Survey | MotorsportReg.com

Thank you for taking part in the 2024 VRG Election Process. The VRG Board consists of nine Directors. Each year, three of the nine are elected to a three-year term. 

Each Director is limited to serving three consecutive terms, i.e. a total of nine years. A Nominating Committee, consisting of one Director and two club members at large, solicits candidates from our club membership. Once the Election of Directors is complete, the nine Directors will meet and chose the Club Officers for the upcoming year from among their ranks.

For the 2024 Election (for the term of 2024-2026), the candidates are as follows:

Incumbent:

John Wood

I’ve been vintage racing since 2011 and have raced a 1972 BMW 2002, 1956 Healey 100-4, and a 1968 Porsche 911.  VRG has been the place for me with its diverse membership base and strong focus on safe racing.    I’ve served on VRG’s Drivers Committee, have been an instructor at VRG’s Novice Licensing school and have served on the VRG Board for the last three years.   When I started racing, I did not expect to meet so many good people who have become great friends.   When I’m not at the track, I may be found motoring in a 1954 Austin Healey that I restored myself, or a 1985 Vanagon along with my dogs. 

New Candidates:

Matthew Barbour

I have always had a love of cars but the racing bug bit me about 8 years ago.  Since then, I have been a member of VRG for over 7 years and have raced at numerous events including The Glen, Wild Hare, the Jeff, PVGP, NJMP, and Lime Rock to name a few.  I currently race an Historic Formula Ford but have added an MGB GT so that I can also run with the tin-tops.  I have served on the Drivers Committee on multiple occasions and was the Co-Chair of the Watkins Glen event in 2022 and I am tackling that role again this year.  You can always find me in our paddock with my parents Jeff and Karen and my wife Amanda as we are a family racing team. 

In my off-track life, I am co-owner and CEO of Office Service Co headquartered in Reading, PA.  Our company is rapidly approaching its 100 year anniversary and we have expanded operations to service our clients both nationally and internationally. 

I believe that my work ethic in my professional life as well as my leadership experience would be an asset to VRG while the club moves into the next phase of its growth and development.  I would love to see the club continue to grow by attracting new talent to our membership and events while giving the best possible user experience to our customers, whom are ultimately, you, our racers. 

Tom Leavy

As a member since 2011, I have served on the Drivers Committee, and have volunteered as an instructor with the Drivers School for a number of years. Like many of our members, I have also recruited my son into the Club. I believe in giving back, and if chosen to serve on the VRG Board, putting the best interests of our members would be my top priority.

Mike Moore

My racing career begin in 2013 when I joined VRG and took the school. I drive a red TR4 in medium bore. It was a great decisions to go with VRG, as I have met some really good drivers and friends. I like the VRG’s attitude and rules regarding vintage racing. For the past two years I have been on the drivers committee as a way to give back to the organization and help keep the drivers aware of the rules and philosophies of the VRG, we want to make this a safe environment for all drivers. I am running for the board (because I was asked!) and so that I can learn more about how the VRG operates and keep it moving in the right direction.

Andrew Stein

The racing bug bit in 1969, with the Indy 500, and there is apparently no cure. I began vintage racing in 1985 with VSCCA, initially with an Elva Mk. V sports racer and later a Devin-bodied V8 powered special. I subsequently acquired a Merlyn Formula Ford, which I raced until its demise in 2017. That winter I restored a Crossle 35F and, more recently, a basket-case Merlyn 11A. An early member of VRG, I didn’t become involved other than as a participant until 2015, when I was invited to join the small circle of organizers of the Formula Ford Challenge Series (FFCS). My profession was helpful; as Director of Operations in a family retail business, I understood the primacy of customer service and listening, to customers and co-workers alike, as the basis for refinement in product and procedure that would yield successful outcomes. The skills I acquired are similar to those required to be a productive VRG board member. For example, nothing accomplished in FFCS could have been done without exceptional teamwork and collaboration, all under the aegis of VRG.

Since “timing out” of the FFCS Executive Committee after 6 years I’ve been part of the VRG Driver’s Committee, a volunteer at the Driver’s School, a representative of the FFCS to the VRG Board of Directors and participated on a few VRG ad-hoc subcommittees. Addressing “big picture” concerns is what makes our club arguably the pre-eminent volunteer vintage racing club in America. Track flagging changes, rising external costs, attracting new active members and the decreasing appeal of racing to volunteers (the often-underappreciated backbone of our activities) all require consideration and solutions that are strategically, tactically and practically sound. I am prepared to devote my time and effort to address these issues and others and ask for your support.

Jeff Tapolci

My name is Jeff Tapolci (pronounced Tap-ole-sigh). I have been racing since 2015 when Keith Lawrence recruited me to take the VRG school. After the VRG school, I found a 1969 MGB that I purchased and drove. Later that year, Keith and I bought a 1975 Caldwell D-13 Formula Vee for our kids to use. In 2016 my son Zachary attended the VRG school in the D-13 and obtained his license later that year. In 2019, my other son Michael attended the VRG school and drove the MGB. We sold the MGB, and now he drives a 1967 Autodynamics MK V Formula Vee. I regularly race a 1962 Lotus Super Seven and a 1969 Lynx Formula Vee. I have also raced a Merlyn Formula Ford with FFCS and a 1993 Caracal Formula Vee with Challenge Cup/Drivers Cup. In addition to racing with VRG, I volunteer at the VRG Driver's School and am a member of the Driver's Committee. Most of my career has been operating a family business that invests and operates in technology. In my spare time, I love skiing, fitness, and photography.