2011-12-11

Dave Pembroke Crowned "King of the Road" at 2011 Thunder Road Banquet of Champions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                    ACT-121011-71

Barre, VT – Montpelier’s Dave Pembroke was honored as the 2011 “King of the Road” at the 2011 Thunder Road Banquet of Champions on Saturday, December 10 at the Barre Elks Club. Pembroke put together one of the biggest comebacks in Thunder Road history to claim his second career Late Model title. During their first season in a Ford powered ride, Pembroke and his family team erased an 80 point deficit with back-to-back feature wins at mid-season. The Vermont State Employees Credit Union/Lamoille Valley Ford team earned the first Thunder Road track title for Ford in over twenty years. The Barre Elks Club was sold out with team members, officials and fans on hand to honor Pembroke, who claimed a $5,000 point fund check.

 

Bradford’s Derrick O’Donnell received the Bond Auto Tiger Sportsmen Thunder Road and the Bond/WIX Tiger Tour titles following his dominant 2011 season. O’Donnell claimed a total of four wins between the two titles and never trailed in either point standings for the year. It was O’Donnell’s first titles for both the Thunder Road Tigers and the Tour.

Greg Adams, Jr. of Hardwick was honored for his first Allen Lumber Street Stock track title. After a season long battle, Adams took the championship by just three points. He earned three feature wins during his championship run.

First year Junkyard Warrior driver Jason Woodard of Waterbury took the crown. He took home nine wins during his dominant season. He will move up to the Bond Auto Tiger Sportsmen ranks for the 2012 season.

The 2011 Ken Squier Award went to Thunder Road Director of Operations Steve Melendy. Melendy has been a long-time employee of Thunder Road and the American Canadian Tour and is an invaluable asset to keeping both running smoothly. He was recognized for his countless hours of dedication to both Thunder Road and ACT.

The third annual Pete Hartt Memorial Media Award was given to Richard “Big” Bigelow of the Caledonian Record. The award is given in memory of former WDEV personality and Times Argus Sports Editor Pete Hartt. Bigelow has been covering Thunder Road and the American Canadian Tour through radio and print since the mid-1990’s. His weekly “Strap In” article for the Caledonian Record has been in print since 1998 and has supplied countless coverage of Thunder Road and ACT.

The Gordon R. Nielsen Rookie Achievement Award went to Montpelier’s Kyle Pembroke. Pembroke earned the 2011 Bond Auto Tiger Sportsmen Rookie of the Year honors, while improving throughout the season. His clean and respectful style earned him the award, which is given in memory of former Thunder Road and ACT chief scorer Dr. Gordon Nielson.

Rookie of the Year honors went to Williamstown’s Jimmy Hebert in the Late Models, Pembroke in the Tigers, and Cabot’s Ken Christman in the Allen Lumber Street Stocks.

Sportsmanship Awards were voted on by drivers and officials for each division. Honors went to Barre’s Nick Sweet in the Late Models, and Williamstown’s Mike Ziter in the Bond Auto Tiger Sportsmen. Waitsfield’s Troy Kingsbury took the 2011 Ed Carroll Memorial Award for Sportsmanship in the Allen Lumber Street Stocks and Northfield’s George Sanders claimed the Junkyard Warriors award.

Most Improved Driver Awards were also voted on by the drivers and officials of the Late Models and Bond Auto Tiger Sportsmen. Cody Blake of Barre earned the Late Model award, while Jason Allen also of Barre earned the Tiger award.

For the first time in several years, the Thunder Road Banquet of Champions was separate from the ACT Banquet of Champions. Thunder Road teams, fans and officials responded in overwhelming numbers as the banquet returned to Barre. The 2011 ACT Banquet of Champions will honor eight-time ACT Late Model Tour Champion Brian Hoar and two-time Série ACT Castrol Champion Patrick Laperle at the Doubletree Inn in South Burlington, VT on Saturday, January 21.

For additional information contact the Thunder Road/ACT office at 802.244.6963, www,thunderroadspeedbowl.com, www.acttour.com, or media@acttour.com.

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Year-End Ceremony Spotlights Touring Series Title Winners

For Immediate Release

 

 

Champions Honored In Awards Gala

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Dec. 10, 2011) – Past, present and future were celebrated Saturday night at the NASCAR Hall of Fame as the six champions from NASCAR’s developmental series were honored in the Night of Champions Touring Awards Gala.

The festivities featured the champions and top drivers from all of NASCAR’s North American regional touring series, who gathered for the special year-end celebration.

 

The 2011 champions included Max Gresham (NASCAR K&N Pro Series East), Greg Pursley (NASCAR K&N Pro Series West), Scott Steckly (NASCAR Canadian Tire Series), Germán Quiroga (NASCAR Mexico Series), Ron Silk (NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) and George Brunnhoelzl III (NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour).

"These six series represent the future of our sport," said George Silbermann, NASCAR vice president, regional and touring series. "There is some remarkable talent on hand tonight that provided close, exciting competition all season long."

 

·                          Gresham, of Griffin, Ga., earned the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship in just his second full season of competition.

·                          Pursley of Newhall, Calif., captured his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series West title in dominating fashion with six victories in the season’s first eight races.

·                          Steckly of Milverton, Ontario, Canada, picked up his second NASCAR Canadian Tire Series championship after winning his first in 2008.

·                          Quiroga of Mexico City, Mexico, picked up his third consecutive NASCAR Mexico Series championship and is the only driver in series history with multiple titles.

·                          Silk of Norwalk, Conn., won his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour title in a thrilling points battle that went down to the closing laps of the season.

·                          Brunnhoelzl of West Babylon, N.Y., collected his second NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour championship following up his 2009 title.

 

Enrique Contreras III (NASCAR Mexico Series) and Louis-Philippe Dumoulin (NASCAR Canadian Tire Series collected Rookie of the Year honors while Sunoco Rookie of the Year Awards were presented to Austin Pack (NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour), Patrick Emerling (NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour), Alex Bowman (NASCAR K&N Pro Series East) and Dylan Kwasniewski (NASCAR K&N Pro Series West).

Additionally, the Most Popular Driver Awards for each series were also presented during the ceremony. The six drivers honored with the prestigious award – voted on by fans online at NASCAR.com – were Justin Bonsignore in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, Jason Myers of the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour, Jorge Arteaga in the NASCAR Mexico Series, Jason White in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, Moses Smith of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and Chase Elliott from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.

The top 10 drivers and car owners from each of NASCAR’s developmental series also were recognized during the gala event – which featured Mike Joy and Dr. Dick Berggren of NASCAR on FOX and SPEED as co-hosts. The awards banquet was streamed live online in three languages – English French and Spanish – at www.nascarhometracks.com, the official online home of NASCAR’s developmental series.

Special award and year-end contingency award winners were honored Saturday morning at the Grand Champions Breakfast.

The awards celebration capped a week of festivities in the Charlotte area aimed at providing the top drivers and track operators in NASCAR’s weekly and touring series an up close and personal look at the hub of stock-car racing. The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards Banquet on Friday honored champions from across North America in the series that is NASCAR’s grassroots foundation.

 


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Akona Manufacturing to Sponsor June 2 Event at Elko Speedway

For Immediate Release:

Saturday, December 10, 2011

 

(COVINGTON, Ky.) - Akona Manufacturing, LLC will sponsor the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards' first visit to Elko Speedway on Saturday, June 2, 2012. Tentatively titled the Akona 200, the race is scheduled as the sixth of 20 races in ARCA's 60th Anniversary Season.

 

Representatives from ARCA and Track Enterprises, the race promoter, made the announcement at today's ARCA Racing Series press conference in advance of tonight's Championship Awards Banquet at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center.

 

Akona Manufacturing's home base is in Maple Plain, Minn., which sits just west of Minneapolis and under 50 miles from the 0.375-mile Elko Speedway. The company manufactures sweeping compounds, concrete sealers, and oil liquid absorbents.

 

"We're fortunate to bring a corporate sponsor on board for ARCA's first trip to the state of Minnesota and first trip to Elko Speedway," said Bob Sargent of Track Enterprises, the company which also promotes races at the Illinois State Fairgrounds and the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, and in 2011 ushered the ARCA Racing Series back to Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.

 

Sargent highlighted a number of impressive new amenities at Elko Speedway, including improved parking and grandstand seating.

 

"We're excited to deal with the active corporate community and the population base in the Minneapolis metropolitan area, which looks to make a win-win situation," said Sargent. "This will be a good race for ARCA's teams, and the fans at Elko will enjoy watching a nationally-recognized sanctioning body. Anybody that follows motorsports nationally will enjoy this event."

 

Akona's involvement with ARCA is part of a business-to-business vendor program with series presenting sponsor Menards. The manufacturer joins Ansell, Messina Wildlife Management, and Herr's, all companies who connected in-store presence at Menards to participation in the ARCA Racing Series through marketing relationships, contingency programs, and race sponsorships.

 

"Menards has asked ARCA to consider an event in the Minneapolis area for the last several years, as it's the second-largest retail market in their footprint," said Mark Gundrum, vice president of marketing and communications for ARCA. "A combined effort by ARCA, the track, event promoter Track Enterprises, and Menards to introduce a new vendor partner allows this to happen this summer."

 

Though Akona's relationship with the ARCA Racing Series is new for 2012, the company has previously been involved with Menards in other motorsports programs.

 

Founded in 1950, Akona's mission was based on the development of a unique patented product, a water-proofing cement-based coating. That innovation, along with unparalleled customer service and technical support, continues to drive the company today. The basis of Akona's future growth is focused on spec blended construction products. Akona's premium concrete repair products serve both homeowners and professional contractors.

 

The ARCA Racing Series has never raced in Minnesota, adding significance to the June visit to Elko and establishing the North Star State as the 29th visited by ARCA's premier national tour since 1953.

 

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards featured 19 events at 16 tracks on its 2011 schedule. The series has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 28 states since its inception. In 2011, the series has tested the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, visiting tracks ranging from 0.4 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course.

 

The full 2012 ARCA Racing Series schedule is currently available at ARCARacing.com.

 

Founded by John Marcum in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is recognized among the leading sanctioning bodies in the country. Closing in on completing its sixth decade after hundreds of thousands of miles of racing, ARCA administers over 100 race events each season in two professional touring series and local weekly events.

 


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ARCA Announces 10-Race SPEED Television Schedule for 2012 to Highlight Championship Awards Banquet Press Conference

For Immediate Release:

Saturday, December 10, 2011

 

 

(COVINGTON, Ky.) - Just hours before tonight's 59th annual ARCA Racing Series Championship Awards Banquet at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center, ARCA held its annual end-of-season press conference. The series released its 2012 television schedule, among other announcements.

 

Officials from ARCA and SPEED jointly announced the 2012 SPEED television schedule for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, comprised of 10 events to be televised live or same-day delayed on the popular network. SPEED in-race analyst Phil Parsons, host for this evening's banquet, was on hand for the announcement.

 

SPEED will kick off its live flag-to-flag ARCA coverage at Daytona International Speedway with the 49th running of the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at 4 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, February 18.

 

In addition to Daytona, other events scheduled for live and/or same-day coverage in 2012 include Talladega Superspeedway on May 4, Toledo Speedway on May 20, events at Pocono Raceway on June 9 and August 4, Michigan International Speedway on June 15, Iowa Speedway on July 13, Chicagoland Speedway on July 21, and the season finale at Kansas Speedway on October 19. The late July race at Lucas Oil Raceway will also be televised; series and track officials have not yet determined the race's exact date.

 

ARCA's relationship with SPEED dates back to April 20, 1997, when the network (then Speedvision) covered the ARCA race at Salem (Ind.) Speedway. Since then, SPEED has aired a total of 188 ARCA races, making the 2012 opener at Daytona the 189th.

 

Before the SPEED announcement, Drager opened the afternoon by providing a short "state of ARCA" address, recognizing series presenting sponsor Menards, and unveiling the logo for ARCA's 60th Anniversary Season celebration. Drager then introduced Rick Crawford of Mobile International Speedway, which will host the ARCA Racing Series for the first time on March 10. Crawford announced that infield camping for ARCA's first visit to Mobile has already sold out.

 

Also speaking was Bob Sargent of Track Enterprises; Sargent's company will promote the June 2 race at Elko Speedway.

 

The press conference also served as a weekend welcome to series champion Ty Dillon, who spoke briefly after Drager.

 

Key series marketing partners and Menards vendor program participants Ansell, Herr's, and Messina Wildlife Management were recognized. Several teams, including ThorSport Racing, Team BCR Racing, Andy Belmont Racing, and Venturini Motorsports, took the podium to announce new drivers and sponsors for 2012.

 

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards featured 19 events at 16 tracks on its 2011 schedule. The series has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 28 states since its inception. In 2011, the series has tested the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, visiting tracks ranging from 0.4 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course.

 

The 2012 ARCA Racing Series schedule is currently available at ARCARacing.com.

 

Founded by John Marcum in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is recognized among the leading sanctioning bodies in the country. Closing in on completing its sixth decade after hundreds of thousands of miles of racing, ARCA administers over 100 race events each season in two professional touring series and local weekly events.

 

 


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