Detroit Region SCCA

At the finish of chairman and rallymaster Scott Harvey’s Son of Sno*Drift rallies, after presenting the event awards, Scott likes to recognize the special contributions of someone in the Region’s rally community for their time and efforts. This year Scott chose to honor longtime member Ken Wiedbusch for his enormous contributions not to just rally, but to the Region generally.

Ken is the Region’s Equipment Manager. He maintains all of the timing equipment necessary for open controls in rallies: checkpoint clocks, pneumatic hose triggers, cabling, signage and stands. There are multiple sets of each, enough for any one event plus some spares. Ken makes it to every rally, bringing all that equipment with him, ensuring that it’s working and ready for crews to use, setting and syncing up the checkpoint clocks, and collecting it all at the rally’s end. In addition, Ken keeps the ‘rally box’ – the portable case that contains all of the documents a rallymaster needs for his or her event – fully up to date and filled.

Ken checking his own lighting equipment before plunging into the night at 2008 Press On Regardless.

But Ken doesn’t do this work for just rally. He also maintains the timing equipment for autocross and rallycross, manages timing equipment for the Empire Hill Climb and Formula SAE, and in his spare time help keeps the Region’s Fun Mover and trailer available and ready for use. And, oh yeah – he also manages the fire extinguishers used for the Detroit Grand Prix. Whew.

So, in Ken’s honor, Scott created a special Son of Sno* award, featuring a quite convincing Hot Wheels-based replica of Ken’s 1965 Corvette that he stage rallied in the mid-70s, shown below:

Wiedbusch in the ’65 Corvette rally car at the 1976 Marquette 1000 (photo by Tom Buckhoe)

This was a highly unusual car for stage rallying. Tom Buckhoe, a Yooper photographer who has shot thousands of Michigan stage rally photos, had this to say about the Wiedbusch Corvette: “This is the only time I can ever recall seeing a Corvette used as a rally car, at least in northern Michigan. This is the Marquette 1000 in 1976, and the driver is Ken Wiedbusch of Royal Oak, Michigan, outside Detroit.” (you can click here to view September 2008 Hemmings Muscle Machines article on muscle cars in stage rallying in the 70s and 80s, featuring Ken’s rally ‘Vette) Ken contended with the rally ‘Vette in other rallies as well, including Sunriser 400 in Ohio and 20 Stages out of Grayling. So Scott has nicely captured a significant piece of Ken’s rally history in this award. Well done Scott, and congratulations Ken! Thanks for all you’ve done, and all you continue to do, to support Detroit Region’s motorsports!

That’s Ken Wiedbusch’s rally ‘Vette on his Son of Sno* Award!

Ken at the Hometown Inn in Indian River prior to the start of the 2018 Press On Regardless.