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| USAC WESTERN STATES AWARDS BANQUET HONORS 2007 RACERS - By Tim Kennedy |
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Arcadia, CA., Nov. 24 - The 25th annual USAC Western States Championship Awards Banquet Saturday night honored Midget and Sprint Car racers for their successful racing achievements during 2007 About 300 persons attended the dinner and award ceremonies in the connected Pasadena and San Gabriel Rooms of the Embassy Suites Hotel in Arcadia. A no-host cocktail hour at 6:00 p.m began festivities. Following welcoming remarks by Rollie Helmling, USAC President/CEO, and Tommy Hunt, USAC VP Western Operations, diners enjoyed prime rib or other selected dinners from the hotel kitchen at 7:30. Emcee Rob Klepper, of USAC media in Indianapolis, thanked the banquet committee of Janice Caves, Jeanie Hunt, Julie Shiosaki and Pat Johnson. He acknowledged five first time USAC champions--Ryan Kaplan (Lucas Oil Western Sprint Cars), Tony Jones (Lucas Oil CRA Sprint Cars), Ryan Burdett (Young Automotive Group Rocky Mountain Sprint Cars), Nic Faas (California Ford Focus Midgets Dirt Series) and Tim Savage (USAC/UMARA Utah Developmental Ford Focus Midget Cars). He added that two drivers in 2007 became repeat USAC champions: Johnny Rodriguez (Western Midgets) and Tim Skoglund (California Ford Focus Midgets Paved Series). USAC Western Series officials received USAC appreciation plaques as a group. Helmling said USAC conducted 289 races in 27 states during 2007 and 117 (40%) of the races were run in western states. He acknowledged the recently concluded successful three night of sprint car competition at the Perris Auto Speedway 12th-annual Oval Nationals with 68 USAC sprint cars competing; Midgets on the Phoenix International Raceway mile track started all 39 cars in the main event (a photo showed midgets six-wide at the backstretch dogleg); the Manzanita Speedway Western World Sprint Car Championship with Jerry Coons, Jr. coming from the back in a 27-car field to win Saturday's feature; the 67th running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Irwindale Speedway with 126 total USAC race cars-66 Midgets, 35 Sprint Cars and 25 Ford Focus Midgets-in the pits. Hunt noted that this year marks the 25th USAC Western States season and banquet. The first banquet was held at the Holiday Inn near the 405 freeway in Long Beach following the 1983 season. He said the USAC-CRA series fourth season produced 19 different feature winners in 39 races and had three five-time main event winners-champion Tony Jones, runner-up Mike Spencer and 2006 champion Cory Kruseman. Hunt also mentioned that this year racing lost two key men-Shav Glick, Los Angeles Time motor-sports writer, and Glenn Howard, a racer/businessman/innovator. He also mentioned that the USAC banquet for the Rocky Mountain Sprints and Utah Developmental Ford Focus Midget Series was held earlier this year and those awards were presented then. Emcee Klepper, the brother of now retired USAC Western Midget driver/family man Clay Klepper, introduced USAC Western racing promoters in the audience. They included Bobby Martin and Steve Dunn (Manzanita), Jim Naylor and Cliff Morgan (Ventura), Jay Agajanian (Turkey Night GP), John Condren (Altamont) and Frank Diaz (Hanford). Other persons of note received recognition as did all USAC contingency sponsors, including Hoosier Tires West, the banquet host. Josh Laughton He advised all award winners to have their photos with trophies or plaques taken by Debi Supan (speedmedianews.com) at the back wall of the banquet room. He said all champions will receive their 2007 championship rings later from USAC headquarters in Indianapolis. ANNUAL MEMORIAL AWARDS: The "Curly Merrill Let's Go Racing Award" to a contributor to the success of USAC and for making a significant contribution to USAC Western operations went to Ron Sutton. He operates the Winner's Circle Driver Development Program out of his shop in Folsom, CA. Each year Sutton recruits, trains and advances young auto racing drivers and he has advanced many drivers so far up the racing ladder. He has four Ford Focus Midgets in the Paved Series each year and even manufactured Winner's Circle chassis this season. Sutton was present in the hotel but an illness made him unable to attend the banquet. The Walt Johnson Memorial Achievement Award for outstanding support and dedication to USAC and the support of open wheel auto racing is named for the late USAC pit steward who succumbed four years ago. His widow Pat, a USAC Western Registrar, his son Walt, Jr., a USAC driver, and his teenage grandson Mitchell accompanied Bob Pool, USAC Western Chief Steward, made the presentation to a surprised Jerry Faas, the father of 2007 USAC FF Midget Dirt Champion Nic Faas. He thanked everyone responsible for the award and said his team will return to USAC racing in 2008. Driver Wally Pankratz presented the Joe Lynch Memorial Mechanical Achievement Award and credited Jeff Wahl, a former Midget driver, for originating the award in memory of the long-time USAC car owner who used No. 27 on his midgets. He called a surprised Duane McQueen forward to receive a replica of the perpetual trophy on which his name will be inscribed. Pankratz said the award goes to someone who operates with a small racing budget, builds and fabricates parts out of necessity. The winner said he was advised by his daughter to attend the USAC Western banquet, but he didn't know why. He said he is an ex-drag boat racer who has built engines for 20+ years. McQueen's daughter Shannon, races out of Bakersfield and finished fourth in 2007 USAC Western Midget final driver points; her No. 7 finished fifth in 2007 Western Midget car entrant final points. CALIFORNIA FORD FOCUS MIDGETS: Drivers who finished tenth through fourth in the separate Dirt and Paved FF Series were named and stood by their tables to applause by banquet attendees. FF Midget Rookie of the Year honors went to 16-year old Robby Josett, of Santa Clarita. He won on both dirt and paved tracks and had four feature victories. He finished seventh in the Dirt Series and tenth in the Paved Series final points. The top three drivers and top three entrants received large trophies and spoke at the podium. They were: P.3 Drivers--Nick Carlson (D) and Tom Dyer (P) & Entrants-Bill Carlson (D) and Charles Maier (P); P.2 Drivers-Dennis Howell (D) and Nic Faas (P) & Entrants-Dennis Howell (D): and Nic Faas (P); P.1 Drivers-Nic Faas (D) and Tim Skoglund (P) & Entrants-Nic Faas (D) and Gerhardt Racing (brothers Kent & Kevin Gerhardt). Howell also received the Hoosier Tire Most Improved FF Midget Driver trophy. WESTERN MIDGETS: MC Klepper said the Midget series ran 23 races and had 18 different winners with seven winners in the first seven races of 2007. Tenth through fourth place drivers and entrants were named individually and stood as a group by their tables to applause from the audience. K & N Engineering co-Rookies of the Year were Quintin Crye, 19, and fellow teen C. J. Sarna, son of driver John Sarna. Crye finished eighth in final points with 417. Sarna placed seventh with 430 points in the competitive series. The top three drivers and entrants received large trophies and spoke from the podium. They included: P.3 Driver--Matt Mitchell, the 20-year old also received the Hoosier Tire Most Improved Western Midget driver plaque. P.3 entrant-Nick Mitchell. P.2 Driver-Scott Pierovich, 19, and P.2 Entrant-his father Lance Pierovich, who accepted the Earl's Fast Qualifying $1,000 bonus; P.1 Driver-Johnny Rodriguez, the 2004 USAC Western Midget champion, had two feature victories back to back in Tuscon, AZ. May 26 and Quincy, CA. June 2., & P.1 Entrant-Mitchell Motorsports No. 87 Midget, which edged the Pierovich No. 35 by 16 points (846-830). LUCAS OIL WESTERN SPRINT CARS (360 cu. in.): Tenth through fourth place drivers and entrants in the paved track series were named individually and stood by their tables for group recognition. The top three drivers and entrants received large trophies and spoke at the podium. P.3 Driver-JoJo Helberg, 17, & P.3 Entrant-Ken Kaplan; P.2-Tony Hunt, the 2006 series champion, & P.2 Entrant-Alan Kaiser, who also received the Earl's Fastest Qualifying $1,000 bonus; P.1 Driver-Ryan Kaplan, the 21 year old Western Sprint Hoosier Tire Rookie of the Year. He called his crew chief and two crewmen to the podium and presented them appreciation plaques. Ryans's father Ken said with their team rookies in sprint cars after several seasons in Focus Midgets and Western Midgets he advised his son before each race to "Have fun". & P.1 Entrant-Michael Swanson. He said his sons Kody, 19, and Tanner, 16, drove his title-winning No. 17 and Bradley Galedrige drove it once when his two sons were unavailable. Swanson praised Jerry Crowell for his shock absorber expertise and advice to his new team that advanced from the Ford Focus Midget Series to Western Midgets and in 2007 to Western Sprints. LUCAS OIL CRA SPRINT CARS (410 cu. in.): The series ran 39 races with 19 feature winners. The competitive dirt track circuit had 11 different feature winners in the first 11 races, tying the 1984 USAC Super-Modified Division for most different winners at the start of a season. Tenth through fourth place drivers and entrants in final points were named and stood by their tables to applause from the audience. CRA Hoosier Tire Rookie of the Year honors went to Scotty Weir, who moved from his Marion, Indiana home to compete for a full season in a Glenn Crossno Chevy. He won two CRA features and finished fifth in final points. Weir, 22, said he is moving back home to Indiana to seek a ride and race more often in 2008. He thanked Crossno for providing a great car all year and said he does not like the "stomp and steer Gary Weir" nickname pinned on him by emcee Knepper. Hoosier Tire co-Most Improved CRA Drivers of 2007 named were double feature winners David Cardey (P.7 in final points with 1,284) and Blake Miller (P.9 in final points with 1,112). CRA Series officials Chris Morgan, Coordinator, and Steve Ostling, Chief Steward, came to the podium and presented large trophies to the top three drivers and top three entrants. PAS track announcers Scott Daloisio and Chris Holt interviewed them after they received trophies. P.3 Driver-Danny Sheridan. He said his big win this year was at Manzy and he regretted some wrecked cars and engine problems. & P.3 Entrant-Kittle Motorsports. Brian Kittle thanked his crew and his wife. P.2 Driver-Mike Spencer had five wins and eight seconds in main events. He thanked car owner Ron Chaffin, crew chief Bruce Bromme, Jr., Gary and Michael Tanaka and all his sponsors. & P.2 Entrant-Ron Chaffin of Madera, who was not present. P.1 Driver-Tony Jones, son of past CRA champion and one-time Indy 500 starter Bubby Jones, had five main event wins (one at Las Vegas and four at Perris). Jones said a broken collarbone caused him to miss one race and he thanked Cory Kruseman for subbing for him in that race to keep his Alexander Trucking team in the entrants point lead. He thanked his wife Tammy "for six years of crap from me". He thanked all the sponsors of the Alexander No. 4 and said he appreciates being able to give the Alexander brothers their first championship after 16 years in racing. He said he flipped down the PAS backstretch at a race and tore up the front end of his car. "My hard working crew repaired it (during the red flag) and we went out and finished seventh." Jones praised Lance Jennings for all his SCRAFAN.COM support. Jones thanked Larry Henry, his first sprint car owner and current job boss for all his help over the years. He recalled people like Glenn Howard we lost this year. The new champion then thanked all teams, fans, wives and moms. He said ten years ago he drank beer and now he drinks coffee. Jones concluded by quoting President Theodore Roosevelt about competing in the arena, plus victory & defeat. Jones advised young drivers that those are words to live by, adding "you always have critics. Stay strong and keep trying harder." & P.1 Entrant-Mark and Steve Alexander. Mark thanked his sponsors, crew and everyone. Brother Steve, an ex-TQ-Midget driver, was unable to attend, but he received the Lincoln Electric Western Mechanical Achievement Award. At the conclusion of the two-hour awards portion of the banquet, Hunt and Helmling presented the 2007 USAC Western race organizer of the year award to Jim Naylor of Ventura Raceway. Naylor said, "I've been doing this for 30 years and it's all about the people not the money." He thanked the late Glenn Howard for convincing him a decade ago to run sprint cars at his midget-racing track. Hunt concluded ceremonies by presenting outgoing USAC President/CEO a USAC Western appreciation award. Helmling said he will not be a stranger to USAC Western racing. He added that Western Midget and Sprint car racing is alive, strong and growing. More raffle ticket prizes were called as attendees mingled to relive the past season and upcoming season among friends. FINAL 2007 USAC WESTERN SERIES POINT STANDINGS: Lucas Oil Western Sprint Cars Drivers Entrants 1 Ryan Kaplan 671 1 Mike Swanson # 17 696 2 Tony Hunt 629 2 Alan Kaiser # 1 675 3 JoJo Helberg 609 3 Ken Kaplan #21 671 4 Shauna Hogg 482 4 Joe Helberg #4 599 5 Kody Swanson 456 5 Richard Hogg #5 482 6 Greg Anderson 411 6 Alan Kaiser #12 405 7 Jim Kaiser 405 7 Nick Rescino, Jr. #11x 327 8 Tanner Swanson 346 8 Ted Finkenbinder #3F 316 9 Nick Rescino, Jr. 327 9 Brian McClish #04 299 10 Brian mcClish 299 10 William Hayes #22 292 Lucas Oil USAC-CRA Sprint Cars 1 Tony Jones 2,001 1 Alexander Racing #4 2,073 2 Mike Spencer 1,941 2 Ron Chaffin #50 1,931 3 Danny Sheridan 1,758 3 Kittle Motorsports #18 1,758 4 Rickie Gaunt 1,695 4 Nadine Gardner #94 1,748 5 Scotty Weir 1,570 5 Glenn Crossno #38 1,570 6 Rip Williams 1,456 6 Sharon Jory #3 1,452 7 David Cardey 1,284 7 Glenn Crossno #83 1,284 8 Cory Kruseman 1,273 8 Kruseman Motorsports #21k 1,240 9 Blake Miller 1,112 9 Jeff Gardner #93 1,062 10 Josh Ford 1,030 10 Keith Ford #73 1,030 USAC Western Midgets 1 Johnny Rodriguez 950 1 Mitchell Motorsports #87 846 2 Scott Pierovich 851 2 Lance Pierovich #35 830 3 Matt Mitchell 716 3 Mitchell Motorsports #37 748 4 Shannon McQueen 591 4 Cruz Pedregon Racing #75 643 5 Chris Rahe 515 5 Shannon McQueen #7 591 6 Robby Flock 470 6 Jon Rahe #3 515 7 C. J. Sarna 430 7 Mike Sala Racing #19 470 8 Quintin Crye 417 8 John Sarna #20 431 9 Jerome Rodela 394 9 Glenn Crye #15 417 10 Randi Pankratz 368 10 Wally Pankratz #8 368 USAC FORD FOCUS MIDGET SERIES DRIVERS: Dirt Series Paved Series 1 Nic Faas 713 1 Tim Skoglund 1,025 2 Dennis Howell 584 2 Nic Faas 942 3 Nick Carlson 573 3 Tom Dyer 912 4 Walt Johnson 561 4 Daniel Adler 863 5 Ricky Kirkbride 553 5 Mark Atkinson 828 6 Jet Davison 493 6 Beau DeBard 823 7 Robby Josett 488 7 Ian Miille 780 8 Thomas Gray 390 8 Caitlin Shaw 664 9 J. R. Williams 389 9 Justin Hommel 631 10 Scott Oliver 346 10 Robby Josett 569 USAC Rocky Mountain Sprint Cars Drivers Entrants 1 Ryan Burdettt 580 1 Frank Burdett #36 580 2 Jim Waters 518 2 Tom Ault #24 518 3 Rick Pardee 501 3 Rick Pardee #10 501 4 Jim Campbell 492 4 Jim Campbell #66 492 5 Jeff Bergener 464 5 Dave Gunn #21 464 ########################################### |
