2008 Banquet

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – THANK YOU

 

WEAVER, WALKER, ROBERTS, WOLF, KINNE, KEESLER, AND ANDRUS HONORED AS FIVE MILE POINT SPEEDWAY TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS ON SATURDAY NIGHT.

Binghamton, NY… On Saturday night, January 3rd the Binghamton Regency Hotel and Conference Center saw the curtain come down on the 2008 racing season at the Five Mile Point Speedway with the annual season ending awards banquet.

          Honored in front of a packed Grand Ballroom were Modified track champion Brian Weaver, Sportsman track champion Shaun Walker, IMCA Modified track champion Gary Roberts, Pure Stock track champion Shane Wolf, Lightning Cat track champion Gary Kinne, A League of Their Own track champion Katie Keesler, and Figure 8 track champion Mark Andrus.

          Brian “The Dream” Weaver won his second career Five Mile Point Speedway Modified track championship driving the Randy Decker Motorsports owned entry.

          “I’m very proud of the Randy Decker Motorsports team,” stated the two time Five Mile Point Speedway Modified champion. “We as a team do a whole lot without the unlimited financial resources that some teams have. I’m just along for the ride as Randy and his entire crew, team, and sponsors have the car ready to go when I arrive at the race track.”

           JR Crouse edged out Tom McGurrin by just two points to claim second in the Modified points. Veteran Carl Nagel made his weekly return to racing at Five Mile Point pay off in the Modified points as he held off another veteran driver in Mike Colsten for fourth.

          After receiving his fourth place point fund awards it was announced that Carl Nagel would be back at Five Mile Point in 2009 competing in his 50th season of racing at the track. That announcement brought a standing ovation for the likeable veteran racer from West Windsor, NY.

          Sixth through tenth in Modified points were JR Hurlburt, Frank Yankowski, Glenn Knapp, Jr., Tim Votra, and Brent Wilcox.

          Shaun Walker claimed his first Five Mile Point Speedway track championship by winning the Sportsman division.

          “A lot of the credit for this championship goes to my family,” said Shaun. “All of them put in plenty of time on the car. All of that hard work resulted in a great car, a great crew, and a great Gail Clark engine under the hood.”

          Brian Puckett ended up second in the points with Joey Colsten in third, Nick Rochinski in fourth, and Justin Holland in fifth.

          Sixth through tenth in Sportsman points were Jamie Batzel, Butch Klinger, Charlie Hendrickson, Jr., Chris Wood, and Brad Grim.

          Gary Roberts defended his IMCA Modified track championship from one year ago by claiming his second career Five Mile Point Speedway track championship. Due to a family emergency in Texas, Roberts was unable to attend.

          Former track official K C Cole finished second in the points with Jeremy Shaw placing third and another former track official Joe Cole ending up in fourth with Steve Simpson in fifth.

          Sixth through tenth in IMCA Modified points were Cliff Pierce, Patti Simpson, Mike Stoddard, Gary Dence, and Scott George.

          Shane Wolf won his first career Five Mile Point Speedway track championship as he claimed the Pure Stock points. Due to prior commitments Wolf was unable to attend.

          Former multi time track champion Charlie Gilbert ended up second with Jon Carpenter in third, Joe Rafferty, Jr. in fourth, and Mike Codington in fifth.

          Sixth through tenth in Pure Stock points were Dave Conklin, Jr., Duane Codington, Tyler Yeagle, Butch Green, and Herbert Penny.

          Gary Kinne Won his second consecutive Five Mile Point Speedway Lightning Cat track championship.

“Winning two championships in a row is pretty good,” said Gary. “We’re working on a new car for next year and see if we can win three championships in a row.”

           Andy Brigham was second with the “Kirkwood Comet” Cody Decker finishing third. Former track official Dave Simms was fourth with Tim Price in fifth.

          Sixth though tenth in Lightning Cat points were Jeff Hayes, Scott Watson, Frank Kennedy, Jason Colwell, and Don Doster, Jr.

          Katie Keesler won her first career Five Mile Point Speedway track championship as she claimed the A League of Their Own division title.

          “I’m really excited about winning my first ever track championship,” said Katie. “We’re working on a new car for this year.”

          Bethany Watson was second with Amanda Brigham in third, Kim Hayes in fourth, and Brandi Gunn in fifth.

          Sixth through tenth in A League of Their Own points were Michelle Colwell, Casey Vaughan, Laurie Fallis, Rebecca Dollnetsch, and Louise Wilcox.

          The Lance Auto and Garage Figure 8 division saw Mark Andrus claim his first career Five Mile Point Speedway track championship.

          “The Figure 8 division is a fun division and I really enjoyed racing in it,” said Mark. “This year we’re going to try something different by moving up to the IMCA Modified division.”

          Dave Cronk was second with Mark Cardew in third, Rob Warner in fourth, and Joe Warner in fifth.

           No official points were kept in the Kiddie Kat division, however all entrants in the first year division received an award with Bryan Batzel, Tanner Harpell, and Tucker Harpell in attendance to receive their respective award.

          Winners of the Best Appearing Car were Tom McGurrin in the Modifieds, Brian Puckett in the Sportsman, Jonathon Carpenter in the Pure Stocks, Gary Roberts in the IMCA Modifieds, and Dave Simms in the Lightning Cats.

          Winners of the Most Improved Driver Award were Tim Votra in the Modifieds, Joey Colsten in the Sportsman, Dave Conklin, Jr. in the Pure Stocks, Jeremy Shaw in the IMCA Modifieds, and Cody Decker in the Lightning Cats.

          Winners of the Most Popular Driver Contest were Brian Malcolm in the Modifieds, Justin Holland in the Sportsman, Patti Simpson in the IMCA Modifieds, Butch Green in the Pure Stocks, Mark Andrus in the Figure 8’s, Kaye Brigham in the A League of Their Own, and Todd Titus in the Kiddie Kats.

          The Hard Luck Awards were presented to Ken Titus in the Modifieds, Chris Wood in the Sportsman, Duane Codington in the Pure Stocks, Gary Dence in the IMCA Modifieds, and Dennis Keesler in the Lightning Cats.

          The Rookie of the Year Award were presented to Justin Andrews in the Modifieds, Charlie Hendrickson, Jr. in the Sportsman, Tyler Yeagle in the Pure Stocks, Steve Simpson in the IMCA Modifieds, and Tim Price in the Lightning Cats.

          Track Pit Steward Brian Cochardo presented his Pit Steward Awards to Leonard Shaw and Cheryl Knapp.

          The final three special awards saw head flagger Raymond Kennerup receive the Special Recognition Award with Brian Malcolm receiving the Eric Stephens Perseverance Award. Sportsman track champion Shaun Walker received the highly coveted Glenn Knapp, Sr. Owner of the Year Award.

          News about the 2009 racing season along with the schedule will be released in the weeks ahead. In the meantime any questions can be answered by calling 607 – 775 – 5555 or e - mailing fivemilepoint1@aol.com.