|
Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
| Press Release |
|
|
|
Sean Becker is Crowned 2005 King at Awards Banquet; Brent Kaeding Steals the Show by Troy Hennig |
|
January 8, 2006...Feather Falls
Casino in Oroville, CA hosted the Golden States Series King of California 2005
Awards banquet on Saturday night, January 7.
Oroville native Sean Becker was crowned the 2005 King of California
Champion but it was Brent Kaeding that who stole the show during the festive
night.
The top ten drivers were awarded with prize money and trophies while a silent and live auction was held to raise money for the Benevolent Fund. At the end of the night, over $8,000 was raised for the Benevolent Fund to aid in the recovery of an injured sprint car driver. Most of the credit goes to Carolyn McMillen and Ashley Smith for gathering the items and helping organize the auction. George Hague and Troy Hennig hosted the awards show but it was Kaeding who turned out to be the night’s best entertainer. Throughout the night Kaeding jokingly traded jabs with the likes of fellow driver Jason Statler, local car supporter Tom Rolfe and Silver Dollar Speedway promoter John Padjen trying to raise the ante during the live auction. During one bidding war, Rolfe was raised to $1100 for a jar of Katie’s cookies. Rolfe has always been an important supporter of local sprint car racing and tonight was no exception. The real show stopper happened when Kaeding was invited up on stage to receive his fifth place car owner/driver money from the season. During his interview he opened the check and invited up local racing businessman John Perry, owner of JP’s Paint and Auto Body in Chico, to the stage. Perry is the person who organizes the annual JP’s Knoxville Bound trip every season with a fundraiser and barbeque. Perry sends people who have life threatening problems to the Knoxville Nationals. In a move that shocked everyone and even choked up JP, Brent handed over his entire points fund money to JP as a gesture of making the first donation of the year for the Knoxville Bound benefit in 2006. “You know Brent Kaeding is always perceived as a hard ass but no one can deny what this man does for Northern California racing,” said Perry up on stage. Kaeding then proceeded to donate back his car owner and driver trophies to give to the kids at Silver Dollar Speedway. Once Kaeding was off the stage Hague drew a raffle ticket for the chance to win a trip for two on a cruise in the Caribbean donated by GT Trends. The winner was Brent Kaeding. He walked back up onto the stage and let it be known that he doesn’t have time for a cruise and wanted Hague to auction it off for the Benevolent Fund. This was to the dismay of his crew, which he had now coined them as the “piglets” because of their young stature compared to his original “hogs” that worked with him for years in the pit area. Once the room started shouting out the amount of money they were willing to spend for the trip, it was Kaeding who ended bidding with a $1500 winners fee. Kaeding had just won the free trip, now he bought it back for $1500 and then gave it to his crewmember Matt. The night started with Jaime Skinner wining the Sexiest Crew Member Award for the year. Following her on stage was 18-year old Kyle Hirst who won the Rookie of the Year honors. Stephen Allard was presented with the Dave Bradway Jr. Inspirational Award. Local racing fixture’s Dave and Diana Durica were presented with the Sportsmen of the Year Award presented by John Padjen. The Durica’s help with gathering lap money for the Dave Bradway Jr. race along with sponsoring many drivers. The night closed with crowning dedicated car owner Morrie Williams as the 2005 Car Owner points champion. Williams had an interesting year after his driver Dennis Moore Jr. broke his arm in an early season accident he then put Jonathan Allard in the car to finish the Golden State tour. Allard went on to win three races and finish fourth in the points after missing the first two races. Williams also presented Ashley Smith, the crew chief, with a championship ring. A standing ovation greeted Sean Becker as he walked up onto the stage to receive his championship trophy and money. Becker was decked out in a suit and tie and handled himself with humbleness as usual. He hopes to defend his championship but right now is without a ride for the full Golden State Series tour in 2006. It would be a shame if he were unable to defend the crown because he doesn’t have a car to run. It was a night of giving, companionship and respecting each other’s accomplishments during the four-hour plus banquet. John and Robbie Padjen always go the extra mile in making sure the banquet is top notch. This year they relied on the Director of Marketing Steve Kinney at Feather Falls Casino. Together they collectively hit a home run on the event. The 2006 Golden State Series King of California Season begins with the annual Mini Gold Cup at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico on March 10 and 11. For more information please visit www.johnpadjenmotorsports.com |
