24 Raceway Awards & Banquet Jan. 20 in Moberly, MO
by: Ron Lueck - Track Spokesman

MOBERLY, MO. (Jan. 20, 2006) - On a winter night in Moberly, Missouri that turned out to have about a 5-inch snowfall in store, a great group of car owners, drivers and fans came out last Saturday night, January 20th, to enjoy each other's company after a three and a half month hiatus from racing. This was the end-of-the-2006-season Awards Banquet for Moberly's 24 Raceway, and about 180 hearty souls came to the Moberly Municipal Auditorium to partake of the dinner, drinks, awards and some good old rock 'n roll music brought on by the band "Longshot". Kre'ative Katering of Moberly provided the food for all, followed by the awards of trophies and placement money to the top ten finishers for the season in five classes racing weekly at the local and fast half-mile dirt track.

As the Top Ten in season points from each class was read off by track announcer, Doug Mealy, each trophy got exceedingly larger, along with the payouts. The five class champions for 2006 were: Brooke Hassler of Columbia in the 4 cylinder Hornerts; Larry Krog of Clarence in the Hobby Stock class; Sportsman class three-peat winner from Cairo, Jeff Creed; Bob Woodrow of Perry winning the Moberly Motors B-modified class for the second straight year; and the A-modified champion, Vance Wilson from outside Bowling Green, getting his third track championship! All five of these winners received not only the biggest trophy, but got a monogramed black leather & wool coat for displaying their championship efforts. Congratulations go to all top ten trophy winners of each racing class!

In addition, the award for the Most Improved Driver went to a B-modified driver, Tony Garner of Macon. The Hard-Luck Award was presented to David Kinder of Moberly, mostly for the spectacular flip of his A-modified late in the season. The Sportsman of the Year award had a tie in the voting, going to both David Holder of Clarence and Kelly Smith of Kirksville. And the Most Valuable Pit Person award was given to Dental Williams of Kirksville for all the wrench work on the Smith-Williams-Harris race teams thru the years at 24 Raceway. The rookie-of-the-year for 2006 was Sarah Woodhurst, driving a Hornet this last season, but intent on moving up to the Hobby Stock class in '07. These awards were nominated and voted on by fellow drivers and are, once again, a great compliment to all of 24 Raceway's participants.

The door prizes were numerous, but "thanks" go out to: KZZT-FM 105.5, O'Reilly Auto Parts, PepsiAmericas, Millstone Coffee and Miller Beer. Track Force Racing Supplies of Kirksville introduced some new tires in a program for the Hobby Stocks in 2007, which were won by Darrell Nickerson of Moberly and Chad Walter of Clarence. The 1st team winning a Hobby Stock feature using a set of four of these American Racing tires is going to be in for some bonus cash! Wilson's Hot Rod Shop, just outside of Holliday, MO, furnished plenty of Lucas Oil racing lubricants and a pair of racing wheels for give-aways, won by David Holder and Casey Walter, both of Clarence. And a very nice grand prize of a 3 night stay at the Iron Horse Resort ski area of Winter Park, Colorado was awarded to A-modified driver, Curt Potter of Boonville. Again, many thanks to all the great businesses furnishing these great prizes!

The 2007 year has a different sort of start to Moberly's race season, weather-permitting. This year, not one, but two weekends of daytime practice sessions are planned for the Saturday afternoon of March 24 and Sunday, March 25, and then again on the following weekend dates of March 31 and April 1. Now, these are subject not only to agreeable weather conditions, but also to the track being in "race-ready" shape. Four W.O.W. 350 Sprint car races are planned at 24 Raceway, with the 1st being set for April 28th. The biggest night of the year may just belong to Tuesday, July 3rd for the annual A-modified's Firecracker Forty, along with a return of the Late Models of the MLRA. And something new is planned with the National Flat Track Racing Association (NFTRA) appearing on a Friday, June 1 for a night of motorcycle racing!

Thanks to all employees of 24 Raceway and those fans who came out for one great 2006 season! Hope to see everyone once again in 2007 at the track where there's "Dirt Track Racing at its Best!" Watch for more scheduling info coming on the website of www.24racewayinmoberly.com  .

Ron Lueck - Track Spokesman