I attended four of four events, the first in 1993 when Mike Johnson and I were putting the CMA together, and years later with Don O'Keefe Jr. The last year, Stewart acknowledged DCRR Racing News as the magazine I represented. The previous times it was my Racing Wheels credentials that got me in.
Now, this was a big deal to me, because they didn't have to let some publisher of a small magazine in for free. But he did. I was honored to be there. These meetings often served as the place for some of the biggest deals for the sport, and the fans came out the winners more often than not. So, I'll just offer my condolences to the Reamer family. It's people like Stewart who helped make the sport of auto racing a better place.
It's nice when we have history books for racing fans to look back on the past and celebrate it. Yes, I know I should get my butt in gear and put that book together. There is the 50 Years of BCRA History book and Bob Barkhimer's book.
I noticed in MotoRacing that photographer Dennis Mattish has put a book together called The History Of San Jose Auto Racing 1903-2007. It's hard cover, 288 pages. It's $69.95 plus $10 for postage and handling. You can order direct from the author:
Dennis Mattish Photos
2070 Ulster Drive
San Jose, CA 95131
I should point out that Dennis is a very talented photographer and his work has been featured in several publications. It's nice to see something being done to honor the great racing heritage of San Jose.
Finally, congratulations are in order to Kenny Shepherd and the crew for a successful completion of the 2009 Chowchilla Speedway season. While I'm still not thrilled that Tom Sagmiller isn't the man in charge, it's nice to know that they found somebody who could make it through a whole season like Tom did for so many years. Plus, Tom did bring the Freedom Series back to Chowchilla for it's finale this year. Anyway, here's a press release for Chowchilla that I received:
Chowchilla Speedway Media Release – October 7th, 2009
Matt Speed – Media Relations / Short Track Management, LLC
The 2009 Chowchilla Speedway Champions are Announced
The audit of every driver and every point earned by each driver is now complete and the 2009 championship points are certified. The Champions will be honored at the 2009 awards banquet on November 7th.
The Western Modified Champion is Alex Stanford, Mike Villanueva is second, Robbie Jeppeson was third with Ray Mayer, and Bill Egelston completing the top five. Sixty Eight different drivers competed in the Western Modified Points Championship during the 2009 season at the Chowchilla Speedway.
Mike Shepherd is the Super Stock Champion; Mitch Enos is second with Steven Hannah, Donnie Shearer, and Roy Hart Jr. making up the top five in the points. Thirty Six different drivers competed in the Super Stock Points Championship during the 2009 season at Chowchilla Speedway.
The Hobby Stock Championship was a barn burner to say the least and when the smoke cleared it was Jarod Fast with 541 points and Danny Roe with 540 points. Jarod Fast is the Hobby Stock Champion for 2009.
Roe was the point leader all the way up to the final main event, Fast had won two races in a row to get close to Roe in the points. Fast won the final race making it three in a row, Roe finished third but the car he barrowed for the main event was found to be 120 pounds light in post race inspection. Roe was penalized one position per pound the car was found to be under weight; he earned one point for the race for what would be 123rd position. He retained his points for the heat race and trophy dash due to the fact he was in his own car.
Had Fast not won all three of the final main events, or even finished second in one of them Danny Roe would be the champion, but Fast matched his name and got a hot hand at the right time, the same time that Roe hit a tough patch in his season. Shannon Marlow, Shannon Porter and Robby Laquaci made up the top five in the points. Forty Five different drivers competed in the 2009 Chowchilla Speedway Hobby Stock Championship.
Kathy Evans is the 4-Banger Champion, followed by Paul Thornburn, David Cox, Greg Mead, and Joe Willoughby for the top five. More than forty different 4-banger drivers competed in the 2009 championship at the Chowchilla Speedway.
Tim Prothro is the 2009 Sportsman Champion, Mike Shearer, Justin Shearer, Mark Odgers, and Mike Henault made up the balance of the top five. Seventeen different drivers competed in the Sportsman class in 2009.
Chris Koontz is the 2009 Spec Sprint Champion, with a hard charging Christian “The Weasel” Hickman finishing right behind him. Twenty Four different drivers competed in the Spec Sprint class in 2009.
The Chowchilla Speedway features the Chowtown Pacific Dirt Nationals presented by Richwood Meats on October 16th, 17th and 18th. Three nights of spectacular main events featuring the Modifieds, Western All Star Super Late Models, Super Stocks and the 4-Bangers. Click on this link for more information.
For more information go to www.racechowchilla.com.
