Emilio Lopata has always loved anything with an engine. The Bellingham resident grew up with vehicles ranging from classic American cars to snowmobiles, and when he moved to the city during the COVID-19 pandemic, acquainting himself with local car culture was a priority.
In doing so, Lopata found and joined the Chuckanut Sports Car Club (CSCC), a local organization of motorsports enthusiasts that began in 1956. It is likely the longest-existing club of its kind in Whatcom County, with a current membership of about 120 people. Many of its events draw 30 to 40 attendees, including Canadians.
“CSCC is full of some of the nicest, most approachable and eager-to-help people I’ve ever met, and it makes attending and hosting events incredibly fun,” says Lopata, now the club’s chair for autocross events.
Autocross – a time trial-based activity in which a single car navigates a cone-based course set up on a paved surface (often a parking lot) – is the club’s primary focus, says Alex Howard, current CSCC president. Howard says the club was once more rally-focused but has always adapted its events based on membership interest.
In addition to autocross, the club currently holds “gymkhana” events. This form of motorsport also uses cone-based courses but is exclusive to rear-wheel drive vehicles and often necessitates more sliding, drifting and other maneuvers than in a typical autocross course.
No Sports Car Required for Chuckanut Sports Car Club
While CSCC once was made up primarily of professional and business people who could afford the Jaguars, Austin-Healeys and Alfa Romeos of their era, today’s CSCC involves folks from all walks of life.
Owning a sports car isn’t even a requirement. In fact, Howard says current members race everything from a Porsche 911 to an electric Nissan Leaf, with many vehicles also serving as someone’s daily driver.
“The only requirement (to compete) is that the car can’t be a roll-over risk,” Howard says. “So no big, tall trucks or vans. It needs to be something that’s safe at speed.”
Howard races his 1983 Toyota Corolla, while Lopata often drives a 1988 Toyota Celica Turbo with four-wheel drive. Lopata heavily modified the car himself and even crafted custom-made parts for it.
“I occasionally ask others from the club to give me a hand because, to me, cars are a means to connect with others,” Lopata says. “CSCC is special because we are such a close group of people that we share our cars with each other at every event.”
In addition to monthly racing events, the club holds monthly meetings at local restaurants, where members vote on activities, budgets and club officers. Every other month, members also meet for fun social activities, like go-karting, miniature golf, or ultimate Frisbee.
The only requirement for CSCC membership is a passion for cars, Howard says, with dues running $30 annually. Those competing in racing events will need a couple more things: a valid driver’s license and a certified helmet. Members also get $10 off the fee for each autocross event, which otherwise costs $60 a day.
Chuckanut Sports Car Club’s Longevity and Location
The club’s oldest members are in their 70s, and some have been part of CSCC for 40 years, Howard says. Some of those have long since traded racing helmets for bench racing but still love to socialize and be part of the club.
And over the decades, the club has weathered a lot without folding: the 1970s oil crisis, the shifting locations in which they could operate, and even the 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens, which prematurely ended a multi-day regional rally competition in which members were competing.
The club also survived the 2020 pandemic and was – due to its outdoor, socially-distanced nature – able to resume activity early in Washington’s phased re-opening.
CSCC has held autocross events in numerous spots throughout the years, including parking lots at Bellingham Technical College and a Port of Bellingham lot adjacent to the old Georgia-Pacific pulp mill. Events were also held at Thomas Glenn Way before waterfront development led to the current Bellwether Way and up near the Mount Baker Ski Area.
Along with the assistance of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA)’s Northwest Region, CSCC members also once formed the Bellingham Grand Prix Association to hold autocross events on the streets of downtown Bellingham in 1988 and 1989.
For the last seven or eight years, CSCC autocross events have taken place in an overflow parking lot off Sound Way near Bellingham International Airport. The club has a recurring weekend lease of the spot through the Port of Bellingham, but Howard says they’ve been informed a warehouse may be built on the lot sooner than later.
“We’re on the hunt for a new site,” he says. “Once we lose this site, we’ll be without a place to host our autocross events. We’re stewards of the club, and we’d love to keep it going.”
A full schedule of 2025 events can be found on the CSCC website.
