2019 HALL OF FAME CLASS

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In 1959, Butch Deer took his drivers school at State Fair Park in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Four years later he bought his first Formula Vee, a Formcar and debuted it at Meadowdale International Raceway in Carpentersville, Illinois. After joining the Sports Car Club of America he drove in the first of 30 June Sprints races at Road America. In 1969 he drove in the World Championship of Formula Vees in Daytona Beach, Florida. 1970 marked a staple year for Butch. Butch and his business partner Ron Ruttenberg started Deer Ruttenberg Enterprises (DRE). DRE 1969 began prepping Formula Vees, provided parts, supplies, tires, advice for others to support their racing habit. They soon expanded their business add began selling safety equipment. Butch was an advisor on the Formula Vee Birthday Party Race for the 20th25th,30th,35th,40th and the 45th anniversaries. Through his extensive career in Formula Vee many awards came along. In, 1990-1991 he received Jerry Knapp award and Pete Sharland award for service to FV. In 2000, Deer and Ruttenberg received the Governor’s Cup at the June Sprints presented by former Wisconsin Governor, Tommy Thompson, for contributing to Wisconsin tourism by promoting FV events at Road America. In 2017, he was inducted into the Central Division SCCA Hall of Fame. After fifty-eight consecutive years Formula Vee racing he retired in 2018.

The saga of legendary FV business Noble Racing began in 1968 when Bill Noble, a car mechanic in Manhattan, Kansas, accepted a Formula Vee (FV) Form Car for a $500 debt. 

Since then, Noble's customers have won 25 SCCA National Championships and Series Championships, including the Valvoline ProVee Series. Countless drivers past and present described Bill as both their fiercest competitor and most encouraging mentor. His at-track services were legendary, and he insured a level playing field with the standing offer to let customers have the engine out of his car anytime. This resulted in him winning the the Road Racing Drivers Club Mark Donohue Award when, after qualifying first at the Championship Runoffs, he took the engine out of his car, gave it to a customer, put a back up engine in and went out and won his third championship.

As for his personal on-track successes, Noble was a five-time national champion in Formula Vee; he was the first Vee driver to ever win that many golds. Noble’s trademark #00 red, white and blue Vee, sponsored by Valvoline Oil racked up 13 podium finishes in 35 years of Runoffs participation. He also won the IMSA Pro Vee Series championship in 1976 and the Valvoline ProVee Series championship in 1994. He raced abroad in South Africa as an ambassador of American FV racing.  Bill’s peers have recognized his incredible contribution to the class, the club and the sport with honors including induction in the SCCA Hall of Fame. His fellow competitors gave him the Jerry Knapp award in recognition of his competitiveness, sportsmanship and contribution to the FV class and the Formula Vee Drivers Association’s highest honor, the Sharland Memorial Trophy, for outstanding contribution to FV. In 2019 the State of Kansas Senate introduced a resolution honoring Bill’s many achievements. The Kansas Region voted into existence the Bill Noble Award to recognize his life-long impact on SCCA. The award goes to drivers who show superior driving skills and mechanical ability. After selling the engine company to his chief mechanic Chris Cox, customers still compete in Vintage, Regional, National and Club series across the United States with the name Noble Engines by Cox.