked. One week after breaking at USCA, Jane won at the NMCA Fontana Event. Both she and Greg walked away with awards proving that Scarlett was running better than ever and these two drivers were unstoppable.
As USCA Portland neared, the Thurmonds got ready to load Scarlett and head out to Portland Raceway. Little did Jane, but all her effort throughout the course of the year were finally about to pay off. Jane and Scarlett ran strong throughout the weekend and though they were not in first, Jane’s attitude was greatly noticed.
Maybe it was Jane’s fantastic personality or maybe it was her struggles throughout the course of the year. Maybe those decisions maker’s for the award had been watching Jane’s journey all along. Whatever it was, Jane Thurmond truly deserved the K&N Spirit of the Event Award this past weekend.
Jane Thurmond, Congratulations! You should be very proud of yourself. We hope you can continue to inspire more people to come out to these events. We can’t wait to see you in three months at the Optima Ultimate Streetcar Invitational in Vegas.
