Howdy all!
Well, just got back from the banquet and I have to say what a great party it was. I'll do the awards, then some notes, but I'll preface by saying (because everyone's probably wondering) there was really no big news or big announcements regarding the speedway at large. As was expected, the night was about celebrating the year past more so than talking to the future. I did have a brief word with General Manager Joe and he said they're thrashing hard already hammering out the schedule for next year.
On to the awards....
Rookie of the Year AwardsAPC Late Model 72-Shawn Thompson
Powerade Modified 38-Tyler Hendricks
Demar Aggregates Trucks 99-Michelle Koricina
Super Stock- 84-Steve Smith
Delaware (All Ontario?) NASCAR Whelen rookie of the year in LM 4-Jon Urlin.
Sportsmanship Awards APC LM 52-Sheridan
Powerade Mod 1-Newman
Demar Truck 56-Showler
Super Stock 51-Rabideau
Harborne/Lawrence Spirit of Racing AwardOne award that has been near and dear to Delaware Speedway for a long time now is the Harborne/Lawrence Spirit of Racing award. It is awarded every year to one person who exemplifies and embodies the spirit of good sportsmanship, and is also special in that it doesn't necessarily get awarded to a driver. It is my personal honor to be able to say that one of the members of our own online community has won that award this year....Jim Ott, aka JWO Racing, father and crew chief to Jake "Juice Box" Ott, in the "It Aint Easy Being Green" Super Stock number 60.
Jim looked just a little bewildered at the whole thing, but the award couldn't have gone to anyone more deserving. Congratulations Jim. Most of the guys agree that you make the pits a brighter place, always ready with a helping hand or a spare part. We're glad you guys decided on Delaware.
Craftsman Mechanic of the Year - John Johnston, 28-Robblee team
Ultimate Sandblasting and Coatings Chaos Car Champ - Spencer "Bush Bomb" Rabideau
APC LM / Whelen NASCAR Championship - 28 Steve RobbleeSteve Robblee of course won Delaware as well as Ontario, which we knew. What we didn't know (or I didn't anyway) was that he finished sixth overall of the entire NASCAR Whelen North American series. This is out of about 3000 competitors. I mean, we all know that Robblee is one of the best guys to ever strap into a race car, but I think its just awesome to finally see it recognized outside of the region. Way to go Steve.
2 52 Ron Sheridan
3 4 Jonathan Urlin
4 20 Scott Lindsay
5 15 Steven Matthews
6 02 Mark Watson
7 10 Jesse Kennedy
8 22 Jamie Ramsay
9 27 Mat Box
10 37 David Elliott
11 38 Kirk Hooker
12 72 Shawn Thompson
13 14 Rick Emery
14 2 Doug Stewart
15 3 Chad Rijnen
Powerade Modified 2009 Champ: 3 Jamie Cox 2 1 Barry Newman
3 88 Paul Shipway
4 39 David McCullough
5 54 Darrell Limon
6 38 Tyler Hendricks
7 24 Stephen Richmond
8 70 John Saunders
9 57 Gary Brooks
10 19 Dean Scott
Demar Aggregates Trucks Championship 2009 Champ: 88 Paul Fothergill 2 56 Jeff Showler
3 00 Shawn Johns
4 01 Devon Bloemendal
5 75 Jordan Dupuis
6 77 Tom Zagorodny
7 7 Derek Clark Strathroy
8 99 Michelle Koricina
9 16 Kathleen Hosang
10 9 Michael Thompson
11 82 Justin Demelo
12 4 Lonny Thompson
13. 81 Dale Hilborn
14. 33 Sid McDonald
15. 97 Bill McDonald Jr
Owners points won by 82 DemeloDelaware Super Stock 2009 Champ 11 Jason Lidster2 77 Darrell Lake
3 76 Jeremy Reid
4 84 Steve Smith
5 67 Shawn Hewitt
6 24 Stephen Richmond
6 51 Jeremiah Rabideau
8 99 Scott Nagy
9 60 Jake Ott
10 52 Brad Clark
10 28 Kris Lawrence
12 04 Matt Humphrys
13 7 Jared Shields
14 3 Andrew Perkins
15 9 DJ De Jesus
16 5 Jim Mairs
Owners Points also won by Lidster Other Notes- John Houghton did a stellar job with a great end-of-season highlight reel for both the big cars, plus a great on for the Jrs too. (we found out that in fact, yes, a Jr Late Model can take down a full sized light pole....just in case you were wondering)
- The Truck girls, Kathleen Hosang and Michelle Koricina were both there, sipping fruity cocktails out of their trophies, both looking resplendent
and making all us old guys wish we were 21 again. Great to see you both. Spoke with Kathleen's Dad Mike, and it looks like they're on track to run up near the front again next year after finishing out the season in a cobbled together machine after the big rain wreck.
-In other news, it looks like Brooksie has sold the 57 modified to a Varney competitor. The good news is, it looks like we might be seeing a number 57 truck in the Demar Aggregates division next year.
-The CRO "Dellies" took the shape of a top 10 list of "moments". Quite frankly, with my recent move, I didn't have the resources to turn it into full blown awards like I'd initially envisioned, but I do have some ideas for next year. It was fun to represent CRO for a few moments, although I think I have proven that writing and public speaking do not necessarily lead into one another.
In closing: To Arlen, Joe, John, Jeff, and Paul, great job putting the night together. You all proved once again that Delaware Speedway is a class act by putting on one awesome shindig. The band even rocked.
So....when's the spring meeting? I'm ready to go!
