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Lucas Oil Announcement Headlines 2008 Knoxville Raceway
Banquet!
By: Bill Wright
KNOXVILLE, IA (NOV. 22) - The Knoxville Raceway banquet was
held on Saturday, November 22 in the Dyer-Hudson bulding on the Marion
County Fairgrounds in Knoxville, Iowa. Headlining the night's events was the
announcement from marketing director, Brian Stickel, that Lucas Oil would
sponsor the 2009 Knoxville Championship Cup Series. Race Director, Ralph
Capitani later commented that the track is not resting with the Lucas Oil
sponsorship alone, and will be seeking additional sponsorship for the weekly
program at Knoxville Raceway.
After a banquet feast was served, renowned hypnotist, Dan Lorinitis,
welcomed fourteen volunteers to the stage led by drivers, Billy Alley,
Natalie Sather, Davey Heskin and Mike Moore as well as other prominent
figures. The entertaining display lasted approximately and hour, and was
followed by the Award ceremony.
Long-time Knoxville fan and supporter, Jack Morgan, received the first honor
of the night as "Fan of the Year". Both 410 and 360 drivers finishing
outside of the top five in points were honored next. Tanner Mason was named
the "Junior Fan of the Year", and he presented Matt Moro (360) and Skip
Jackson (410) as the "Junior Fan Club Drivers of the Year". The award was
Skip's fourth in a row in that category.
The Knoxville Raceway Charitable Organization received praise for their
donations to Mackie Heimbaugh and Jeff Shepard this season. In turn, the
KRCO presented their contingencies (worth $1200 each) for all drivers
qualifying for the point standings. Included in each driver's package were a
Bell Helmet, Impact belts and Simpson underwear, gloves, and insurance
covering the drivers wherever they may compete in a racecar.
Rick Van Donselaar was awarded with the "Heritage Award". The award was well
deserved for Rick, who has done much for the sport, the raceway and the
fairgrounds for over 30 years. Outgoing announcer Justin Zoch received a
special plaque from Capitani thanking him for his service in the booth the
past several seasons. Zoch traveled to Knoxville from the Twin Cities each
and every week to announce here.
The "Lyle Boyd Hard Charger Award" was next on the agenda, awarding the
drivers who passed the most cars in A main events this season. Joe Beaver
received the award in the 360 class, and Mark Dobmeier was the 410 winner.
Mike Houseman Jr. (360) and Davey Heskin (410) were named the "Most Improved
Driver" in their respective classes.
Minnesota's Guy Forbrook received the honor of 410 "Owner of the Year" for
the second time in his career (1991), while owner/driver Gregg Bakker from
Sioux Falls, South Dakota took home the same award in the 360 class. Calvin
Landis was the honoree in the "Sportsman of the Year" category in the 410
class, and was joined in the 360 class by Dustin Selvage. Finally, "Rookie
of the Year" Awards went out to Jake Peters (410) and Natalie Sather (360).
The big hardware went out last to the top five drivers and owners in the
point standings. In the 360 class, Brett Mather (5th), Gregg Bakker (4th),
Josh Higday (3rd), Jesse Giannetto (2nd) and Matt Moro (champion) were
honored in the driver category, while Boyd and Lisa Burnham (5th), Dwight
Snodgrass (4th), Bakker (3rd), Moro (2nd), and Giannetto (champion) received
owner awards. The championships were the first in the careers of Moro and
Giannetto, respectively.
In the 410 class, Justin Henderson (5th), Brian Brown (4th), Mark Dobmeier
(3rd), Billy Alley (2nd) and Danny Lasoski (champion) were drivers honored,
while owner awards went to Dan Oswalt (5th), Tim and Gina Doogs (4th), Mike
Dobmeier and Dave Lunstra (3rd), Shane Sterling and Alley (2nd) and Guy
Forbrook (champion). Officially, it was the eighth championship for both
Lasoski and Forbrook.
For more info, visit
www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!
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